I love making lists. When I first met my husband he really had to get used to this list obsession of mine. More often than not he would look at me hoping to find a trace of something that would indicate I was only joking when I asked him for yet another list. Meanwhile his facial expression would read: ‘is she really asking me to do this?’ and yes, of course I was very serious. I make obvious lists such as ‘to do during the week’, ‘what things to see on holiday’. But my favourite lists are the pointless, but very enjoyable, ones. Such as: top 3 favourite restaurants, top 3 most memorable moments on holiday, top 3 ‘last supper request when on death row’, top 3 best hotel room, etc. etc.

I even have my kids in on the game. I overheard my son discussing his top 3 “last supper death row request” which consisted of 1) pizza 2) chicken tortilla 3) bacon and eggs. I used to think that it made sense to put extremely expensive and over indulgent food types, such as lobster and champagne on my list but I think that if you were in that death row situation you would probably favour comfort food and food with special memories over caviar and truffles. I have played this game so often I think I know my husband’s list without asking him yet again: 1) steak and chips 2) a Chinese take away from his home town 3) toast with butter. Mine is currently –  surprisingly enough it changes a bit – 1) some sort of shellfish (crayfish, prawns) with home made chips and mayonnaise 2) brown bread with a mature piece of cheese 3) simple pasta dish (aglio e olio). So you might add in a bit of extravagance but mainly you want comfort and things that probably have a sentimental reason for loving it.

I think interior design works in a similar way. At least my design does. I want a couple of extravagant and design items and then I want to layer up with comfort and coziness. If I had to play my own game of naming my top 3 interior items I would struggle as I need more than 3 items to make a room come to life. My list would consist of the following:

1. a couple of key design pieces – mainly furniture
2. colour – my only design rule – dark hues on walls with pops of colour
3. lighting – essential to create the right atmosphere – pools of light and be generous…
4. fabric and textures – cushions, throws, rugs. Vary the textures not just with regards to fabric but also with regards to larger items (e.g. furniture) such as wood, concrete and brass ( a sneaky way for me to add in another category: accessories!)

I realize I didn’t cut it. I need more than 3. Too bad. I can easily add another few items so this will have to do. Finally, I thought I would let you have my latest top 3 list of retail & Highstreet shops I do buy from. I realize that in interior design it is frowned upon to not only have design, one-off items or the haute couture of fabrics but I love to mix and match. Keeps life way more interesting.

1. www.housedoctor.dk – for great lighting
2. www.oka.com – for table lamps and cushions
3. www.zarahome.com – for throws, quilts and quirky little brass accessories

www.housedoctor.dk

www.oka.com

www.zarahome.com