Decorating & Design
November 1, 2017
How To Decorate Like Sarah Richardson
A regular on the pages of House & Home, designer Sarah Richardson is an expert at creating elegant, livable spaces — and luckily, her Instagram account is chock-full of advice on how you can get the look at home. From fresh paint color ideas to kitchen design inspiration, click through for 40 of her best tips and tricks.
Consider a canopy bed. “Canopies aren’t just for princesses. A salvaged architectural fragment became the foundation for a gauzy linen canopy in [this] bedroom. Dressed in pale, foggy hues, it’s like being inside a cloud.”
Avoid bulky furniture in small spaces. “If you’ve got a small space and are worried about your furniture looking too heavy, or if you’re dealing with spaces that connect from one to the next, you might want to try using light and airy pieces that allow you to enjoy the sight lines from room to room, instead of blocking it with a wall of bulky furniture and upholstery.”
Mix blue and green. “Whoever said ‘blue and green should never been seen except in the washing machine’ is not on the same design page as yours truly! Blue-y greens and greeny blues are the very essence of my personal palette.”
Pick a hero hue. “When it comes to fabric schemes you know I always love a hero! And what’s not to love about a sea of bold and beautiful blues… Kid friendly doesn’t need to be juvenile, but playful and cheery is a must!”
Embrace vintage pieces, even in a new space. “A new house doesn’t need to mean new everything. Turn an antique desk into a vanity, [or] reimagine vintage sconces and a mirror with crisp white paint and voila… country soul for a new build.”
Pick a standout pattern. “I’ve always been a champion of the pattern mix, but sometimes all you need is one superstar. For [this] guest room in Sarah Off The Grid, I decided to go big with my new Sarouk rug fabric… It brings bold cherry energy to a lower-level space.”
Freshen up with florals. “[Create] a dramatic flower arrangement in a snap — literally! Look no further than the assortment of branches and blooms in your backyard. Snap off a twig or two to bring a little bit of spring freshness indoors!”
Think ahead when designing a space. “Bathrooms should be built and designed to withstand growing tastes.”
Fill an empty wall with architectural art. “Architectural prints are inexpensive art pieces that fill up a space with just the right amount of visual impact.”
Enliven a bedroom with color and pattern. “Want to leave the snow behind and escape to the tropics? Well, if you play your design cards right, you need not look further than your bedroom! This bright abode by Team SRD’s Lindsay Mens Craig and Allison Willson is a great example of how you can create a warm, sunny atmosphere at home with cheery color and pattern!”
Boost function with a hall tree. “Visually appealing in its own right, a hall tree is a great way to add both function and style to your entryway. Case in point — this space belonging to our own [Tiffany Leigh]!”
Furnish with found items. “[I] love the idea of incorporating travel finds into your decor! Team SRD’s Natalie Hodgins and Shannon Morrison did just that for this cottage kitchen — a pair of refurbished street lanterns from Paris that Natalie spotted locally adds just the right amount of drama to this kitchen.”
Mellow down with a muted palette. “Scallop, marble and peony create a muted pattern melody, perfect for the weekender who enjoys extended Sundays in bed with fresh coffee and croissants.”
Go glam with grasscloth. “Grasscloth can add texture and warmth to any space. Feast your eyes on team SRD’s Allison Willson’s sophisticated bedside vignette… Gold fixtures and accessories set against a deep plum backdrop is just divine!”
Make rooms pop with pastel. “Are you all about soft, soothing colors? Try elevating your neutral digs with pops of pastels.”
Create a gallery wall of antique paintings. “Turn your living space into an art gallery with a curated collection of antique paintings, just like team SRD’s Lindsay Mens Craig and Laura Fremont did for this client’s family room.”
Refresh with paint. “It’s a match! This refurbished vintage nightstand goes perfectly with our Pomegranate bedding ensemble. It’s amazing what a little paint can do to enhance the look of your furniture — and ultimately, the entire space!”
Draw inspiration from nature. “Nature often provides the best design inspiration. Team SRD’s [Lindsay Mens Craig and Laura Fremont] designed this warm and elegant powder room for a client’s lake house in Muskoka.”
Cozy up with cotton. “When it comes to peaceful slumbers, it’s all about 100% cotton bed linens that are crisp and smooth. A cozy throw blanket is also a must-have!”
Be bold with your backsplash. “If you want to create visual impact in your kitchen, try installing white backsplash tiles in a herringbone pattern with black grout for a sharp contrast. Rustic wood trim and furniture add warmth to strike just the right balance in this kitchen designed by Simo Design.”
Embrace open shelving. “Every kitchen could benefit from open shelving, if not for the undeniable convenience of having your everyday essentials at your fingertips, then for the charming #shelfiedisplays! This spacious kitchen designed by Studio McGee makes prep work and entertaining a breeze.”
Embrace a modern, monochromatic palette. “Keeping it monochromatic and modern is clearly a good idea! This living room by Tamara Magel Design boasts charcoal-grey painted window trim and shiplap ceiling, [and] creamy white furnishings with wool and wicker accents to strike just the right balance between cool and cozy.”
