Men like it when a woman has taste. That means the apartment is kept in one style and in one color palette. I have often seen a solid renovation that did not come together because of a motley interior. For example, the bathroom is tiled in green or pink, purple wallpaper is hung in the hallway, and the room is done in blue-and-yellow colors.
You only have to open the door into another room for the sense of harmony to vanish, because on their own the rooms look fine, yet they do not go together at all. A woman should approach the choice of interior with intelligence. Her apartment should be kept in one style; furniture and finishes are chosen in no more than three colors that work with one another. All finishing materials are bought only in these colors, but in different shades. Let me give you a few examples.
An apartment in pastel tones
(light beige, light peach, salmon, pink, and others)
It will suit a woman of any age with any temperament. On smooth walls papered in light wallpaper with no pattern, any paintings and trinkets look wonderful. A bathroom with beige or light-brown tile, a kitchen using wood in the finishes, low lighting in the bedroom, the light from which «streams» from under the sofa. When you walk into such an apartment, it is immediately clear that its owner is a refined, well-off woman who knows how not only to work, but also to live beautifully and with taste. Walls of a purely white color are dull(especially if the apartment has high ceilings), but if you paint the ceiling in some muted color(for example, light beige or salmon), the overall impression immediately improves, the apartment becomes cozier, and thanks to the white walls it will seem more spacious. A woman knows how, spending a minimum of money, to produce a maximum effect. A small rug in the middle of the room with an almost invisible pattern, a Chinese fan on the wall, an aquarium with exotic fish, a few pots with houseplants. Simple? No, because there are so many tasteless temptations around, and not giving in to them is oh, so hard!
A geisha’s apartment
In its contemporary version it is also limited in color.
A geisha loves minimalism in everything. By the laws of feng shui, the air in the home should move freely, without running into sharp corners. Furniture for such a little apartment is bought simple and light, or is turned into such with the help of sandpaper, paint, and varnish. If you have decided to repaint something, be sure to go over the old furniture thoroughly with sandpaper, and only then apply a coat of paint or varnish. An old but sturdy sofa is cheaper to reupholster than to buy a new one.
An interior in an Eastern style implies a couple of floor vases, a screen painted in the Chinese style, a colorful bedspread, and smooth walls papered in wallpaper with no pattern. For the bedroom, a bright and warm color combination-red, orange, yellow.
Remember: patterned wallpaper-solid furniture, smooth walls with no pattern-any furniture. The highest design aerobatics-the ability not only to choose a color, but also the texture of materials, to guess whether the pattern will work together. If you are not sure of your skills-buy everything in solids, leaving in the apartment one or two bright accents(for example, a rug or drapes and a bedspread). The ideal option for a stylish apartment-sew the drapes and the bedspread from the same fabric.
The traditional color combination for an «Eastern» apartment-black, white, red, beige, pink, and light green. By the way, according to studies by scientists, many men find these colors the most sensual. Let us continue the décor in the style of a «tea house». A rush mat on the floor, a beautiful teapot, a lamp of rice paper, figurines of deities on a little table, and a kimono on the lady of the house.
A huntress’s little apartment
A true feminine retreat. The main materials that always work together always and everywhere:wood, natural stone, wrought-iron pieces, natural fur, weapons on the walls. To make it easier to picture the interior of a huntress’s dwelling, imagine a little house in the woods in which a madman has done a euro-renovation. A wide daybed spread with soft fur, a hide on the floor, an unplastered brick wall, a floor of rough boards (the simplest thing-if it is already there, strip the paint and coat the boards with varnish). For such an apartment the following work: deer antlers instead of a coat rack, wooden or clay «simple» tableware, massive, somewhat rough furniture of natural wood.
An extravagant option
It suits a young woman. Keep in mind that a respectable man will not feel at ease in such an interior, while a lover of youth parties will feel right «in his element». In recent times, for some reason, I very often notice the blue-and-yellow option: a blue sofa-yellow pillows, a blue floor-yellow walls, a yellow bathtub-blue tile. Beautiful, but standard and overused.
