FREDERIC’s first-ever book, Decorate Like a Decorator: All You Need to Know to Design Like a Pro, pulls back the curtain on the tried-and-true tips and tricks that take spaces to the next level. From stripes on the bias and mirrored backsplashes to creating architecture with paint, there are more than 100 brilliant ideas from top decorators around the world. Read on for an exclusive peek at one of the book’s must-read chapters.
Decorate Like a Decorator: All You Need to Know to Design Like a Pro by Dara Caponigro with Melinda Page, $70, shopschumacher.com
A properly skirted table gives a room instant presence. With more visual weight than most bare-legged furniture, it can anchor a space while also softening a scheme’s literal and figurative edges. Fabric skirts provide an opportunity for injecting pattern and color that can boost the personality of a space in a way that case goods can’t—not to mention increasing the possibilities for concealed storage. So go ahead, pick a table, any table…it’s an open invitation for skirting!
CENTER TABLES
A skirted table in the foyer is a beloved decorating trope for good reason: It adds softness and focus to a spare space built to accommodate constant traffic. Markham Roberts layered an antique paisley textile over brown linen to conjure up a bohemian mood in his Hudson Valley home.
DRESSING TABLES
Charlotte Barnes skirted a vintage kidney-shape table she found years ago in Bermuda with a gathered cream-color fabric, upping the feminine ante in her dressing room.
BEDSIDE TABLES
Brian McCarthy added graphic pattern to a serene blue-and-white bedroom with a structured skirted table in Aruba II fabric by China Seas, topping it off with glass for practicality. An added bonus: It also serves as extra storage.
Bespoke Tablecloths
Fashioned to exact dimensions, a custom tablecloth shows the world you’ve thought of everything. A romantic floral stripe (Le Castellet fabric by Schumacher) offers a stark juxtaposition to the spare and airy dining room of Elizabeth Mayhew, decorating expert and baker extraordinaire, where it pairs well with a prized collection of antique china.
Out-of-the-Box Shapes
Circles and rectangles aren’t the only options for successful skirts. Varied geometric profiles can energize a space and give it just the right dollop of interest. Colette van den Thillart whipped up her own take on John Fowler’s iconic octagonal library-cum-dining table with a box-pleated skirt accented with jewel tones.
Subtle Detailing
In his own Los Angeles dining room, Mark D. Sikes went all out with classic blue-and-white gingham (Brunschwig & Fils Carsten check) even using it to create a custom tablecloth. Note how the pattern is turned on the diagonal to create a wide border at the bottom.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
In the formal hall of her New York home, FREDERIC editor-in-chief Dara Caponigro draped a console table in waxed linen, creating a loose-and-relaxed moment with all the insouciant chic of a painter’s drop cloth.
Excerpted from Decorate Like A Decorator: All You Need to Know to Design Like a Pro by Dara Caponigro with Melinda Page. Grab a signed copy here!
