Rita Konig Style

Rita Konig, former Editor at Large for Domino magazine and blogger for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, is a big style idol of mine. Her apartment, as well as the advice she gives, is spot on. So - after a long, long google search - I bring you: a collection of photos of Rita Konig's apartments (the last two photos are of her new apartment) and snippets of her advice from various interviews. Enjoy!

The wall colour and the curtains are simply the canvas on which to build the rest of the room, the decoration comes as much from the things in a room rather than from the items that we traditionally think of as the 'decoration'. - Frolic

I feel like when I decorate, I want the home in question to be comfortable. That usually involves a really comfortable sofa. A drinks tray, a good bookcase, good lamps.. And, if we could have outside living space, that’s the biggest luxury. - A Lovely Being

It doesn't necessarily follow that if everything in the room is beautiful you end up with a beautiful room. I think the best rooms are those that have a mix of things and an ugly lamp with a crooked shade, or an inherited table or the rug from your childhood bedroom. These are the things that add texture and life to a room. - Frolic

Don't think that you need to decorate in one go. Decorating a house takes a while and it always looks better when it has evolved over time. You will also be able to afford much nicer things if you do this. - Frolic

Some people say, “You can’t buy the little things. You have to concentrate on buying the important things first.” I don’t think that is true. I think it’s the small things that make a place your own. And they’re the things that you can kind of wrap your head around. Because there is so much to buy. So, buy your sofa because you’ll need furniture sit on. I bought my sofa in an antique shop and I didn’t recover it for two yours. That’s where you can save money or spread your costs. If you see some beautiful plates, do buy them. Don’t think, “Oh goodness, I need to do the curtains first!” Because you don’t. Those plates will stay with you a lot longer than the curtains. And they’re much more fun. And they mean that people will come and have dinner with you at your apartment. You know what I mean? Don’t get hung up on the big things. You can certainly indulge in the small things, too. - A Lovely Being

You just have to be able to sink back at home. If there aren’t comfortable chairs or a sofa, you are sunk. I am more interested in that, really, than the trim on the curtains. Sitting and chatting is what I really like most of all in the whole world. - NY Mag

I have always liked decorating my small apartments as though they are just a few of the rooms in a much larger house, so you have the feeling that you could, should you want to, wander off to the drawing room, library, dining room, but for the moment are just choosing to be in this rather cozy study. Maybe it is peculiar to the English, but you know how people in huge houses live in a tiny room with all the dogs and the television? This is sort of the reverse of that. - Ny Mag

Images 1-9: James Merrell for Domino magazine; Images 10-11: Todd Selby for NY Mag