After
We are all a little house blind. That is, we put off seeing what needs refreshing, replacing, updating or upgrading for as long as we can. It’s self-protective. If we don’t see that the drapes are fraying, the carpet has worn spots, our furnishings are so last century (and not in the cool sense), and that televisions the size of Volkswagens belong in museums, we can dodge the inconvenience and expense of doing something about it.
However, as your therapist will tell you, denial only works for so long. Then you’re left with —ahem— reality. Here’s one of those realities: As times change, styles change. You can either keep up or live in your time capsule.
This realization hit home, literally, a short time ago when I pulled my head out of the sand, took an honest look at my dining room and entryway and recognized that these areas, actually one connected space, were woefully out of date. The Old-World look I had adopted and loved over 20 years ago — the tapestry fabrics, the heavy carved furniture, the iron fixtures — had passed its expiration date. So, I did what any rational person would do. I stuck my head back in the sand.
I knew that once I broke open the time capsule and updated one part of the room the rest of the room would only look worse, the way putting shiny chrome wheels on a rusty old car just exaggerates its condition.
Because I didn’t want to replace everything, nor could I afford to, I tried to figure out how to work with the large, Before
more expensive pieces by updating the furnishings around them. This is why I am so glad some designer invented the transitional style, a look that lets you mix older traditional décor with newer contemporary pieces. Transitional design gives you permission to mix modern art with European antiques, and pair a chrome-and-glass table with a vintage Persian rug. It’s perfect for those of us who have traditional furniture they don’t want to replace, but who also want to inject a modern vibe at home.
I began slowly. Using the traditional marble-topped Bombay chest in the entry and the walnut dining room table with its French-curved and carved legs as anchor pieces, I made one change at a time. First, I replaced the heavy iron light fixtures, which hung from the ceiling like giant looming spiders, with lighter, more modern fixtures. Next I swapped the woven seagrass runner in the entryway (which was supposed to be temporary but had stayed for four years) with a more colorful and durable hand-knotted wool one.
Progress stalled for over a year until this past spring the prospect of hosting a dinner party for six illustrious community members kickstarted my redecorating plans. I made more changes. Some I shared in this column. I sold a large French tapestry that dominated the main wall and replaced it with a more transitional pastel. I traded the art-deco round mirrors that had flanked the tapestry for simpler vertical ones, which elongated the room. I wallpapered the main wall and ceiling in a textured, azure grasscloth, giving the dining area more definition.
Over the last few weeks, I made my final (as if there is ever an end) two moves. I replaced the high-back tapestry chairs with sleeker, more modern seating in a performance cobalt-blue fabric, and replaced a large traditional oil landscape painting that hung over the Bombay chest with a new vibrant piece. The modern chairs and art next to the traditional furniture create that transitional bridge between the old world with the new. At least that was the plan.
It took time, but finally the space is finished. Well, at least for now. Now being temporary.
If you, too, need to pull a room in your house out of the doldrums, but don’t know how to start, here are some considerations:
· Be honest. Every few months, look at your house as a visitor would. Imagine having company coming over and seeing your home for the first time. What looks tired, dated, or not up to the look you want to project? This will prompt if not action, at least awareness.
· Evolve. Designers agree that the best rooms look as if they came together over time, not as if they were furnished in one day from the same furniture store. My entryway and dining room makeover took three years and included pieces I’ve owned for over 20. Continually making small moves over time will help your rooms feel current, curated and cared for.
· Take your time. Finding just the right piece is worth the wait. We lived with a blank wall for several months before finding the right painting for the entry. When I found out the dining room chairs I liked best would take three months to arrive, I kept shopping for chairs I could get sooner. Eventually I realized that if I chose anything else, I’d be sorry. Better to live without than hurry and live with second best.
· Keep up. If you care about how your home looks, don’t be a slave to fashion and don’t adopt a look because it’s “the style,” but do pay attention to trends and make small moves to keep your décor looking current.
· Make the transition. If, like me, you want to move away from traditional looks toward a more contemporary style without starting over, look for ways to trade patterns for solids, fringe for clean edges, ornate for sleek, and wood for glass or chrome.
· Let go. Don’t cling to the status quo because you don’t know what to do with your old furnishings. After trying unsuccessfully to sell my old dining chairs online, I donated them to a charity that helps those who’ve lost their homes furnish new places. Clinging to the past robs you of the present. Move forward.
CAPTION: Time for change — Before: This traditional dining room and entryway were overdue for an update. After: Contemporary chairs, modern art and accessories, and transitional light fixtures updated the Old-World look making the space look more current without replacing the larger furniture. Photos courtesy of Marni Jameson.
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