I was visiting with a client last week as we discussed the new renovation options for her home. The layout and architectural features of this home were amazing as was the paint colour she had recently chosen.

The interior just needed lighter cabinets, some new flooring and some gutsy brick work for the fireplace to bring the interior up to date yet something still troubled me.

As I looked around, envisioning the new products and new cabinet colour I could see how the interior would benefit from these changes and suddenly it hit me – her house was very masculine.

By masculine I mean that the interior was deep in colour, heavy in furniture and decor scale and lacking in pattern. Every item was a solid colour which had a huge presence in the room. In short – there was no pretty.

Pretty is often dismissed as frivolous or unnecessary, a trinket or bauble to be enjoyed for a moment and then tossed aside.

We have migrated away from the frilly and fetching elements such as lace and ruffles in pursuit of heavy, square and solid lines and I think that we need to bring back a little bit of pretty. The song by Thurston Harris Little Bitty Pretty One has been stuck in my head for days and I keep singing it as I go about my day.

What girl doesn’t love pretty?

Who doesn’t from time to time want to be fetching and enchanting and when do we not secretly really want to wear a tiara? I believe that we all need some pretty in our homes but we don’t need to revert to our six-year-old bedroom to accomplish the need for beguiling design.

For the past few weeks I have had a selection of flowers on my kitchen table – hydrangeas for Mother’s Day, lilacs from my yard, roses from a special guy and they have brought that one of a kind beautiful shape that my house seems to be lacking.

I have plans to replace the boring globes in the hallway with something more ‘dangly’ – yes that is an official design term – to create a softer shapelier focal point and I have been challenged to look at the outline of my furniture and am attempting to soften these lines.

Lace can be a challenge to decorate with but it never fails to create a yearning in us for times past.

I remember as a child having bright yellow curtains lovingly sewn by my mom out of eyelet lace and to this day eyelet does not fail to wash over me with nostalgia. There are several types of lace whether made by needle, cut design or by crocheting and all of them tell a story and represent a lifestyle and culture.

You can use lace as curtains, pillow covers or even in something as practical as placemats. The delicate fabric and airy composition makes it a perfect accent in a boldly-designed room.

Take inventory of your home; does it need some pretty?

Does the delicate shade of pink or the whimsy of pearls need to be discovered and brought home to be displayed?

If this style of design appeals to you and touches your delicate side then give heed to the fetching and let it enchant you once again.

Kim Wyse is an interior designer with Carpet Colour Centre in Red Deer.