To Newlyweds Decorating Their First Home
We were so young & the moulding was so pretty!
I get asked a zillion different questions every day, and as a bossy firstborn girl, I LIVE for answering them. Telling people what to do is my love language! And the most delightful question I’ve been asked in a while comes from a newlywed seeking design advice for her first marital abode. Which home staples should she invest in? And which fun (read: not expensive) art & decor can she add to the mix?
Girl, you came to the right place. Priss & Vinegar was originally born to answer this question back when I myself was a newlywed decorating my first home. It was a 1908 Edwardian flat with ten-foot ceilings & spectacular moulding, a rather intimidating first project if I’m being honest. It felt so grand & formal, like decorating it required a certain amount of respect (I could do that) and skill (yikes).
And heavens, did I make mistakes! There were some sheer curtains that weren’t even long enough to touch the floor (what?), splurging and saving on the wrong pieces, and a back garden rich with potential I never bothered with until I staged the flat for sale.
But I also kind of crushed it. Many of the pieces acquired during this time still have pride of place in my current home. Here’s what I would do allllll over again if I were a newlywed setting up house for the very first time:
Invest in significant pieces. I’m talking upholstered sofas, beautiful rugs, the kinds of pieces that can be repurposed in future homes. A well-constructed sofa can always be recovered, so the long-term value proposition is fairly compelling.
Same goes for high-quality, wool or sisal rugs, which wear far better than any inexpensive synthetic. One of my favorite wool carpet tricks: shop carpet discounted carpet remnants that can be cut & bound into area rugs. I did this SO MANY times, you guys.
Know when to save. You can find great side tables at estate sales or even on Amazon. Same goes for lamp bases, occasional chairs, bar carts, art, ginger jars, antique silver bowls, and decorative objets (I bought my Staffordshire Dogs from a guy selling stuff off a folding table at a flea market, you guys.) I curated an edit of my Amazon furniture & decor favorites here!
Paint is your friend. I’ve worked some serious magic on inexpensive pieces with a bucket of Farrow & Ball paint. A Target bar cart painted in “Railings” has been a dining room bar & is current a primary bedroom coffee station. A heavy, brown wood cabinet became charming kitchen storage with a coat of “Cooking Apple Green.” A fresh coat of paint can also transform a room, and you only have to pay for materials if you do it yourself. Sweat equity, baby!
Splurge on high-end details. Maybe you can’t afford the wallpaper of your dreams, but you can probably afford gorgeous hardware. We replaced all of the doorknobs in one of our homes with stunning crystal egg knobs & it made allllll the difference. Other great splurges within reason are designer lampshades (I’ve topped many an estate sale find with a Fermoie shade), designer throw pillows, and custom window treatments.
Become an antiques & estate sale shopper. See also: Facebook Marketplace. (Just be safe, please!)
Use the newest technology! Can’t afford an electrician to hardwire sconces in your home? No big whoop, because now they make battery-powered sconces you can just hang on the wall. Wallpaper not in your budget? It can be if you’re willing to put the time into installing peel & stick faux grasscloth, which I have used & LOVE in my own home. I only wish this stuff had existed fifteen years ago!
Get professional help. Not that kind! Interior designers have expertise and access that can benefit projects of all sizes, and the advent of services like The Expert makes engaging them SO much easier. Whether you can afford an hour or more substantial help, a designer’s time is a worthy investment.
Be patient. Instagram can be an insidious beast, convincing you one square at a time that everyone else’s house looks perfect & yours is ugly so you should never have people over ever again. My goodness. There is always a mess or an unfinished project lurking beyond the borders of each perfect grid, so get over it & enjoy the process. A collected, layered, deeply personal home is never truly “finished”!
Scroll through for Priss & Vinegar’s edit of chic finds for your first home that won't bust your budget or have major lead-times…