Home Décor: Less Is More

It is unfortunate that so few people realize that good design can really be simple. Design becomes refined and livable when it is done in moderation.

Try to picture a living room of moderate size with every piece of furniture, every window covered in the same fabric with matching wallcovering and drapes. What do you notice upon entering this room? The furniture is lost, the walls begin to close in and your first reaction is to flee. The choice of a beautiful design is not highlighted, but lost in a mass of sameness. The idea of "less is more" is important when choosing furniture and window and wall treatments.

No one wants a setting that looks as if it was purchased off a showroom floor. A beautiful sofa looks better with just a side chair and table with an interesting lamp than with a matching loveseat, matching chair, a set of two matching end tables and a coffee table.

One simple way to recognize good design is to spend time walking through the better furniture stores that hire interior decorators. Notice that each vignette is carefully constructed not to look planned.