Cozy up your bedroom with a sofa. “The foot of the bed is just the beginning! Max out your bedroom’s Zen potential with a two-seater sofa at the foot of the bed. It’s the perfect spot to encourage leisurely mornings with a good book and a cup of coffee.”
Warm up your bathroom with texture. “Minimal meets rustic in this gorgeous bathroom designed by Toronto-based Jennifer Worts. If you’re looking to make a statement with textural elements that will warm up your bathroom, a reclaimed wood floating vanity with a complementary set of mirrors is a great place to start!”
Get thrifty with flea market finds. “Thrift, flea market or antique furniture finds typically come with that pre-loved patina and that can be a very good thing. Small dents and scratches, and even worn-off paint can make a piece look unique and well-suited to a country-style space.”
Add detail with a chair rail. “An elevated chair rail helps bring a room down to size, allowing you to build vignettes that make your space quaint and cozy. A small mirror, table lamp, dresser and chair all nestle below the rail to anchor your eye among the warm surroundings.”
Use built-ins to define the area between two spaces. “Built-ins are a great way to subtly delineate two separate spaces. In this case, the cottage dining room and living room are separated by a conjoining built-in sofa and banquette that has convenient drawers for storage facing the dining room, while the flip side contains all the cozy seating for lounging.”
Maximize bathroom function and style with towel hooks. “Towel bars are cool and all, but they’re not your only option for hanging towels. A row of three hooks installed at towel-bar height allows you to keep the same function and convenience of a towel bar, but with added flair. When hooked, the towels will fall gracefully and symmetrically, making for a more interesting display of bath towels.”
Display reminders in a creative way. “A chalkboard by the door [of this] cottage is a convenient spot for jotting down reminders and friendly messages.”
Opt for double-duty furniture. “Take a good-looking piece of furniture and double the function and I’m sold! The daybed in this lounge lets the room be used as extra sleeping quarters in lieu of a guest room.”
Impress with fabric. “A simple stool upholstered in an eye-catching fabric will prove just as useful to your space as it is beautiful!”
Perk up a space with pattern. “There’s nothing a polka dot can’t perk up! When it comes to choosing a fabric scheme, don’t shy away from mixing patterns. Just try to ensure your selections aren’t too predictable. In this case, the bird fabric is sophisticated and classic, so it needs to be lightened up by more playful elements, such as the oversized apricot polka dot and cheerful banded bedding.”
Love entertaining? Keep extra sleeping space in mind. “Cottage living is all about family and guests, so having extra sleeping space is key. These built-ins were original to the cottage and pull out to create two extra beds in the living room. They were designed to take a standard size twin mattress that slides back into the bedrest when used as a sofa (so the seats aren’t too deep), and the ends that form the armrests are fitted with little drawers for cards, games and art supplies — talk about clever design!”
Frame an entryway for country character. “When country character is what you crave, think about ways that you can add detail and create interest to help marry your space and chosen style. Try framing an entryway using antique corbels, spindles and salvaged architectural elements, like I did here at [my] farm. Installing decorative additions sparingly will go a long way in helping you achieve the look you desire.”
Punch up a plain hallway with art. “Hallways tend to offer plenty of wall space that can be utilized to inject some personality into your home. This art piece by Angela Leach is acrylic on board and has so much juicy color and movement that it’s next to impossible not to stop over for a moment and take it all in as you pass through to the next room.”
Use a console to fill space behind a sofa. “Looking for a creative way to fill the blank wall space behind your sofa? Try adding a narrow console table between the wall and your sofa, then place a tall vase on the table filled with large branches of apple or cherry blossoms and position it adjacent to a generously-sized piece of art or frame. The result it whimsical and dramatic, plus it’s a great alternative to a gallery wall.”
Hang art in unexpected places for a one-of-a-kind look. “If you’ve got a staircase like this one, you may not consider the wall span to be the right place to hang a fairly large-scale piece of art. Au contraire! The steps allow the art frame to nestle evenly between a riser and tread. This treatment makes sufficient use of wall space and helps give the space an overall tailored look.”
For a restful retreat in the bathroom, embrace a neutral palette. “It’s impossible to go wrong with a naturally neutral palette in a bathroom. Classic, pure-white elements paired with the soft striations of a limestone floor and chair-rail accent band create a warm environment rooted in a muted palette.”
Use stacked shelves to create a colorful focal point. “Stacked shelves are an excellent opportunity to create a colorful focal wall filled with your favorite pieces of pottery, decorative glass, vintage finds and even books with colorful spines. At [my] cottage, everything came with its original contents when we bought it, including the kitchen dishes that blended seamlessly with the new decor theme. [I] proudly displayed them on the original shelves and [was] super happy with the result!”
Get creative with wall panelling in place of a headboard. “There’s no rule that says your panelling needs to run vertically or horizontally. Installing wide pine boards in a chevron pattern creates interest on the wall and eliminates the need for a headboard.”