Home Decoration

They say that moving is one of the most stressful experiences that you go through in life, but for me moving was easy- it was getting my new place fully furnished that was the challenge. The removal men said that my move was one of the quickest and easiest they had ever done- there was no bed, tables or anything like that since I did not have any such items that were worth moving. I recently purchased my own place for the first time (or more accurately got my first mort-gage), and started from scratch in decorating it because I did not have any furniture and because my new place is much larger than the last.

I soon learned that decorating a place is a complex project since there are many elements that go into turning an empty space into a home- beds, sofas, coffee table, dining tables and chairs, side tables, kitchen, new lighting, storage heaters, stereo system, TV, DVD, video, digital TV box, curtains, plus lots of small decisions such as shelves, laundry baskets, crockery, fire alarms, clocks, lamps, telephones and the like.

For example, my kitchen was a major project involving the coordination of floors, worktops, appliances, kitchen units, tiling, painting, plumbing, fitting etc. I ended up with an amazing kitchen with a large American fridge freezer, integrated espresso machine, Corian worktops, Amtico floor and some of the finest kitchen units and appliances available. It's a wonderful kitchen well worth waiting for but it did take a few months for everything to arrive.

All these things must coordinate with each other, be paid for and arrive on time. Money was not a big issue for me- I did not really have a budget limit which helped, and I was able to call upon my father's expert electricians, kitchen fitters, decorators, plumbers and the like.

I purchased a few home decoration magazines and soon fell in love with New England style- whites and blues plus dark brown furniture- I was living on a river so this theme was in keeping with a well-lit place with great views. An old lady had been living there before me so the place needed bringing into the 21st century with new lighting etc.- wall lights and chandeliers were replaced with spot lights integrated into the roofs and brown carpets gave way to cornfield blue.

The biggest issue I had was the delivery timescales that it is necessary to endure when purchasing furniture in the UK- there is a typical 4 to 10 week delay in goods being delivered after ordering. I would have been OK if everything could have been delivered when I wanted! The furniture makers keep no stock because of the money that would be tied up in inventory is too great, and much of the furniture is made overseas which meant it needed bringing over by sea to the UK. I was in a position to give a store a couple of thousand pounds for a furniture I could take there and then- but could not find any takers! I felt ashamed at being British at that point and could see why the Ikea model- flat pack stuff that is well designed that you can walk away with- is so popular. The just in time production systems are more convenient for the producer than the customer. This is the dilemma- the most expensive goods are just those that should be available quickly since he who pays the piper should call the tune. I prefer the American way of having cash and getting something you want when you want it.

Hundreds of decisions go into decorating your ideal home- lots of time, stress and expense. And by the time you have furnished everything, it is of course time to start updating the d'cor again'..
 

Author: Simon Buckingham

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