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DECORATING | ADVICE

Rita

Notes

RITA’S
RITA KONIG considers PICKS
the influence of
US decoration
on her own style

PHOTOGRAPH JAMES MERRELL

he six years that I spent
living in New York has
definitely changed the
way that I decorate.
T The most obvious in-
fluence was the brightness; I find
that, as a general rule, rooms in the
States are lighter, brighter and Rita outside her apartment
also less cluttered. They are not as in New York’s West Village WALLPAPER
big on curtains as we are, and I love I love the silhouette
the way that Americans paint their quality of this
floorboards. White floorboards bounce the light on hall tables for sunglasses and keys. Relatively design, which I’ve
around and give a room that pretty glow I always inconsequential things are elevated in stature while used in a bedroom.
associate with East Coast style. Pale grey floors and also being tidily organised. Even in kitchens, the olive ‘First Bloom’
white walls are a classic canvas that allows for the oil, salt and pepper by the stove look less ordinary. (night blossom),
relaxed decoration that Americans are so good at. Working for Domino magazine taught me a lot, by Tyler Hall,
The grand decorators go a step further and do all mostly about how to do things much more simply. 68cm wide, £168

sorts of things, such as painting hexagonal or Instead of curtains that are two-and-a-half times the a 10-metre roll,
zig-zag designs on floors and ‘runners’ on staircases. width of the window and lined and interlined, I’d see available in the UK
Bunny Mellon did this a lot to great effect. less formal drapes (as they call them) hanging simply. from Tissus d’Hélène
There is a group of American interior designers These are so much lighter and more easy-going than tissusdhelene.co.uk
to whom I refer again and again in my work: Billy ours – and, of course, so much cheaper to produce.
Baldwin, Albert Hadley, Steven Gambrel and Tom Americans also spend much more time decorating
Scheerer are among the highly talented decorators their rented apartments, which is so liberating.
whose work I absorbed while living there. Steven When you move out, you just have to return your
trained as an architect and it’s his architectural apartment to the same white box you took on. If you
detailing that I love. He always pays great attention take on a place thinking that you are going to have
to the colours he applies to the windows and wood- to paint it when you leave – which isn’t a huge deal TRAY
work in a room – it’s a detail often neglected, but – you can have a much nicer time while you live I have one of these
makes such a difference when done well. I would there, with pictures on the walls and paint colours or by my bed for my
really recommend his book, Steven Gambrel: Time & wallpapers that you like around you. creams and pillow
Place (Abrams, £35), to anyone working on a house The other great idea I picked up has been panelling spray. Lacquer ‘Small
and getting stuck on all those small bits in a room. walls with wooden boards. I know that tongue and Belles Rives Tray’
Trays, strangely, are a household item that took on groove has become wildly overused, but I haven’t (bordeaux red), by
a whole new role for me. I was even inspired to design finished with mixed-width boards on the walls and Rita Konig for The
my own range. Americans use them in abundance for I am using horizontal ones a lot, too. They are so Lacquer Company,
corralling all sorts of things. As well as on drinks charming when used in small rooms and give more 3.5 x 28 x 20cm,
tables, they are used on side tables with little vases on definition than flat paint. A good tip is to randomly £115, from Rita
them, by beds, on coffee tables in powder rooms, and mix the widths and go as wide as you can Konig ritakonig.com

Charles Beckley (chbeckley.com) is the American supplier I miss the most. It is a family business based WING CHAN PHOTOGRAPHY; JODY TODD
in the Bronx that makes the most fabulous beds – and has been doing so since 1931. This is where
all the big-name designers go for their beds. The factory is quite amazing – like stepping back in time.

82 NOVEMBER 2015 HOUSEANDGARDEN.CO.UK