There are some things that interior designers do that we simply might not think of if decorating our houses ourselves. Trims are certainly an element which falls into this category but we are doing our interiors a disservice by not having them front of mind. Just as jewellery can take a simple outfit to new heights, so too can a trim take a plain fabric or painted wall to another dimension. As Lucinda Griffith, an interior designer who really knows how to get the most out of a budget, puts it, “trims are such a brilliant tool in a decorator’s arsenal as they always elevate a scheme, and can also be a brilliant way to help if you are keeping costs low”.
The reason why they're so impactful is two fold: you are essentially creating something totally unique to your house that no one else will have, and they are a rare detail that can transform a space beyond the everyday. Starting with the latter, Rita Konig's newly decorated living room is a prime case study. Of course, there is nothing everyday about the room and its scheme, but the cherry on the parfait is the green ribbon trim to the linen walls. It's a small detail but very clever – and very Rita. When choosing curtains for her daughter's room in her Co Durham farmhouse, Rita explained at the time how she used “inexpensive cotton mattress ticking, which I sourced from The Cloth Shop on Portobello Road, W10. I edged it with what turned out to be a rather expensive red pom-pom trim from Samuel & Sons to – such is my ineptitude at thriftiness – to act as a foil for the Pepto-Bismol pink she chose for the walls.”
Curtains and blinds are indeed the most approachable places to use trims in a decorating scheme. “A wide braid can transform a roman blind or curtains made up in a really basic plain fabric if you create a border with it,” explains Lucinda. For inspiration, she adds “I did some blinds recently with a wide braid in a geometric design in a blue, with a contrasting narrow braid set each side of it in a green which created a unique and very chic look. The narrow braid was only a pound a metre so the costs were minimal but the client ended up with something nobody else has, and which lifted her £20-a-metre blind fabric into something that looked far more expensive.” This is the other side of their magic – their unique nature. Anyone can buy the same fabrics, but adding a trim gives it a new dimension.
There is of course another reason why they're such a good trick, as mentioned above: budget. As Lucinda says “if clients are working to a small budget, I always look to trims as a way to transform existing curtains, or to make an affordable plain fabric into something wonderful.” We can't always afford our dream fabrics but trimming something less exciting can create a scheme that is even better and adds a sense of creativity to the space too. “Trims don’t have to be expensive although there are some wonderful ones out there,” Lucinda advises. “Keep an eye out on eBay and look at ribbon companies like VV Rouleaux if Chelsea Harbour prices are out of your reach. I have purchased some brilliant job lots of braid over the years which have been the inspiration for entire schemes.”
Last on the list of reasons why we should all be trimming our houses: versatility. Rita's sitting room could easily take on a whole new look by replacing the trim on the walls (should she ever tire of it). This is far less lift than recovering the fabric walls and will work wonders in giving the room a whole new personality. The same goes for trims on curtains or cushions – if you want to change the look after a few years and introduce a different texture, detail or colour to a room, all you need to is change the trim and transform what you already have. In that way, it's not only budget-friendly to work with trims, but sustainable too as you're replacing a small thing and not buying entire new cushions or blinds.
A last word from Lucinda: “I also love that a trim can be a great way for a client who is perhaps nervous about colour or pattern to introduce it without it being too much of a commitment. They can stick to a neutral fabric and use colour in their trims.” So whether you're a maximalist, minimalist or completely colour-phobic, there's a trim out there for everyone.
