Give your Paris apartment a make-over with 10 fresh ideas from Penny Drue Baird

Ever wonder how top designers can make a space feel wonderful with just a few touches here and there?   Luckily for us,  internationally known interior designer Penny Drue Baird shares with us her tips for simple ways to revive your living space. These tips are the perfect way to make an old space feel new, no matter where in the world you live.

Rejuvenate your living space

The new millenium is our cue to say goodbye to the stuffiness of the old. Goodbye to showy opulence, to clutter, to the ostentatious. As the pendulum of interior design swings from traditional to contemporary once again, so does the lifestyle of modern-day home dwellers. Even if it’s not your moment to completely redecorate, one can make certain ‘gestes’, that will go a long way towards updating your space. Declutter:   Sentimentality aside, it’s time to carefully retire your accumulation of objets cluttering every surface. Style:  The objects that remain can shine by grouping a few like items together. Every table will look ‘plus chic’ if you have a set of bowls, or boxes grouped together, rather than one of this and one of that, everywhere. Picture frames: can help in creating a look, if one retires a hodgepodge of frames that were amassed over a lifetime and mixed with random gifts. Pick one sleek style and invest in several, keeping your favorite photos around you. They can be plain lucite or chrome, or any sleek material, the repetition is what will make it a statement. Lampshades: Change them. Today round drum shades in white immediately make your lamps up-to-date! Repaint: White, white white. There are a million of shades of it. If you are feeling flush, make the walls shiny and luxe with Venetian Plaster. Throw pillows:  Try to make all your throw pillows solid, neutral and large, use down whenever possible. If the budget allows, go for some over-the-top pillows from Holland and Sherry, distributed from Scotland all over the world. Simplify your window treatments: If necessary, remove them altogether. Take down stuffy valances. Replace clunky poles with very simple ones. Bookshelves are for books. Any film or photo of beautiful libraries around the world shows bookcases full of books. If the odd photo is necessary, ok, but take the bric-a-brac out! Art:  Artwork is tricky- it’s personal and expensive. Evaluate yours. Sometimes simply changing a frame does wonders. Breathe:  Once you‘ve pared down the clutter, repainted and simplified your accessories, now that you’ve done it all, sit back and take a big breath.  Now you have room for that treasure you find on your next foray to the Marché aux Puces!  And the process begins again…   Penny Drue Baird splits her time between New York and Paris, jet-setting around the world to help clients make their homes beautiful. Her projects are featured frequently in the pages of Architectural Digest.  From vacation chalets in the mountains, to cozy pied à terres in Paris, Penny knowswhat it takes to make a house feel like a home. We spoke with Penny last year about her book The New French Interior, and what she loves most about Paris.