You’ve found your second home and now it comes time to decorate it. Where do you start?
The best way to begin is to determine how you plan to use this home.
• Is it to enjoy a couple times a year and rent it out to others the rest of the time?
• Is it a place to use occasionally for business and business acquaintances.
• Is it a private retreat for you and your family to enjoy on week-ends/seasonally/or for vacations?
• Or is it truly a second home where you plan to live a good portion of the year and perhaps ultimately settle there?
These questions will determine whether your home is filled with personal memorabilia and your own sense of style or if it becomes simpler and more universal in its décor.
In general whether as a rental or for personal use, people find themselves wanting their second homes to be simple and easy to take care of, both for daily maintenance and also in caring for the property long distance. Second homeowners also tend to want a relaxing and beautiful environment. Less tends to be more and quality and comfort reign over a showcase feeling.
Assuming that there are no renovations, plan to maximize the footprint of your home when creating a floor plan. Easy flow and comfort are key. Create room for the individual and quiet relaxing spaces balanced with areas for group interaction and entertainment. Ease of cooking, eating, and clean up are also important, as well as ease when closing down the house. This affects the organization of laundry rooms, linen closets (same color and size of sheets and all same colored towels help), kitchen, and bathroom cabinets.
Next determine how you want your environment to feel. Do you want it to stimulate or to relax? This will help you select a color scheme. Soft, off shades that blend in with the natural environment and are harmonious tend to relax occupants. Brighter more vibrant colors that contrast with each other and the environment tend to energize occupants. Often times color schemes are selected around a favorite piece of art, a beautiful rug, or the natural environment outside the windows (think of forest vs. desert vs. ocean or urban vs. rural).
Keep upholstered furniture comfortable and low maintenance by selecting fabrics that are durable and sealed to be stain friendly. Don’t be afraid of color—color is a great camouflage, as is pattern. Mixing your solids, stripes, and patterns creates interest when there is a minimum of art on the walls. Old country wood pieces tend to work well in second homes as their antiquated scars and scratches will blend right in with the new ones. Think out of the box when buying your dining table. Why not use outdoor furniture inside? Some weathered picnic tables look great in sun drenched ocean homes. Speaking of the sun—it is one of the greatest damagers of furniture. Think about using UBV film guard on your windows. Scotchguard makes a great product and the pay off is the longevity of your furniture, floors, and carpeting.
To drape or not to drape is also a question. Again, remember the adage “simple is better.” There are many products out there today that make covering your windows for privacy easy. The trend tends to be towards wood blinds (over metal) and soft roman shades over duvets or silhouettes. This is mostly to add softness and décor to a room rather then just for function. These days catalogs and quick blind stores make this process simple with enough choice to satisfy anyone.
Stocking your kitchen and bath can be easy and effortless with the advent of low cost, high design stores such as Ikea, Target, and Crate and Barrel. Think catalog purchase and have everything shipped directly to your home. Have fun scrounging around the local area for fun accessory pieces that add interest and identify your home and place as one.
Always remember to have fun in creating your second home…both with how it looks and with the process. Enjoy!
About the Author
With 23 years of business and design experience, Irene Turner of At hOME Design brings an in-depth understanding of world-cultures, design, nature, and the sacred to every project. Her experience with color, lighting, and Feng Shui is an integral part to creating highly personalized homes that are as comfortable and functional as they are beautiful. Noted for her attention to detail and her effectiveness in managing budgets and timeframes, Irene has completed major projects in New York, Chicago, Toronto, Palm Springs, San Diego, and Napa. Irene can be contacted ITurner@aol.com. 
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