Yes, I am back after taking some time off to move. It has been an interesting experience. I have been forced to practice what I preach in trying to create a new living space. It was my choice to move to a smaller place in an effort to organize and simplify my life. I had to get rid of many collections that accumulated through the years. This is hard to do when you look at these superfluous possessions and exclaim 'But this isn't just junk! This is neat stuff!' Thank God we have The Brown Elephant. Donating gives us a way to help out by other people buying and enjoying our 'neat stuff.' I have so far resisted the temptation to help out even further by going to The Brown and buying back maybe just one or two items …
The weekend closest to Oct. 1 is one of the biggest times for moving. To all of you who made that move, my congratulations and best wishes on decorating your space.
Dear Joe, I bought a house about a year ago and have finally decided to start decorating it. I have a few pieces of furniture left over from other places, but really need a new direction. The problem is that I have no idea what I want or even like. All of the different styles of furniture are too confusing. I would just like to have a nice place to entertain friends, but I'm afraid of picking out something that is inappropriate. Would a professional interior designer be able to help, or will the designer just take over and try to create what he wants?
— Lost In a New Space
Dear Lost, My answer may surprise you, but this is the worst time to call in an interior designer. In all of my experience, I can tell you that the hardest type of client to work with is someone who doesn't know what he (or she) wants. I'll take an extremely picky, detail-oriented person over this type any day. Most of the notable interiors designers have echoed the same statement.
I recently had a related experience with a nice young couple. They were living in a new condo and had called me in to help decorate. I met with them and asked a lot of questions on lifestyle and their preferences. They were unable to answer questions with any certainty. Their design ideas were all over the place. The couple had been living in a disjointed set of rooms and just hoped that someone could come in and 'fix it.'
The unfortunate piggyback to this is the clients' insecurity makes it impossible for them to make decisions on what the designer has to offer. Many times clients don't convey preferences to designer, afraid that they will be thought of as having bad taste. This is very silly and unproductive.
The role of an interior designer is to help create a living space in which the client is comfortable. The designer needs to be given some direction. If you have 'no idea,' how can the designer know what you want?
Look through decorating magazines. Pull out the things you like and don't like. Look around at stores. A pattern of preferences will develop. From this you will find a direction for design. Once you have this direction, a good designer should be able to translate it into a comfortable living space for you.
Dear Joe, How do you judge the right height to hang a picture? — Bill
Dear Bill, Many factors are considered when judging the height for hanging a picture. The height will depend on the size of the picture, size of the room, height of the ceiling, objects that may be in front of it and many other things.
Most people hang pictures too high. There seems to be a tendency to place the picture in the center of the wall. But the picture may be too small for this. Another reason for high mounting could be that the person is tall and feels that this affords a better view. Pictures need to be hung so they can be appreciated by people of many heights.
I generally hang a picture (in an eight-foot room) so the center of it is at about five and one half feet off the floor. This is, of course, if it is on a blank wall with no other factors to consider. If you have a sofa or other furniture in front of it, the ideal height could change. In this case, the important thing is for the picture to be high enough to be appreciated without interference, but not so high that it seems totally disconnected from what is below.
Another tip is to try to hang all the pictures so the eye can follow them in a straight line without moving up and down. This is not to say that they are all the same distance off of the floor, but that the center of each picture (or grouping) is at about the same level.
E-mail jos.riceinteriors@att.net . In the subject box, fill in 'WCT Design.' Rice is an interior designer who offers full decorating services. With 22 years of experience, he specializes in treating 'hard-to-treat' windows.Contact Joseph Rice Interiors, Inc. (773) 271-2361.
