Editor’s Note: Margot Gunther, ASID, is a designer who has worked on residential interiors, country inns and restaurants; her work has been featured in top decorating magazines, as well. Additionally, she has a great deal of experience in renovation and restoration and an extensive knowledge of all designer resources.



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By Margot Gunther

What Style Works—For a Lifetime?

My mother-in-law keeps telling me that I should be furnishing my new house with “an eye toward the future.” This has stopped me in my tracks. Now I find that I’m doing nothing because I’m so afraid of doing the wrong thing. Help.
Kate Dayton
New Rochelle, New York

If your mother-in-law means don’t buy shoddy things that won’t last, I agree with her. If she means that everything must have intrinsic value and be an investment, I disagree. If you read my column often, you know I believe in not throwing your money away on poorly made furniture. For basics like upholstered furniture, what you purchase should see you through many recoverings and décors, which means don’t buy fads. However, I have seen
houses where every item was purchased because it was a good investment, and I could have died from boredom: Nothing was added simply because the owner loved it. You must interject your personality into a room or it will die. You’re in this for the long haul so get a few good, well-designed upholstered pieces and then add as the urge and your confidence permit. Big bunches of flowers and posters will add life until you find the direction that you want to follow.


We’ve just built a new house. We hired an
architect, who had some great ideas for taking advantage of the view, etc., but she was less than practical: We now have all these “designer” windows that are best left uncovered. Since we are away from other houses, this isn’t too bad, but I worry about the heat and the fading that comes with all these windows.
Pat Murphy
Newberryport, Massachusetts

I do understand your dilemma. Luckily, there are films that can be applied directly to the glass. They cut down on the UV rays so that you can have good antiques and great, colorful fabrics without the worry; you also can have great rugs and your floors won’t dry out and fade. In addition to the sun protection, these films reduce
excessive heat gain (or loss), hot spots and wasted energy. A good product is Vista UV Shield; you can find a dealer and installer in your phone book. To make sure that you don’t have problems, have it
professionally applied.


Help! My Livingroom is so Drab...

We have a typical 1930s-type living room: a dark brick fireplace with windows on either side of it and also on one of the other walls. It is small and dull. Is there any way to energize the whole room and give it a more up-to-date feeling?
Amanda Swift
Lakeville, Connecticut

There are hundreds of living rooms such as yours out there. This photo from Hunter Douglas offers a perfect solution. Paint the whole room an off-white, either linen or ivory (the fireplace, too). As always, use a slightly lighter color for the trim and shutters to add some spark. In a small room, draperies or curtains only fill the room more and create unneeded clutter. Plantation shutters are snappy and crisp. Wall-to-wall sisal-type carpeting will unify the room and add additional flair. Rather than have a huge sofa and club chair, collect unusual and interesting pieces of furniture and upholster them all in the same beige wool or linen. No money for a painting? Find an old and interesting clock face and prop it on the mantel.