After student years of flat-sharing and living with other people's taste, I went into decorating overdrive when I acquired my first apartment - its floor plan not much bigger than the vintage Hermes scarves I then wore side-knotted on my head, pirate-style.
I like to change. A new lamp, a piece of art, can transform a room.
There are so many ways to decorate small spaces. One of my favorite things is throw pillows. They can add so much color to your room. You can have the same bedding for years and just switch out the throw pillows, and it looks like you have a completely new bed.
As for design, I gravitate to traditional styles but mix it with an element of surprise. Whether it's a big sash bow in the back or an unexpected fabric, it all needs to work together.
I love art and finding different bits and bobs for the apartment; so, I'm adding all my personal touches to the house.
You can change the feel of your sofa by adding a thick, cozy throw and playing a couple of classic pillows off a more Moroccan-inspired one.
I think that's the great thing about interiors is that they can be treated like a great wardrobe. Choose a sofa and chairs that are staples in clean shapes that will keep for the next couple of years or decade. Then an easy way to bump up your entire room or your interiors is accessories.
My favorite thing about decorating is mixing different periods and styles. If you have something that's old, and you really do want to mix those styles, then you have to add something that's obviously modern with it. You can't put a kind of a mediocre thing in the middle.
The main part of the house is a deep red and I have butterscotch carpet. And I have a bathroom with leopard skin floor, wallpaper and toilet.
I'm all about my rugs. I don't like a lot of color. The apartment isn't exactly monotone, but it's full of very soft shades. So, really, the fun is with the carpets.
I like to personalise my dressing room, have a cover for the bed and, if it is a long run, a few cushions and a teapot - a little pot for one.
I always begin a room with the rug; it is literally the foundation of the space. I then go on to the furniture.
Adding throws or blankets that have great texture over the back of a sofa adds some interesting personality really quickly and will visually change the room.
There are simple, small things you can do that really will impact the space. Things like changing out your curtain panels to something that adds a fresh new feel. Or maybe a smart pattern. Also swapping out an area rug, throws and pillows can be done in no time, and really have a dramatic effect.
I'm suspicious of places that look decorated. I can understand why people do it, but you see too many cushions or a piece of fabric hanging and it's, like, 'Ugh!' A good house with good art will always work, no matter what.
I always like my trailer or hotel room to have fresh flowers or pillows I find at a local flea market - anything to personalize the environment.
Decorators never quite saw the point of massing books. Books brought colour to a room and filled it up, but shelves bearing just one thing struck them as a decorative display opportunity tragically lost.
I don't have any furniture of mine in my room.
The rugs that I picked out and the pillows with the little owls, sort of like whimsical throw pillows - I feel like you can never enough whimsical throw pillows in your house, in your life. My husband probably disagrees.
A lot of people spend all this time painting their house, picking out rugs, and then they put fluorescent lighting in there. It totally ruins the mood.
Rearranging furniture, adding some candles, or making even small tweaks can really make the difference.
