Rita Notes: US Style
Rita Konig considers the influence of US decoration on her own style
The six years that I spent living in New York has definitely changed the way that I decorate. The most obvious influence was the brightness; I find that, as a general rule, rooms in the States are lighter, brighter and also less cluttered. They are not as big on curtains as we are, and I love the way that Americans paint their floorboards. White floorboards bounce the light around and give a room that pretty glow I always associate with East Coast style. Pale grey floors and white walls are a classic canvas that allows for the relaxed decoration that Americans are so good at. The grand decorators go a step further and do all sorts of things, such as painting hexagonal or zig-zag designs on floors and 'runners' on staircases. Bunny Mellon did this a lot to great effect.
There is a group of American interior designers to whom I refer again and again in my work: Billy Baldwin, Albert Hadley, Steven Gambrel and Tom Scheerer are among the highly talented decorators whose work I absorbed while living there. Steven trained as an architect and it's his architectural detailing that I love. He always pays great attention to the colours he applies to the windows and woodwork in a room - it's a detail often neglected, but makes such a difference when done well. I would really recommend his book, Steven Gambrel: Time & Place (Abrams, £35), to anyone working on a house and getting stuck on all those small bits in a room.
Trays, strangely, are a household item that took on a whole new role for me. I was even inspired to __design my own range. Americans use them in abundance for corralling all sorts of things. As well as on drinks tables, they are used on side tables with little vases on them, by beds, on coffee tables in powder rooms, and on hall tables for sunglasses and keys. Relatively inconsequential things are elevated in stature while also being tidily organised. Even in kitchens, the olive oil, salt and pepper by the stove look less ordinary.
Working for Domino magazine taught me a lot, mostly about how to do things much more simply. Instead of curtains that are two-and-a-half times the width of the window and lined and interlined, I'd see less formal drapes (as they call them) hanging simply. These are so much lighter and more easy-going than ours - and, of course, so much cheaper to produce.
Americans also spend much more time decorating their rented apartments, which is so liberating. When you move out, you just have to return your apartment to the same white box you took on. If you take on a place thinking that you are going to have to paint it when you leave - which isn't a huge deal - you can have a much nicer time while you live there, with pictures on the walls and paint colours or wallpapers that you like around you.
The other great idea I picked up has been panelling walls with wooden boards. I know that tongue and groove has become wildly overused, but I haven't finished with mixed-width boards on the walls and I am using horizontal ones a lot, too. They are so charming when used in small rooms and give more definition than flat paint. A good tip is to randomly mix the widths and go as wide as you can.
Rita's Picks
Wallpaper - I love the silhouette quality of this design, which I've used in a bedroom. 'First Bloom' (night blossom), by Tyler Hall,68cm wide, £168 a 10-metre roll, available in the UK from Tissus d'Hélène tissusdhelene.co.uk
Tray - I have one of these by my bed for my creams and pillow spray. Lacquer 'Small Belles Rives Tray' (bordeaux red), by Rita Konig for The Lacquer Company, 3.5 x 28 x 20cm, £115, from Rita Konig ritakonig.com
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