Do not seek Perfection

In the world of decorating, creative stagnation can and often does occur when the house stands divided. This stagnation of progress happens because one person likes one thing and the other person likes another thing. Since they cannot agree they go back to the drawing board, only to find one more item that they cannot agree to like. This is a process called analysis paralysis and I meet many people riding that un-merry go round. Often, the analysts like to look at everything from every direction and then see if there is anything else before they make a decision. The analysts wants each piece and each individual decision to be perfect before moving forward but since perfection does not exist the analyst remains analyzing while nothing ever really gets done. In order to jump off the un-merry go round and move forward……someone has to move. Literally, we have to get up from the computer, stop shopping and set up the room using what you already own and have purchased. Let’s take a peek into a Begonia model whose homeowners decided to stop shopping and start moving forward to the finish line somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Do not seek perfection
It has been my experience that we should not seek perfection in the world of decorating because perfection is subjective and therefore subject to change. I encourage homeowners to go for a unified look that they like overall in a space. For instance, we don’t eat raw eggs, a cold stick of butter, a cup of coco powder, sugar and flour by themselves do we? No! We do not, that would be gross and possibly a choking hazard. However, put all those ingredients together and they make a great chocolate cake. So, we get a whole bunch of stuff that we 75% like and put them all together to get a hundred percent like! This works especially great on a budget!

• Furniture placement
The homeowners moved in with all the furniture they needed for the living room. However, the original placement of the furniture made the room look dark and blocked off. We opened up the room by moving the sofa to the wall between the windows. We moved the TV to the small wall so the homeowners can see the TV from the kitchen and enjoy the outdoor views. The shelving units were repositioned to be centered on the second largest wall opposing the TV. These shelves were important to the homeowners so they could display sentimental items from their travels. The recliner was positioned at an angle inward toward the room and TV. Since the shelving units took up the space that I usually fill with the loveseat, I had to put my thinking cap on to find a place for the loveseat. We angled the loveseat inward toward the room and beside the TV. The room was large enough to configure this way and we were able to position a small desk behind the loveseat. I believe that I can solve the homeowner’s problem from last week by doing this configuration with one of their loveseats. (That is if they want to move their furniture around next season.) We placed side tables on each side of the sofa and a side table by the recliner.

• Rug
We placed a rug at an angle on the floor which covers the floor outlet. I like the way the rug pulls you into the room and starts the navy color story.

• Side panels
We needed a budget friendly window treatment option, so we installed side panels. We hung the side panels at 95” high, so in the living room that is right at the ceiling line. We used rods that are 48” wide but extend to 88” wide however, we did not extend the rods wide. We extended the rods about 10” past the widow on each side. The treatment grazes the side of the window creating the optical illusion that the window is larger and taller in the space. The sliding glass doors have an outside mount vertical blind so we had to buy extension returns that were larger than normal. We hung the 24” to 48” rod on each side of the large slider. We extended the rod large enough to cover the verticals when open. We used two side panels on each small rod. The extra fullness on the slider looks better because the slider is so big. When the vertical blinds are open in the daytime, the curtains hide them completely. I had to shut them for photos because the room is so bright.

• Large art
The homeowners found an abstract canvas in a plexi glass case that is really different. The canvas was the “Perfect” choice for the focal wall over the sofa!

• Lamps
The homeowner also found two lamps for the side tables that I had to agree looked perfect. The lamps were blown white glass with heavy copper flecking at the top of the lamp.

• Pillows to pull it together
We used a variety of pillows that the homeowners randomly purchased. Some
Pillows were 75% but they pull the room together 100%.

P.S. –Attention all club presidents! We give free decorating seminars. It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today. Also, we are on-line check out our web-site at www.ruthdyer.com and you can always e-mail us at ruth@finishingtouchfl.com or Call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.

Before and After Pics Below