14 PERSONAL LIVE & LEARN DECORATING LESSONS

 

By Gabriele Campbell, A.S.P., C.I.D.                             www.campbellinteriordecorating.ca

 

Professionally speaking, people call me to help with decorating projects with the idea in mind that I can help them make good choices and sound decisions, and to (hopefully) avoid regrets. What I don’t often tell them is that some of things I know I know because of mistakes I have made in the past. Here are the 14 top “lessons” I have learned along the way.

 

1.    If I am going to be picky, I better be willing to pay the price.

The more particular I am about how I want something to look, the more costly it is, and after 7 years I have come to accept that. My only challenge now is to convey that concept to my more selective clients. Many of them think that polyester is the same as silk and furniture from the Brick should perform the same as furniture from Cottswood. Reality can be a tough pill to swallow.

 

2.    Not all walls are created equal.

If a genie came to me today and said “I can grant you three wishes”, one of them would definitely be that all walls be constructed uniformly all over Canada. An even better wish would be for a product that can see through drywall and tell me straight if it’s a load bearing wall, if I am about to drill into a nail head, and if stud is where I think it is.

 

3.    Measure twice, then measure it again, and cut once.

I have been caught on this one on drapery, hardware installations, custom pieces, and tiles. In my defence, the worst installation of my life happened the morning after only getting 3 hours sleep. There was no making sense of that tape measure that day!

 

4.    Paint and glaze add up to extra work – now and later.

I did a faux paint treatment in my then 5 year old son’s room so it would look like castle walls. I taped the shape of each and every “brick” on those walls, and painted each one separately. It took 5 days. I am praying that he likes this effect for the next 10 years so I don’t have to skim coat each brick to get rid of the seams and bumps the multiple layers of paint and glaze have created.

 

5.    Understand the difference between railroaded vs. not railroaded.

This I learned when the drapery order I picked up for a client had a very distinct horizontal stripe when I thought for sure it would be a vertical. Fortunately, they looked fabulous and the client thought the effect was very original.

 

6.    If I know I want this, I should never settle for that.

That idea pretty much explains itself. When I know what I want, I won’t settle for anything else, even if the price tries to persuade me otherwise.

 

7.    Decorating is not an exact science.

If there was ever an activity that required an open-mind and a willingness to just try something new, decorating is that activity. Sure, there are aspects that are relatively predictable, but decorating is a fluid, languid, organic process that evolves, layer upon layer, an emerging form of expression as dynamic as the individual designing it.

 

8.    What to say when a client asks, “Is it supposed to look that way?”

The simple answer is “yes”.

 

9.    My definition of simple is not the same as yours.

One client described her style as simple over the phone, but when I arrived for the consultation, her décor was anything but simple. Simplicity in her mind was rather complex at best -- simple to me means uncluttered, unfussy, and no tassels. There was a tassel on every corner of every cushion, a tassel on every drape and every tie-back, and on every light bulb string, and fringe on the skirts of every chair, sofa and ottoman.

 

10.  Some people simply have bad taste and I can’t change that.

I have been called in for consultations which turned out to be a validation session on taste – poor, gaudy, deplorable taste. Operating out of integrity as a trained professional, I had to say what I thought then diplomatically said I was probably not the right person for them to work with on the project.

 

11.  My relationship with the trade person or installer is almost as important as my relationship with my husband.

Well, at least for the duration of the project. Good communication, clear expectations, a flexible schedule and the willingness to compromise all make for a positive working relationship. Putting on a fresh pot of coffee and baking cookies has proven to go a long way as well.

 

12.  A good workroom is hard to find.

I have worked with four different workrooms over the past three years, and finding a good one is worth its weight in gold.

 

13.  Schedules and time lines are like my hair colour – they change.

My worst nightmare is working towards a finite deadline, like Christmas, a wedding, or “my in-laws are coming”. People always think they have planned far enough in advance, because really, how long can it take to paint, lay new carpet, get new drapery, buy new furniture and completely change the look and feel of a space? People never plan far enough in advance, and the single denominator that compounds the mutually shared level of frustration when the deadline comes and goes is trades people. The trades people work on multiple locations and projects, and they work according to a schedule we know nothing about. For each trade involved in your project, add three weeks to your schedule and save yourself the stress.

 

14.  There is no return policy on custom drapery.

This is a fact. If you chose the colour, chose the fabric, chose the style, and chose the length, those panels are yours till death do you part.

 

All contents of this article are copyright by By Gabriele Campbell, A.S.P., C.I.D.      Producing any part of this article without written consent is prohibited.             Copyright 2005

Comments, concerns or feedback can be directed to www.campbellinteriordecorating.ca.