LBD (Little Black Dress)
When it comes to interior design and styling, I often find myself referencing the LBD (Little Black Dress) – a wardrobe staple for women throughout the ages, and one nearly every woman knows and loves. “How does a dress relate to an interior?” you may be asking – well, I’ll tell you…
A little black dress can be styled and accessorised in countless ways. A clever gal could wear the same LBD for a week and make it look different every time with some well-planned accessorising. A great pair of shoes, some funky jewellery, a scarf, a hat, a bag – the list goes on – can transform that simple item into countless different looks.
In the design industry, we see trends come and go faster than you can say “Little Black Dress”. One day it’s velvet, the next day it’s boucle, and the day after that everything is suddenly curved. If being trendy is your thing – by all means indulge – you can have it all without going all the way.
A sofa or a bed, for example – even a wall, a window, or a buffet unit for that matter – is like an LBD. You can style them a hundred different ways and give them a new look and feel every time. You can dress them up, you can dress them down – you can indulge all your Instagram fantasies without reinventing the wheel. Soft furnishings and small homewares are your friends. Not every tired interior needs a total overhaul – sometimes, it’s just some clever styling and accessorising that’s in order, a' la our good and faithful friend, the LBD.
Invest in your foundation pieces – the bigger ticket items like upholstered furniture. Avoid the passing trends here and go for classic shapes and tones (classic can be modern, contemporary, traditional – whatever your core personal style is). From here, you can layer, drape, place, toss, and strew all kinds of small to medium-ticket items that can be changed or rearranged on a whim.
If my parental advice of ‘not going all the way’ is too reminiscent of your teenage years, I have a hack for that too – slip covers! Many companies are offering sofa, chair, and even bedhead slip covers in lots of different and fun patterns and prints. So, if life calls for a little more pizzazz than an LBD, you can slip on a little something special when the mood strikes.