A progressive apartment implies a bar or even a bar counter(it is done very simply if you knock down a non-load-bearing wall with the kitchen to waist height). The colors-saturated and bright, but no more than two contrasting plus one neutral color(black or white). Hardware and ornaments-shiny, chrome-plated. No natural wood, only plastic. Lighting-any kind, but if you want to make a greater impression, install fixtures with colored lighting or put up wallpaper that glows in the dark.
It is very romantic to nestle in the arms of the one you love against the backdrop of a shimmering starry sky. What is good about this option-the flight of fancy is practically not limited. The workspace should be styled even as a spaceship cockpit. A light touch of «schizoid» character that lies on this version of the apartment’s décor allows you to place individual elements in an unusual way and even slightly off-key; this is, after all, the apartment of a young woman who is interested in trying everything. Well, something did not work out this time-it is still charming! The extravagant option of apartment design is perhaps the most costly, because old things will definitely not fit into it for sure. Pay special attention to the «little things»-tableware, your clothes, even the choice of a pet.
A refined interior
The dream of a woman past..., though what difference does it make how old she is, for she is already a real woman and knows what real men like, knows how to present herself in the most flattering light.
The apartment or house of a woman-temptress-is «classics». The furniture may be antique, kept in the style of one of the Louis periods, or contemporary. But in any case it is something on curved legs, of natural wood, high-quality, refined.
A journey through furniture stores, a careful choice of a vanity and a chest of drawers, a lavish enormous bed-that is what awaits you.
A refined interior-is refinement in everything. It will go beautifully with your new mink coat, a little black dress, a man in a business suit, and a car that waits for you both downstairs.
The colors-burgundy, chocolate, black, ochre(for brown-haired women and brunettes) and all shades of beige(for blondes). When decorating the bedroom, avoid light blue-it will turn the place of passion into a «Snow Queen’s retreat». Green is a bit plain; it is better suited to a study(in combination with brown-a classic option). A refined interior implies a thick carpet on the floor, in which the feet sink, natural fabric for drapes and bedspreads, pleasant to the touch. I do not advise choosing this option if the apartment’s area is a bit small and there is no separate bedroom. When you start unfolding the sofa or hiding in the bathroom to change, the whole feeling of refinement and sophistication will vanish. Quite another matter-being carried romantically in someone’s arms into a boudoir-bedroom with an enormous «sexodrome»
By the way, about the bedroom. I will repeat myself once more, but I will say that in the bedroom there should be no extra things and furniture at all. A silly habit for some reason makes people put chiffoniers in the bedroom. I do not know whether this interior detail has aesthetic meaning(gazing at carved work on the door during sex) or practical meaning(hiding a lover, and even more than one), but if there is a chance, remove the wardrobe from the bedroom; the room will immediately become different. The bedroom set-a bed, a vanity table with a mirror and a pretty pouf, perhaps a screen. That is all.
No shelves, bookcases, chairs, tables, or cages for a beloved hamster. What is a bedroom for? To sleep and make love. Better buy a pretty tray for «coffee in bed» or a serving table on wheels. On the floor lay wall-to-wall carpeting with a long pile; you will see how the room immediately becomes «warmer» and cozier. The same effect is given by lighting, but not overhead lighting, which only emphasizes the flaws of a woman’s figure, but low lighting, that is, fixtures placed at the very bottom, near the floor. The only inconvenience-you can run the wires for such fixtures only during a major renovation, under the plaster, or with the help of an extension cord tucked under the baseboard.
From the point of view of feng shui, a mirror in the bedroom is undesirable; it supposedly worsens sleep and drains energy. But a woman’s curiosity and imagination work wonders-one of my friends ordered a mirror (and hung it opposite the bed) in an unusual frame:it consisted of two parts and slid apart to the sides. If the panels are not slid apart-it is a painting, and if you slide them-here you are, a mirror, look as much as you wish. For the bedroom the following work: candles and candlesticks, a flower vase with a live bouquet, a perfume bottle on the dressing table, incense and an aroma lamp, a bowl with nuts and candied fruit, a beautiful and small figurine. That is all, nothing extra, as in makeup, in clothes, in work, and in love.
An interior-is a troublesome and costly thing, and so it does not like to be rushed.
