Most people can’t afford to change out all their interior furnishings every five years...

You want to make good investments and have things last a long time. You want to never grow tired of them or have them look really dated or screaming a certain time period.

So, how do you decorate like that?

How do you choose timeless pieces that will never go out of style and will give you happiness and value in the many years to come?

You go with solid fabrics and finishes on the big, expensive items.

A neutral sofa. A seagrass or textural rug. Solid painted walls.

While we all love a little pattern, designers especially love pattern. The way to use it so that you don’t have to redo everything in a few years, or when you grow tired of it, is to do pattern in bits and pieces that are easily replaced.

You know... Use some pillows...some chair seats...some select wall finishes in a small space like a powder room or accent area. Use pattern somewhere that wouldn’t kill you to replace if you got tired of it and wanted to redo.

It’s like a little black dress. Or a basic white shirt. You never get tired of those items in your wardrobe. And you can just add a scarf or some interesting jewelry and have a whole new look.

Invest in your base pieces. Think carefully about those. Then play with the rest. :-)