22 May 8 EASY STYLING IDEAS TO STEAL FROM ANTHROPOLOGIE
Ah, Anthropologie. I know you’re really an Urban Outfitters for grown-ups, and I can only ever afford your clothes on sale, but who else can fill me with such all-consuming, irrational desire for random homewares like cookie jars shaped like dogs, ceramic toadstool measuring spoons and pedestals designed to fit a single cupcake?
And it’s not just your boho-luxe wardrobe and quirky kitchenalia I covet: in my fantasy life, I’d turn my home into the riot of colour and mad mingling of furniture and odd objets you like to trot out and chop and change whenever it takes your fancy. But this would involve offing my husband for his imaginary millions (whoops – did I just say that?) so I can do up the house however I bloody want and indulge in some outlandishly girly decorating.
In the meantime, here are some of the easily achievable styling ideas I’m totally gonna steal from you…
1. Decorate with dried herbs
It’s so simple: tie bunches of herbs together with twine, hang them upside down to dry. Done. They look lovely in the kitchen, and make people think you cook everything from scratch.
2. Hang it from a ladder
Got a sliver of empty wall space? Make the most of it with a ladder and some S-hooks. Hang up your utensils, pots and pans, fancy tea towels… Voilà! Instant tiered storage unit.
3. Painted vintage pieces = fun pops of colour
Yes, this is a precious nest of ‘pebble’ tables by Ercol. Is it blasphemy to take to a classic mid-century design with a bucket of Farrow & Ball? Perhaps. But I say pick a bold colour combination and don’t look back. Too lazy to sand and prime that vintage treasure you picked up from the charity shop, or found abandoned by your posh neighbours? Ladyland’s Clem recommends Annie Sloan’s fantastic paint, which transforms any surface with zero effort.
4. Jugs. Big jugs.
It’s time we moved on from the jumbled utensil drawer – put your whisks, wooden spoons and whatnot (chuck in the rolling pin while you’re at it) on display in a giant jug. Vintage enamel ones are the go – the bigger and brighter the better. Size does matter.
5. Customise it with quirky knobs
In my fantasy home, I have a huge vintage chest of drawers adorned with mismatched knobs I’ve picked up during my travels across the globe. For now, I’ll happily settle for a fancying-up a flat-pack chest of drawers with some these gems.
6. The wooden crate as teacup caddy
No shelf space left for your precious collection of teacups? Screw some hooks into an old wooden crate and hang your cups by the handle. Stack your saucers, tea accoutrements and posh loose-leaf in the space beneath.
7. The plate wall
You may be familiar with the ‘photo wall’; the next move for those of us with a penchant for patterned platters is the crazy plate wall. Grab some wire plate hangers and any available wall space you have left and go nuts.
8. Never underestimate the power of chalkboard paint
Okay, so this decorative hall table may not actually be finished in chalkboard paint, but the black-and-white combo with the freehand architectural illustration got me thinking… You can get this look by transforming a so-so hall table with matt chalkboard paint and decent doodling skills. You can even use the new hall table as a surface for leaving passive-aggressive notes to your significant other.
Photography: Selina Altomonte
Styling: those clever VMs at Anthropologie King’s Road and Regent Street, London