9 Timeless Design Rules

"The women who invented interior decorating were full of big advice. Here are their time-tested rules, featured in a fabulous new book by Adam Lewis for Rizzoli called The Great Lady Decorators" (House Beautiful)



1. "Every room has a mood or personality…and it is this that one desires to develop." —Eleanor Brown

2. "Make the husband happy, and the job is done." —Frances Elkins

3. "Believe in optimism and plenty of white paint." —Elsie de Wolfe

4. "If you make a compromise — selecting something cheaper than what you really like — it compromises you, because you are never really happy with the result." —Rose Cumming

5. "There is one fundamental fact about lighting: Where there is no light, there is no beauty." —Ruby Ross Wood

6. "You can never achieve anything in a house unless you have things that have been passed down and you find a place for them for yourself." —Sister Parish

7. "Crossing too many t's and dotting too many i's make a room look overdone and tiresome. One should create something that fires the imagination without overemphasis." —Nancy Lancaster

8. "Love is essential to the decoration of a house....A room must say, 'My love is here,' or 'My love has just left,' or 'I'm waiting for my love to arrive.'" —Madeleine Castaing

9. "Too often when we're buying or building a house, we do not consider each room. We are carried away by one charming feature and are blind to details that will give us trouble later on." —Dorothy Draper

(Source: http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/ideas/timeless-design-rules)