KEY POINTS:
Our homes reflect who we are and where we are at in our lives. And, according to London-based design consultant and art director Stafford Cliff, they should also be flexible, as he discusses in his new book 1000 Home Ideas.
"Everybody thinks about their home. When you're young, if you have your own room, it becomes your world, and you soon set about personalising it, making it your private domain. When you leave home, you start to create another one - and you wonder how you're going to manage with all the decisions you'll need to make. Some folk dread it, and others just can't wait to go shopping. But not everything is available from a shop. You'll need ideas, too. What type of floor will you have: carpets, mats, rugs or floorboards? Stone or brick, maybe? You will inherit some of the elements, and certain decisions will be made for you - by the space or the previous owners. No matter, you'll want to tailor it to your needs.
Maybe you can't change the floors, the walls, the ceilings or the staircase, but you'll almost certainly need to repaint or replace some things, move them about - doors, perhaps, or even windows; an extension, a home office, a bigger bathroom.
If you know the effect you want, you can easily find a local builder or craftsman to do it for you. It's all a matter of choices, and there will be dozens of them; each one you make will say something about you, or your partner - or your parents.
A terrifying prospect, and one you'll need to be prepared for - not only at the start of your homemaking life, but throughout it; when you move, or when you refurnish - as your circumstances, your influences, or your income changes. The questions go on and on - but so do the answers - more than 1000 of them, all collected here in the work of the brilliant French photographer Christian Sarramon - who has spent 30 years photographing some of the most extraordinary, ideas-filled homes in the world.
SHELF LIFE
When I've asked people what they look for when entering someone's house, the most popular answer has been: "Their books. If I see what they read, I know their interests and what type of person they are." Sounds obvious, but in most cases it's subconscious. We respond to things that are similar to our own, and books - or the lack of them - sometimes say more about us than we might like. Photography books, history books, art books, children's books, paperbacks or first editions tell a host of stories, and if the room has a large bookshelf, or even wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shelving, our eyes dance across it, enjoying the rhythm, the colour and the intrigue. But don't overdo it; you're not living in a library.
Allow space on the shelves for a few objects - pictures, perhaps, or beautiful boxes - things that make a visual break. Even if you don't have lots of books, there are plenty of other things that will shine on a shelf, and if you don't normally collect things, then having a generous set of shelves will soon inspire you to fill it. Best of all, add some concealed lighting here and there to give a bit of sparkle at night. Finally, decide how you will group your books - by subject, by size, by ownership, by frequency of use or - and this, too, reveals something about the homeowner - by the colour of the spine.
WALLS OF WONDER
Rooms tell many stories - as you'll know if you've ever visited the museum homes of painters, writers, collectors or famous explorers. Though no longer stuffed with the clutter of everyday life, these houses are filled with memories.
If it's a house full of character, that identity will come from the person's possessions, what they collected and how it is displayed on shelves, in cabinets, on tables - or most importantly on the walls. Designers and artists love to surround themselves with pictures, paintings, prints and framed mementos of all kinds. Explorers bring back maps, posters, bus tickets and things that remind them of their journeys. People with children will put up school drawings. But for some, having the confidence to hang things, personal things, quirky things on the walls, takes a certain bravery that they may not have.
Where's the best position? Perhaps the solution is to concentrate first on one small space - maybe in the hall or a bedroom. Approach the wall as a page on a scrapbook rather than a gallery wall, and don't think you have to use expensive images or one-off artworks. Displaying the most unusual and personal things often proves to be the most interesting, generating the most compliments and engaging your eye for the longest time.
COLOUR & TEXTURE"
Calm down and don't get so emotional." I bet somebody has said that to you before - but have they said it about your living room? Of all the things that you can do to a room, adding colour is considered the most personal, the most emotional.
Colour is fundamental to our wellbeing. Many studies have been done into the psychology of colour and its effects on our mood - think of those used in street signs, on traffic lights and safety notices. In the home, we know that a white room reflects the light; that blue and green are a good fresh palette for bathrooms; that red is cosy and welcoming. It sounds simple, but it's not. Add to this, the element of texture: gloss or matt, embossed or even perforated.
Property developers all agree that if you want to appeal to the greatest number of people, and get a quick sale, then you should keep it neutral. Aside from that, why would you?
Colour is so easy to apply - you can change a room between breakfast and lunch. Start with a small area - a door, maybe, or a window frame or a single wall. Trust your instincts - your emotions. Colour is the clash of cymbals at the end of a Mahler concert. How could you go home without it?
* Extract from 1000 Home Ideas
Text Stafford Cliff
Photography 2008 Christian Sarramon. Design & layout 2008
(Quadrille Publishing Ltd, $49.99)
