Design Dilemmas
Episode 3: This week we are tackling shelf and new build styling, home bars, wallpaper braving and double desk action. Oh, and dressing like your home, as I discovered this week.
It’s been a busy week. Virtually my entire family, bar me, appear to have been ill with what they describe as ‘flu’ but which is, in fact, a sore throat. I say ‘appear’ because I find that my children can often describe themselves as unable to even move from bed due to extreme sickness, yet the moment that I remove a pizza from the oven, they are in the kitchen quicker than Buddy the dog. Leo has been off this week (admittedly he did have a temperature) and it is astonishing, I find, how once I have agreed a day off school, his recovery involves a full day of TikTok watching, multiple Sidemen episodes on the sofa and, come 3.30 pm, a return to the PlayStation for a FIFA challenge. Hmm.
Anyway, I, of course, have no time for sickness as this week, my own dilemma has involved looking for a wedding dress. Not my own wedding, obvs, but one that I am attending this weekend at a very glamorous location, Saltmarshe Hall in York. I actually cannot remember the last time I went to an actual, proper, full blown wedding. Most of my friends have been married 20 years or been married more than once and didn’t want to spend any money the second time as they had kids to put through University (#reality). Anyway, I struggle quite a lot with formal wear. I ordered four - yes, four - dresses to try before realising that actually, what I wear is extremely closely related to how I decorate my house in that I do not suit pattern.
My interior style is very clear. 90% of my home has a neutral backdrop and I do not as a rule tend to veer from this key aesthetic. The same applies to my clothes. I ordered multiple flounced dresses in multiple florals and pattern and none of them looked right on me. I wouldn’t decorate my home in these florals - why would I wear them? It was a revelation. Anyway, I sent them all back, went on to Hurr and rented a simple cord dress and immediately felt right. Lesson learned - move away from the florals.
Okay, let’s hit your dilemmas and this week, we’re sticking with interiors. Disclaimer: As stated many times before, I am not a qualified interior designer nor a lifestyle coach, travel advisor or chef, but merely someone who enjoys decorating their own home (with a fair to middling level of success), likes to travel and enjoys a good meal and chat so my (often tongue in cheek) answers will not be instructional but will, I hope, be vaguely helpful. And don’t forget to drop your OWN Design Dilemmas in the comments below so that I can tackle them next week.