To do interior decoration is to create an ambience. Colour, music, scent and light are an integral part of the decor.
Decorating your home is like creating a work of art or getting to grips with a recipe – you must put your heart, your whole self, into it.
I don’t do interior design to create something perfect. Beauty can often be found in something flawed and what I need, above all, is harmony and authenticity.
Our homes should make us feel good, reassured and soothed, providing a break from our frantic lives. In this book I’ve endeavoured to give you a whole raft of little tips and ideas – a jumble of things you can either do yourself or get someone else to do for you – things, I hope, that will make you want to look after your home, and therefore yourself, too.
A white wood floor
Zoé advises using proper floor paint, which is hardwearing
and easy to cleanZoé de las Cases
Many people wonder how to paint, and live with, a white wood floor.
But dark-coloured floors often show the dirt more than light-coloured ones and, with good-quality paint and varnish, white wood flooring is both very easy to clean and very agreeable to live with.
Moreover, it’s often a good choice because it brings so much light and warmth into an interior.
There’s no point in choosing high-quality wood flooring; budget-priced pine will do the job perfectly well.
Whether the boards are wide or narrow, or an assortment of the two, the secret lies in not pressing them too close together, so that the paint, once applied, allows the planks to stand out.
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Therein lies the whole charm of wooden flooring and avoids it looking like laminate.
White wood flooring is suitable for all rooms in the house, from the basement to the attic.
However, it’s best avoided in the entrance hall of a house in the country, or where there is a door to the garden, if people are wont to come in with their boots still on. There are limits!
We often accumulate objects that have no practical value – holiday souvenirs, small treasures picked up on the beach, things that catch our fancy in a brocante.
We like having them close to us because seeing them comforts and inspires us. With my penchant for hoarding, my bookcases can look like shop displays.
The thing is, though, you need to know how to bring all these objects together, to marry them up and stage them, so to speak.
If every object is to charm your senses and nourish your soul, each needs to find its right place.
Take your time over arranging them, removing some while retaining others. Some objects complement each other; others spoil the whole effect. Seek out harmony!
Although I’m a great frequenter of flea markets and second-hand sales of every kind, I don’t confine myself to old or second-hand objects.
After all, there’s no better way to bring out the charm of old things than to juxtapose them with more contemporary ones – for example, an old painting alongside a very simple, sleek vase, or a toy wooden house next to pared-back books and magazines.
Be quirky and mix things up. New stories will be written and told, and your home will become truly unique.
Lighting attracts a lot of debate in the world of interior decoration.
Choosing lighting is always a headache on a project: the range on offer isn’t vast, and yet lamps and lampshades are crucial to the look of a room.
I tend to favour wall lights in ceramic or metal, wicker shades that bring a holiday-home feel, or a cluster of filament bulbs in ceramic sockets suspended from fabric-covered cable.
Avoid ceiling lights and lamps with too much glare, as these make rooms feel cold and impersonal.
Lighting
Vary the height of pendant lights to create interest above your dining tableZoé de las Cases
Pay meticulous attention to how you use lighting in your rooms.
I avoid ceiling lights and spotlights, which flatten the shadows in a room as even the most beautiful interior can look unwelcoming if it’s badly lit.
Instead of a single powerful light source, I prefer to have several lamps placed in different corners to create pools of light.
Choose light bulbs that emit a warmer yellow-hued light rather than a colder blue-toned white.
And, of course, always have a large stock of candles to hand – essential for creating a cosy ambience once the sun has gone down.
Buying second-hand is a pleasure and a sport. To get the best bargains, you need to be up with the lark and the first to arrive. But there’s more to it than that.
Buying preloved furniture and other objects, besides being a cheaper and more environmentally friendly form of consumption, is a good way of bringing personality to your interior decor.
With their patina, history and unique character, these objects often add more charm and elegance than many things you can buy new.
For those who don’t have the time to wander around flea markets, brocantes, car boot or garage sales, there are now many online outlets – Instagram included – that offer very attractive selections.
In France we have La Petite Brocanteuse or Vide Déco, for example; and in the UK, AptDeco and Chairish, among many others.
I have a real passion for flowers, doubtless inherited from my grandmother whose great pastime was tending her cutting garden. For me, they are the soul of a house, bringing it grace, freshness and a sense of romance.
Whether in pots or cut, I arrange them according to my mood and the season, and place them in every room.
Keeping your house filled with flowers all year round can be expensive, so you could grow your own if you have a garden or gather wildflowers (being careful not to uproot the whole plant as this can be illegal).
I’ve been known to stop three times on a car journey to pick flowers from the roadside. There are also more and more farms that offer pick-your-own flower experiences.
Making up bouquets of wildflowers is a soothing, meditative activity – a good opportunity to recharge in nature, justify a walk, and bring some of that sweetness back into your home.
La Maison by Zoé de Las Cases. Published by Mitchell Beazley, priced £30. Photography: Zoé De Las Cases
