Simple, easy, real
July 20, 2008
More and more of you are getting in touch via the wonderful internet so I have cranked up the technology to start an online conversation. My forthcoming posts will hopefully inspire and help you to make your spaces a little more divine. For those new to Pure Style here’s some info:
My style has always been simple: more flip flop than high heel. I feel happiest in rooms that are informal or gardens that grow unselfconsciously. I prefer natural textures and ordinary everyday things around the home ( the humble pudding basin is a favourite ) and the minimum of fuss or pretension.
Well that’s the theory. I have to admit that living with three teenage children puts my visual narrative to a daily test. The current plea for wall to wall carpets is happily out of the question financially so that’s where the argument ends. Their bedrooms are excluded from my clutches, and reflect the fact.
When I wrote my first book, Pure Style (1996), the idea of simplicity and being deliberately economical was considered rather odd. Interior decoration then was much more about being posh and showing off. The wider the pelmet the bigger the ego, that sort of thing.
I ran the gauntlet when styling features. Editors were bemused, why is there so much white, where are the curtains and why are there so few pictures on the walls? Even our lovely old creaking house which appeared as a cover story in Elle Decoration was criticised as looking poor – in the monetary sense that is.
But the issue was a best selling one, so I must have been doing something right. I think its success reflected the growing number of people who were tired of the swagged and draped look which costs a bomb and only really works in the sort of grand country house from which it is derived. (By the way, the luscious chintz interiors in the film of Ian McEwan’s Atonement are fabulous examples- do go and see) Country house style in suburban sitting rooms, however, is a harder act to follow. I felt that there had to be another way. Design should be democratic, for everyone, not just those with fat wallets.
My look is all about making life luxurious not in a costly glitzy sense, but in a more matter of fact, practical and natural way. It’s not supposed to be perfect either. It’s more about being creative with what you’ve got and reining in expectations. What with all the talk of credit crunches, recession and going green, it’s right in step with the move towards less consumption and more concern for the environment. Hooray for simple spaces, eco paint, jumble sales and less clutter.
Pure Style’s time has come? Let me know what you think.
Jane
PS. The picture below is the tv room in my house where I’ve painted junk cupboards in white eggshell and covered the biggest tv friendly sofa I could find in striped cotton ticking. Just so you know, the screen is lurking out of frame becauce I’m a typical stylist and think it would spoil the shot.
Comments (8) Tags: Simple
I have all your books and absolutely love them. I frequently read them to keep me on the straignt and narrow and for extra inspiration. We live in a cottage (in Australia), so your simple, pared back ideas are just what our old house needs. Keep adding to the website (it is my home page)! Kindest regards
Comment by jane | July 20, 2008 @ 6:43 pmAlison
Posted by: Alison | 05 May 2008 on my former Blog
So glad you started up your notebook again. Sometimes just skimming through one of your books is enough to set me straight if I’m veering off-course into the traps of neurotic, modern suburban life. Who cares about those Joneses anyway. Can’t thank you enough!
Comment by jane | July 20, 2008 @ 6:44 pmPosted by: DC | 31 March 2008 on my former Blog
Greetings from New York! Ever since I first saw your books in 2002, I have been a fan. I love how they combine traditional styles with an open, practical feeling. I hope to see more of your styling in the near future. Best,
Comment by jane | July 20, 2008 @ 6:44 pmLizzy
Posted by: Lizzy | 30 March 2008 on my former Blog
Of course Pure Style’s time has come! Or rather, Pure Style seems so approachable, welcoming, and timeless to me, and so i think it has always been welcome. As a recently-graduated university student who has a rather thin wallet but aspirations for a beautiful, simple, light-filled, comfortable apartment, your book has been a dream come true. I very much appreciate your philosophies on living and decorating and how the two come together so beautifully and organically. I love your recipes as much as I love your thoughts on canvas or ticking or utilitarian kitchens. I especially love how flexible your ideas are. (I might not yet have a large kitchen, but I can choose my kitchen tools wisely to avoid clutter and best use the space I have… I love that.) I could gush on for much longer about how much I appreciate your work and your advice, but I don’t want to take up too much of your time! I am glad you are back in this online space and I can’t wait to follow along.
Comment by jane | July 20, 2008 @ 6:45 pmKindest regards
Meg
Posted by: meg | 28 March 2008 on my former Blog
Dear Jane,
I have loved your Pure Style Living book for years. We are in the process of slowly decluttering and, with a “thin wallet,” as you say, replacing old awful carpet throughout the house. I’ll be taking your book with me to the flooring place! I love the clean welcome feeling of the photos taken of your home’s rooms. Thank you for sharing your ideas with those of us who not only don’t have the money to go for grand, but also appreciate the style of simplicity. You have shown how to do it! Many thanks again. Any current flooring ideas, let me know.
Rachelle
Comment by Rachelle | August 13, 2008 @ 9:27 pmHallelujah! I’m totally down with that! We’re just in the process of renovating our (formerly) disgusting living room and we’ve installed plywood floors and are repainting e v e r y t h i n g white and getting a nice, simple wood stove just in time for winter. Everytime I explain this to someone, they say:
“Really? Plywood? White? I don’t get it…”
Thanks for getting it!
Comment by Danielle | October 22, 2008 @ 1:42 amSo timely. So timeless. Thank you and looking forward to much ooing and ahhing in the future!
Comment by Tinuviel | October 23, 2008 @ 5:28 pmBlessings.
I have followed you for years and wished there were more books by you available for inspiration. They don’t come more gifted than you. Which makes me sad, because you say that wall to wall carpets are out of the question, financially. How can someone at the top of her game be so under-remunerated? Something’s not right. I guess artists have often struggled, and of course that is just what you are – an artist. Sometimes your work is so beautiful it makes me ache.
Comment by Annie | June 11, 2009 @ 11:03 am