I'm Clueless!

by Andrew
(Guildford)

I live in a beautiful converted chapel but, like most men, I am clueless when it comes to decorating. A friend, whose taste I have always admired, says that I have used too much Magnolia and that I need more colour to create a real impact. My curtains are quite patterned - a bit like a tapestry - and are in shades of gold and rust.

My friend is coming to visit again soon and I would love to surprise her - what do you suggest?

I also have a number of porcelain figurines that she thinks I should get rid of - she can't be right about that, surely...?

Andrea's Response:

Hi Andrew and thank you for your question.

It can be hard to introduce colour into your home when you are used to more neutral tones so I would suggest you ease yourself in gently by adding just one coloured wall to a room.

You can create quite an impact just by having one wall in a different colour and you would probably be best advised to pick one of the colours from your curtains. The fact that it is only one wall also means that it is easy to repaint if you find that you are really just not happy with it and want to revert to Magnolia.

As far as the porcelain is concerned, again, I must agree with your friend. To me a porcelain figurine is only appropriate on the mantlepiece of a lady in her 70s so unless that is you, I suggest you may want to have a look at selling on eBay.