Just do It!

Years ago, when I was taking my Redesign classes, we were each asked to decorate an empty fireplace mantle in a clients home. When it was my turn, I was paralyzed with fear. I whispered to Ann (Anderson) that I couldn’t do it. The house was not my style of decorating, and, naively at the time, I thought that every piece had to be perfect (my idea of perfection, not theirs). She whispered back to me “It’s not about you. Stop thinking. Just do it.”

Once I had recovered from the shock of being told it wasn’t all about me, I knew she was right. We all have different ideas of perfection, it’s what we do with those ideas that matter. The other thing I learned that day was to “Just do it!” A mantra that now carries me through life, teaching me to analyze the important, but not to hesitate with the easy or obvious.

Which is where Interior Redesign comes in. Unless you are painting a room, or knocking down a wall, most decisions can be reversed within a few hours. Looking at a room, fully dressed (both you and the room should be fully dressed, it’s easier that way) it is almost impossible to understand how it will look with a different floor plan.

Even if a designer can “see” it in their head, it is often difficult to explain, and sometimes, well-thought-out ideas may change once the room is emptied. It is far easier to begin moving things around, it gives you a better sense of how the room should be. Often the plan changes; the symmetry may be wrong, or the floor plan impractical. If that happens, just keep moving. Play with the furniture. