how i became an interior decorator

after decorating but before window treatments - the top color is a few shades darker and warmer than it appears in all these pictures....on sunny days a pinkish glow filled the room

If you were to visit me you would not think that my home was the home of an interior decorator. I am not an interior decorator by profession nor do I frequently redecorate my house. But I am an interior decorator in my heart. I have notebooks I have filled over the years with ideas for decorating my rooms. I have painstakingly listed everything I would do in every room. I have carried little of that out, however, due to lack of money, time and consent from my better half. Word got around though at work that I was interested in those domestic pursuits. When my firm was still located downtown on Delaware Ave I was approached by the partners who inquired if I might be interested in redecorating the conference room. They had a tight budget which prevented hiring a real interior decorator and had heard through the grapevine that I had a creative flair. They were willing to take a chance on me. And I was thrilled to be given that chance.



This is what I had to work with. Plain white walls, gray carpeting, a cherry conference table, chairs upholstered in black fabric with a tiny pink shell design, downright pink blinds at the windows and a gorgeous painting of Niagara Falls. The room was very bland, drab and cold looking. I wanted to warm it up but with all those cool colors I had my work cut out for me. I had a lot of practice working with obstacles in all my daydreaming about what I would do to change things at home if I were forced to keep this or that. I welcomed those obstacles and found them challenging.



The first thing I did was take a close look at the carpeting. Even though it just looked gray from a distance, in fact, it had flecks of several colors in it. I found flecks of tan, green and pink. I knew the chairs had to stay so I looked closely at the ombre shell design and discovered that even though it had cool purple and pink, it also had a warmer pink shade. And then I looked at the painting and drew out the warmer shades. I starting choosing my wall color from these things - carpet, painting and shell design. I found that I liked two colors - a grayed green and a pinkish tan. What color should I choose? Why not both? If I had a chair rail installed then I could have one color below and one above. And why not crown moulding while I was at it?


the Roman shade


twin windows

Finally to bring all the colors of the room together and to somehow soften those pink blinds, I needed the perfect fabric for the window treatments. I found all the colors - cool and warm - plus an elegant touch of gold gilt swirled together in the fabric I chose. A Roman shade for the window by the door could be shut all the way to darken the room during presentations requiring a projector. The two windows at the end of the room were tricky. I decided to treat them as one unit by having the window treatments made draping to opposite sides. And I chose a color for the peekaboo lining in deference for the pink blinds. If you can't beat them, join them.


finishing touches


Over the next year the partners had many clients exclaim over the room and ask who their interior decorator was. So when the firm made the decision to relocate to the newly renovated Larkin Building (the only remaining building of the Larkin Complex designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), they asked me to make all the decorating decisions.
So that is how I became an interior decorator.