DECORATING MY WALLS WITH DESENIO
If you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember that I moved last year. It was a big step for me as I came out of a long-term relationship (we’d been living together on and off for five years) and besides 6 months, this marked the first time living on my own. It’s notoriously hard to find a good apartment in Paris and almost impossible if you’re a foreigner and freelance. I got extremely lucky with my home – I even like to say I manifested it, as it is exactly what I was looking for (minus a few square feet, but that’s Paris…). I spoke to a friend and she mentioned that her boyfriend’s old apartment (that he’d been renting to friends for a few years), was becoming available at just the right time that I needed something. I visited it and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Located on the 6th floor, with a lift - which after living for four years on the fourth floor with only stairs, was like the holy grail - wooden floors, a beautiful marble fireplace and in one of the arrondissements that I was looking in, it has come to signify so much more than a home, but also my independence, new life in Paris and a space that I could put my personal stamp on.
I’ve lived there for just over a year now and admittedly (frustratingly), it’s still a work in progress. It’s funny how things take so much longer than you schedule for, but that’s life. Honestly I thought I would have completed the decor within a few months, but what with work and travel, it’s taken a lot longer and it’s still not there. But last weekend I finally adorned my walls with some prints thanks to Desenio, which has made a big difference to making it feel a little more completed.
Desenio has a huge catalogue of prints (and frames) to suit every taste, from art and illustration to typography and photography that are all incredibly reasonable. One of the things that stopped me purchasing prints and frames was always the price tag – Desenio makes adding art to your home affordable and one of the reasons I’m very happy to collaborate with them. And there’s so much to choose from that it took me quite a while to make a decision on which ones would work best within my space. But either way I knew I was going to go for predominantly black and white
As I’ve gotten older I’ve leaned more towards monochrome, beige and grey. I like to wear colour every now and then, but at home I prefer calming shades that aren’t busy or distracting. Using black as an accent colour is something I never thought I would do as I do find it (stereotypically), quite masculine, but I think it works well to help create a minimal space. And when mixed with beige, grey and white, its perceived hardness is diluted. I might switch it up down the line, but I really like accenting the black frame of the the coffee table and shelving unit, and instead using books, photos, soft furnishings and plants to add colour.
I have a dedicated interest in art, so when choosing which prints I would hang, I knew they had to be predominantly artistic prints. I particularly like abstract – so I went for the Ink Brush Stroke no2, Abstract Strokes and Abstract Shapes No1 for the living room. They’re bold, but not too over-powering and interestingly the prints actually make the ceiling appear higher than it is as they draw the eye to the wall rather than the height of the ceiling.
For the bedroom I chose the & Poster in Black Marble, which highlights the black (and incidentally the marble) in the fireplace. I contemplated hanging a more colourful print, but as I’ve already added a lot of pink to the room to complement the antique pink shade in the marble fireplace, I decided black and white was still the best option.
If you’re struggling with decorating your home, I highly recommend starting with a muted palette and adding character with prints, books and plants. I saved various images to my Pinterest profile to help with inspiration and Desenio also provides various images on the site to give you ideas on how to create a gallery wall and which prints will hang well together if you’re struggling to make a decision! And let me know what you think about the prints I chose - I’d love your feedback.
The code “RUERODIER” gives 25% off posters* on Desenio’s sites until August 15th. [*Except for frames, handpicked and personalised posters.]
