Talking property

It's all about the simple life now, writes ISABEL MORTON

WHILE you couldn’t exactly describe life as smelling of roses these days, flowers are very definitely in the news. Last week there was London’s famous Chelsea Flower Show and our own garden show, Bloom, opens today and continues all weekend at the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Indeed, there’s a touch of flower power everywhere, with the revival of all things natural, homemade, ethnic and bohemian. As a reaction to the manic pace of life during the boom years and as it struggles to survive the fallout from the Celtic Catastrophe, the nation is reverting to a simpler lifestyle.

I had a distinct feeling of déjà vu recently, when my daughter appeared, on her way to the Sunday farmers’ market in Dún Laoghaire, wearing a flowing, floral, halter-neck dress reminiscent of one I wore myself as a teenager in the mid- 1970s on my frequent forays into Dublin’s Dandelion Market.

It dawned on me just how much things have changed of late and all within a relatively short period of time. The era of designer decadence is over.

Today, you can wear colourful cast-offs, drive a banger, holiday at home, eat veggie bean stews and drink “special offer” wine, without feeling as if you are a social outcast.

Those, who are lucky enough to be mortgage free or at least, able to cover their loans, are now appreciating what they have and are making the best of it, regardless of whether their home is a cottage, a castle or a condominium.

Grateful to still be breathing and financially solvent, people no longer moan about how they need more space, or whine on about their decor, let alone openly covet a new kitchen or a state-of-the-art bathroom.

And, the days of complaining about having to tolerate the builders’ mess have long since gone, as their mere presence in your home immediately implies that you have bundles of cash under your mattress, as borrowing from banks to extend or renovate, is nigh on impossible.

If you do happen to be having any work done, stay tight-lipped about it and if anyone notices, claim that it had to be done because a leaking pipe caused terrible damage which necessitated a complete overhaul of the whole house. And, don’t forget to say the insurance company were wonderful and covered the entire cost.)

But, if you are covertly renovating and redecorating, remember that fashion in clothes and interiors invariably go hand in hand. So forget about sleek sophistication and concentrate instead on psychedelic geometric patterns or bright floral prints.

Today it’s all about houses being real homes, rather than resembling the immaculately sophisticated properties featured in interior design magazines. Monochrome minimalism is out of favour, now that we admit to needing bright colours to cheer us up and realise that living without accumulating “stuff” is virtually impossible.

Estate agents report that prospective property buyers are no longer fooled by sophisticated marketing ploys or smart interiors. Their approach nowadays is both pragmatic and realistic.

Perhaps, subconsciously, they’re looking to find a family home which will envelop them and protect them from the cruel harsh world outside.

Maybe theyre reverting to safe images of cosy kitchens, which are light, bright and cheery, with a dog’s basket in front of the Aga, children’s drawings, postcards and fun party invitations pinned up on the wall, bowls of organic fruit on the well-worn kitchen table, a line up of the various sizes of Wellington boots at the back door and trays of seedlings growing on the sunny windowsill, prior to be planted out in the veggie patch.

And with more time on their hands, prospective homeowners may now actually want to cook in their kitchens, so they mightn’t want appliances and equipment to be too high-tech and frightening to use.

Bathrooms, too, now that they no longer need to shock people into action prior to a high-powered breakfast meeting, may need to be less cutting-edge, easier on the senses. Long, lazy soaks in the bath might soon replace speedy power showers.

And living space may soon return to being used for just that – living, with all the paraphernalia that goes with it and all the diverse bits and bobs relating to the various interests of individual family members.

So, dreams of gardens where children can make daisy chains, the family dog can race around in circles on the grass, brightly coloured footballs can get stuck up in trees and snails can leave their shiny trail marks around unruly but bountiful vegetable patches, are likely to replace images of immaculate “outdoor rooms”, which, I suspect, were nothing more than shrines to award winning landscapers.

So, if you are, for whatever reason, selling your house, then I recommend you think Walton family homestead rather than Grand Designs. Don’t bother, about the designer crystal vase full of extravagant white lilies – these days, a jam jar of sunny yellow buttercups or wild daisies might just do the trick.