In a world where instant-gratification options range from Ikea to eBay, the thought of decorating a house slowly is practically sacrilegious.
But Bunny Williams, a Manhattan decorator and co-owner of the shop Treillage, believes in waiting to get things right.
“A lot of people want it all and they want it now,” Williams says. “So they buy inexpensive things that don’t last.”
Even worse, they miss out on the delicious process of self-discovery that goes along with decorating. If anyone knows just how delicious that discovery is, it’s Williams, who has spent 30 years perfecting her 18th-century Connecticut house and its legendary gardens.
As she explains in her new book, “An Affair With a House” (Abrams, $55), she had no qualms about letting the living room sit empty for four years.
“I painted it white and put in a garden bench,” Williams says. “Which meant there was plenty of room for the tree every Christmas.”
Young and short on funds, she began with the necessities: the kitchen for eating, bedroom for sleeping and the library for a sofa and the books she adores. Every weekend she stalked estate sales, where she recommends today’s young shoppers look for upholstered furniture.
“For $100 or $150 you can find a very good sofa or chair,” Williams says. “Granted, you have to find fabric and get it recovered, but that just gives you a chance to personalize.” An upholsterer easily can add a skirt or pad the back.
How can you know if a piece is good quality? Turn it upside down, examine the springs and make sure the joints are sturdy and well-crafted, with no signs of staples. Check the cushions. If they’re down, you’re in business. If they’re foam rubber, keep looking.
Take time to educate your eye by wandering through high- end antiques and decorating shops. Don’t worry about the price tags.
“It’s important to explore your taste,” Williams says. “I spent a lot of years looking at things and learning about what I liked.”
Here are some elements of style she’s come to rely upon.
Tea tables. Measuring 24 to 26 inches in height, they stand taller than a coffee table, making it easy to reach for a book or select an hors d’oeuvre without bending over.
Indian bedspreads. With their beautifully printed borders, Indian bedspreads are great for draping over round tables. Off-duty, Williams hangs them with her other tablecloths on open-ended pants hangers in her pantry.
Beautiful dog accessories. Williams’ favorite beds for her three dogs are leopard-spotted faux fur pillows from wallybed.com. For water dishes, she likes to use old tureens missing their lids. She stows leashes in a beautiful umbrella stand or tucks them in a basket by the door.
Lots of throws. Williams wraps them around sofa cushions favored by her four-legged friends and tosses them in the wash as needed.
TVs out in the open. Williams believes TVs should be situated in living rooms – in plain sight. “If you put a TV in a cupboard, the doors will be open all the time anyway,” Williams says. Her preference is a flat-screen TV set in a bookcase so it’s out in the open, but integrated into the decor.
“People need a reason to use a living room,” says Williams, who suggests including a desk, small laptop and phone.
Mirrors intermingled with art. “A mirror reflects light and adds a smooth, shiny element on the wall,” says Williams, who started out collecting mirrors when she was young and couldn’t afford art.
Williams, who believes decorating is a lifelong quest, is always on the prowl for treasure. When guests visit her in Connecticut, they know to listen for the sound of the honking horn on Saturday mornings. It’s Williams’ cue that an antiquing adventure is about to begin.
