It’s Time To Give Undecorating A Shot

Today’s most fashionable interiors reflect the quirks and passions of the people who live in them. Welcome to the world of undecorating.

DÉCOR TREND ALERT | In the world of interior design, undecorating is enjoying a moment. Undecorating, for the uninitiated, is what happens when stylish people forgo convention in favour of fearlessness, expressing their own eclectic, eccentric, creative, adventurous sides in the way they beautify their homes. The bible for the movement, published this past March, is Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design by Christiane Lemieux, a Canadian expat living in Manhattan. She is also the creative force behind DwellStudio, an immensely successful online emporium for modern décor that includes Lemieux’s own covetable textiles and bedding.

While Lemieux’s picture book celebrates individuality with visits to the fresh, uncon-ventionally decorated homes of mostly artists, designers and passionate amateur decorators, let’s be honest: these places really are more “done up” than they are undecorated. Every one of them is a calculated expression of personal style.

That said, what her book does most beautifully— and with plenty of good examples—is to reinforce the idea that the look of a home should be an expression of the people who live there, not something contrived by a hired gun. This doesn’t mean undecorators would never benefit from the services of an interior designer. It’s just means that if they engage one, they need to make sure the pro is more interested in expressing the client’s personality than his or her own.

DO IT YOURSELF
8 Elements Of Undecorated Style

1. Make Your Home Absolutely All About You
2. Create Spaces That Are Comfy And Friendly
3. Heavy Up On Props and Accessories
4. Learn How To Assemble Tableaux
5. Mix and Match Furnishings Unpredictably
6. Add Elements That Surprise
7. Remember Quirky Is Always Cool
8. Show Off Ingenuity Not Bucks

Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design, published by Clarkson Potter, is available online at www.chapters.indigo.ca. Some of the most interesting examples of undecorating can also be found at one of our favourite websites www.theselby.com. Check out DwellStudio at www.dwellstudio.com.

Photos: Melanie Acevedo, Clarkson Potter