Welcome back to Make It Nice, Defector's best interior design advice column. Today, we have a curtain dilemma, replacements for “ratty” linens, and advice on how to figure out what you like.
Aileen asks:
My husband and I just upgraded our apartment here in Germany to one with much more space. The downsides of this is we have hard marble floors and a tall-ceilinged living room (oh woe is us!). It's very echo-y and looks directly into our neighbors across the street.
The windows have external shutters, so light-blocking isn't needed, but we'd love to get some sort of curtain deal going here. We don't want anything too dark (it gets dark enough here in the winter, that photo was taken at 4:30 pm), but it would be good to have something to absorb some of the echo.
We are pretty sure we can find something in a color and fabric we agree on, but we keep debating the length. Floor length to add more fabric and more sound damping? Just to the windowsill so that the radiators under the window are more effective? How do curtains work? Why are they so hard for two adults to figure out?
(Also ignore the undersized dining room table, there are already plans for that to be replaced with something that fits the space better.)
Wow, Make It Nice goes international!
The location of your heaters makes this a bit complicated, because if you were to get curtains, they would need to be long, in my opinion. Short curtains would look weird, especially on all three windows in this big room. I think you should explore roller shades or roman shades and mount them above the windows so that you can still open them. Both of these would give you some privacy from your neighbors across the way without sacrificing light. This may be boring, but I would just get them in white/off white. If you want, you can layer long curtains over the shades and keep them open most of the time. Here’s an example of that:
Putting art up on your walls and getting a second rug under the dining table will really help with the echoes. Basically, anything you add to the room will help with this issue. Plants, more furniture, wall hangings, or more upholstered furniture. Vintage rugs, like this one, also make really great wall art.
Brian asks:
I recently moved and, in the process, noticed how ratty all my sheets and towels are. Everything I have is sad millennial grey. What should I replace them with? Are white towels boring? I want it to feel like a nice upgrade.
I love this question. I’m an absolute freak for linens. My winter towels are these bath sheets from Brooklinen. They’re huge and incredibly soft. I’ve had mine for about five years, and they still look brand new. You just gotta treat them right!
In the summer, I switch to these lighter waffle towels, also from Brooklinen. They’re not as plush as the winter towels, but they’re just as soft and they dry really fast, even when it’s humid. They come in a ton of colors, but I like to get white towels because my partner uses skincare products with benzoyl peroxide in them, which will basically bleach anything that isn't white.
The Brooklinen towels are not cheap, but I can vouch for their quality and longevity.
For sheets, I like Quince, though I’ll admit the brand is a bit divisive. They sell a lot of stuff and the quality from product to product can vary. That said, Quince’s linen sheets are very good, especially for the price. I’ve got two sets that are around two years old and they’re still going strong. They’re a bit scratchy at first, but they just need a couple of washes.
Now, if you were to say, “Veronica, what is the best sheet you’ve ever touched? Money is no object,” my answer would be Cultiver linen sheets. I have one set of these and I genuinely look forward to their turn in the rotation. They’re heavyweight linen but good for year-round use, and they’re incredibly soft from day one. It’s $200 for the fitted sheet and two pillowcases, yes, but damn they’re so good.
Nickie asks:
My husband and I bought our first home last year. One of the things that excited me about owning a home was being able to decorate and furnish with more of a sense of permanence. This was great in theory but all I’ve done is stress myself out over all the possibilities. I don’t know how to narrow things down or how to even decide what I like, much less what I should buy. Maybe this is too existential but do you have any advice for me?
I think you are experiencing a very common blocker. My biggest piece of advice is to stop actively shopping and start passively looking for inspiration. That’s how you figure out not only what you like, but what can work in your new home.
There are three main ways I do this.
First, I love watching home tours on YouTube. Architectural Digest’s celebrity home tours and Never Too Small’s home tours are my favorite. I also like filmmaker Joshua Charow’s series on the loft law tenants in New York City. He interviews artists who have lived in NYC lofts for decades.
Second, look at magazines. Dwell and Never Too Small are great quarterly print (or digital) subscriptions. I have a medium-sized pile of magazines that are full of post-its marking pages with houses or rooms I liked. I reference this issue of Apartamento often because I’m completely obsessed with Solange Knowles’ apartment, especially her music setup. Look at those speakers!
Third, save what you like on Instagram and Pinterest. I use Pinterest as a way to collect ideas from other parts of the internet. If you do this, you’ll start to see trends. Maybe you lean towards the color blue, or more traditional furniture, or a certain kind of layout. Once you get to this point, just email me and I’ll help you take the next step!
For now, just take the pressure off yourself. You’re going to be in this new home for a while, you’ve got plenty of time to make it beautiful!
Want my help? Email makeitnice@defector.com.
