Christina here. Authors are by nature inquisitive – some people might even say nosey – but that is a very necessary trait. We observe the people around us to get inspiration for characters, we listen in on conversations in cafés and on trains and buses to help create good dialogue, and we try to absorb all the details of the world around us and store them in our memories. Because you never know when it will come in useful, or what will spark the beginning of a story. It could be any or all of the above that suddenly results in that lightbulb moment when a novel is born. All authors have their own favourite triggers, but for me it’s very often a house, which means that I am extremely curious about other people’s homes. Not just because the way they are decorated shows the owner’s individual taste, but the buildings themselves – the style, the layout, the interior décor, the era it was built. It all feeds my imagination.
I’ve mentioned before that I go to stately homes and ruins to find inspiration, but not every character is going to live in a place like that. Therefore, I’m always on the lookout for suitable properties, and although I can, of course, check out houses in the local community, it’s good to have a greater choice. And obviously, you can’t just go and knock on someone’s door and ask to have a look around as that would seem rather suspicious (and rude!). But there is a better way – real estate agents’ websites and brochures. I have occasionally pretended to be an interested buyer, just to obtain the particulars of some magnificent house or other, and these are extremely useful!
Here in the UK there is a magazine called Country Life which is known to have advertisements for all the most upmarket and expensive properties for sale each week. Long before I became an author, I used to buy this on a regular basis, just to see the houses. Or if I was feeling a bit low on funds that week, I might just sneak a quick look while browsing through it in the supermarket aisle (I know, very naughty of me). I longed to own one of those properties, and quite a few times I sent for the brochures just in order to daydream. I kept the best ones and they come in very handy when I’m seeking inspiration. Because these were exclusive houses, the brochures were expensively glossy and full of photos showing all the main rooms and the gardens. Helpfully, they also contained floor plans – what could be better when planning a story? If I decided that my characters lived there, I could see exactly where in the house they needed to be at any time, which would be their bedrooms, and where the hero and heroine could “accidentally” meet perhaps.
The choice of properties was endless and it was always exciting to see what would be on offer each week. A small castle or hunting lodge in Scotland, a Victorian Gothic mansion in Yorkshire, a golden sandstone beauty outside the city of Bath, or perhaps a summer estate in Devon or Cornwall? I ended up with quite a collection of property details as I wanted them all! These days, of course, it’s usually not necessary to send for any brochures at all as they are mostly available to download as PDFs on the internet. It’s not quite as exciting, but it does the job.
Having chosen a suitable house for the characters, of course I had to imagine how I wanted the interiors, and this is something I absolutely love doing. (In real life, I think it’s the best part of moving to a new house – so exciting!).
I have been told my taste is quite eccentric and, to be honest, I often itched to get my hands on some of those rooms in the brochures in order to revamp them or change the colour schemes. I’m not terribly handy when it comes to DIY, but I can wield a paintbrush and even hang wallpaper at a pinch – and I enjoy both. It’s a lot easier to do it in your imagination though and if, say, my heroine has just moved into one of those lovely properties, I could let her do the hard work (or hire a decorator).
There are any number of stylish interior decorating magazines, and I have bought my fair share of those too over the years. At one time, I kept a scrap book where I’d paste in any interior features that particularly caught my fancy. Bits of furniture, curtains, ornaments and wallpaper. (Yes, I sent for wallpaper and fabric samples on occasion too – there’s nothing like being able to see it up close and holding it up to a wall to see the effect). I later used these scrap books to decide on decorations for our own home when we finally did buy a house in the country (we had lived in an apartment in London before that). So they came in handy for that too. These days most people would probably use Pinterest, rather than real scrap books and glue, but although I tried that, I didn’t find it anywhere near as satisfying as leafing through proper pages.
I’m sure we all have our preferences when it comes to colour schemes and designs. As authors, we obviously put a lot of our own tastes into our manuscripts. Of course, if we’re writing about the Regency for example, we have to try not to stray from prevailing tastes in interior decoration (and the known colours at the time – see Joanna’s excellent blog post here), but the colours can still be the ones we would prefer ourselves. (Or not, if we want someone to live in a particularly ghastly place.) I would struggle with the Victorian’s preferred choices, I have to say – their colours seem very dark and oppressive to me. Whereas I have no problem with the bright colours of the Regency. Eau-de-Nil sounds lovely, doesn’t it? As does aquamarine and jonquil yellow!
Personally, I don’t like modern buildings – I can see the appeal of clean lines and simplicity, but it’s not for me. For a modern day hero or heroine though, it could be ideal. Since I sometimes write time slip (or dual time) stories, my characters in the present won’t always live in a period property in the countryside, and might need an apartment somewhere in a city. I can still choose what appeals to me – perhaps something like an old warehouse that’s been converted to stylish apartments, retaining some of the original features, such as a bare brick wall or the overhead beams. The so called ‘industrial chic’ that’s been all the rage is quite fun! Or a small studio apartment in a former Victorian building, complete with ornate plasterwork and high ceilings. The choices are endless and I always have a great time looking for just the right place!
What would be your dream house or apartment? Have you ever sent for any property particulars just out of sheer curiosity, even when you knew you could never afford the house in question? Or do you keep scrapbooks/Pinterest pages of things that appeal to you? It’s fun to daydream!
