“Buy well. Buy slowly.” —British interior designer Rita Konig

~UPDATE: 5/2024: Having had the opportunity to rent and stay in North Farm this past Fall (October 2023), oh my goodness, what a dream come true. Read and tour this detailed post of North Farm and my stay here. If you are a TOP Tier Member, I also shared a detailed video of my stay in November’s 2023 A Cuppa Moments.

Finally, I have a décor mentor and guide, and I am so excited to introduce this opportunity to you as well.

Taking on the task of decorating your sanctuary is no small decision or small job. It is really a job of a lifetime. And while it may initially be chosen due to a smaller-than-desired budget, the truth is, you may actually be the best interior designer you can hire.

I have come to appreciate London-based interior designer Rita Konig for her approach to decorating. From her own family’s country home in County Durham which was spotlighted on the blog a few months ago (a peek is shown above) to her ability to wrangle the tastes of Manhattanites who purchased a home in the countryside of Northern California (see below), she has a talent for layering colors and textures to create a truly welcoming and comfortable space that is thoughtfully, but not untouchably created.

When I learned of her online course, which includes 36 video lessons, I looked closely at what was offered. And it didn’t take long before I knew this was exactly what I needed to help guide me through the decision making process of how I want to decorate my home, Le Papillon.

Konig released her course through Create Academy last fall, and offers viewers into her homes, her favorite auction houses and shops and specifically delineates the steps to designing and decorating your home so that it is a home you will love living in.

I have already begun to watch the lessons and am seven videos in so far. My Moleskine journal is full of notes, but she also offers printable pdfs complete with talking points and space for you to write more notes down.

Beginning with understanding how you want to live, to the order of decisions that need to be made – the paint color is farther down the list that you may have guessed – she offers her expertise of years of being an interior designer (20+) as well as having lived and been raised by a renowned interior designer – Nina Campbell, her mother.

In many ways what you are receiving is a resource book that is an actual conversation with Rita with complete videos and images to show you what she is talking about. And the course is yours for as long as you want it so that you can refer back to various points at any time.

Rita Konig’s Ultimate Guide to Interior Design. Learn How to Decorate Your Home Like a Professional — £127

Key Takeway Decor Lessons I Have Learned So Far (and I have only just begun!):

• Use Pinterest (yes, even she uses Pinterest and creates boards within boards to solidify what she wants to bring to fruition)
• Don’t wait for a house to do anything. Start buying now.
  • In other words, the house/apartment you live in now is one you want to enjoy living in. As well, your future home will be all the easier to decorate and far more memorably decorated with items from your life’s journey. In this post, I shared 11 Decor Pieces to Purchase Even If You Do Not Live in Your Dream Home Yet
• Buy well, buy slowly
  • I began today’s post with this quote because this was one her self-stated most important pieces of decor advice.
  • Buying everything in one full swoop rarely helps you create a beautiful sanctuary that truly feels at home.
  • Instead, always keep your eyes peeled for items large and small.
  • Over time, your home will come together and truly reflect a contented person.
  • Konig shares, “Those accumulated items over years create the DNA and History of your house which make it different from everybody else’s house.”
• Know how you want to live
  • Be honest with yourself: know who you are, how you live and what you need from your home and from each room.
  • You will be uncomfortable if you’re not honest.
• Tables, Lamps and Chairs
  • Repeatedly she reminds that homes consist of far more tables, lamps and chairs than we accurately seem to realize, which means you need to regularly be on the look-out for these items when you are slowly furnishing your home.
• More budget doesn’t mean more creativity.

I don’t want to give too much more away as this is absolutely a course I would recommend for anyone who is delving into the cultivation of their sanctuary. The videos are between 6-12 minutes long each, so you can view one or a handful each day or once a week and let it soak in.

As you can see from the screenshots I took, when she is teaching a particular lesson, she will be in a room that she has decorated and lives in. Seeing all of the details and how they come together is inspiring. As well, as I mentioned at the top, you will go with her to country auction houses where she will go shopping with you and show you what to look for and why, as well as many more destinations to share with you the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to be an interior designer who can find some amazing details and bring it together in a unexpectedly wonderful way that suits the tastes of the inhabitants.

I recommend this course and Rita’s expertise solely because I find it is helping me. This is not a sponsored post at all, and I do think you will gain an immense amount of insight and knowledge if you invest in this course.

Personally, I now feel I have permission to regularly be on the hunt for treasures for my home. Simply getting to know my home over these past three months of living in it nearly every moment of the day has given me precise information about how I want to live in my home. So now let the slow, but regular treasure hunting begin! Have fun on your sanctuary cultivating journey as well!

~Click here to learn more about her course and purchase.

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