no fail steps to make your house look cool
Hey there, all you cool cats! You asked for it and now I'm delivering. You want to make your house look cool. And I'm not talking about how to make your house look expensive, well-styled, or even well coordinated. I'm talking about "cool." The "it" factor that makes you want to walk in and stay awhile. The Fonzie effect. And Fonzie was short, not that handsome and significantly older than all the other kids, but he was confident. And that goes a long, long way when defining "it."
Although I might have just negated all my coolness by starting with "Hey there, all you cool cats" but that's the number one rule about being cool. Not giving a flying fuck about how you appear. So let's start with the number one bullet point:
start with something ugly
Yup. You read it right. Start with something ugly. That sounds counterintuitive but let me explain. Or let me let Jennifer Lawrence explain:
All beautiful things, whether they are scents, art, fashion or anything, have something a little off in them and baked in their DNA. It's the Marilyn Monroe/Cindy Crawford mole, the salt in the caramel, the glasses on a model. These things on their own do not have any significant ugliness, but they provide character to an otherwise unblemished canvas. I, for one, think glasses are super cool and have never associated them with dowdiness, but that's just me.
Everyone defines "ugly" in a different way, but the best way to define it is by identifying what is "pretty." "Pretty" can be anyone of these things:
socially acceptable colors like pink, blue, white, black and sometimes green
pretty faces
symmetry
unblemished, brand new
G-rated stuff
It stands to reason then that "ugly" things are the exact opposite"
colors like brown, orange, yellow, red
unusual faces
asymmetry
visibly used
obscenity
When shopping, look for the unusual, the exotic, the stand outs. I know it's tempting to buy only pretty things, which you can (go ahead and still buy pretty things), but buy an "ugly" thing once in a while to spice it up. You might find that those are the things that stick with you the longest!
scale
What's the number one thing you see first in this photo taken of my number one thrifting find? The HUGE dragon. And that's what makes this fireplace cool. Let's break it down, shall we?
Going big requires confidence. And what is Fonzie, beyond his shellacked hair and his catchphrases? He has mastered the art of confidence. He can walk into ANY room and command it's full attention. And that's what this piece does. It takes you somewhere beyond the a mere decor object. As my friend Lara said, "It transports you." It evokes an emotional response, a nervous chuckle. You have suddenly entered it's orbit and slip into its vibe. Whatever you were feeling before, you forget in order to fully take in its existence.
Someone who wants their house to appear cool pays attention to the scale of things. Large scale pieces are hard to come by and are sometimes expensive, but when you do across something larger than life, whatever that might be, BUY IT. Go big. And if you have a few large scale pieces, you don't have to fill every little space with smaller things.
The dragon above represents large scale objects, but scale can also apply to an idea or an area. My favorite thing to do is to take an idea, like a paint color or wallpaper and go ALL the way with it. Take it to the ceiling! Commit to the idea and run with it. That's confidence.
I know it sounds weird, but people tend to ignore large scale objects and things because they feel like it's too much. But we're here now and it's just us. You and me. It's ok. You want to be cool. Me too. So I give you permission to be too much.
mixture of textures
This might not be a secret, but even if it isn't it bears repeating: always mix textures and finishes as much as possible. Just like a great outfit, a room or house must have a mix in order to appear aesthetically interesting. My no fail mix is always:
leather
chrome
brass
plastic
wood
velvet
chenille
wool
stone / cement
paper (books)
mirror
Layering these elements can also be daunting. If you feel like your room is getting too "wood-y", add some of the other elements into the mix and see how it feels. And likewise with the rest of the list. Or if you want to make it even more simple, always have a healthy mixture of nature made vs. machine made.
HIGH AND LOW
It might surprise, but some of the most beautiful and interesting homes on the internet are filled with Home Depot lights and Walmart cushions. In fact, Drew Barrymore has a pretty cool furniture and home decor line with Walmart! Cool people have the CONFIDENCE to not spend a ton of money on small items. How often have you asked a well dressed person where they got their jacket and they answered "Nordstrom Rack." I for one, am not on this cool level yet but I aspire to be.
PLANTS
All cool homes have plants. Mind you, it doesn't have to be in a jungle but some structural plants and succulents are just cool. I'm not sure why just yet, but every cool interior design project has plants. While I have you here, I guess I can postulate.
The reason why I love plants is that they offer an additional visual interest in addition to furniture, art, books, and decor objects. That's the boring reason.
Maybe the REAL reason is this. Much like making paella or knitting a hat, maintaining plants is another domestic discipline that we as a society admire. We love to reward domesticity -- whether it is decorating a cake, mastering the art of shelf styling or even throwing a successful dinner party. There's nothing wrong with it. Hell, I am here because I am attempting to master interior styling, arguably the MOST artistic form of domesticity, but I pose this: if you can take care of a plant, you get another Brownie badge. And I was a Brownie Girl through and through. In fact, one of the things I wanted to master this year was keeping plants alive. Big pat on the back for me!
But I do love plants. Check out the video below for my tips on how to water your little green babies.
So there you have it. You can be the UNcoolest person in the world and still have a cool house. And trust me, I'm am so so uncool. But in a way, the coolest person I know because I really don't care what people think of me.
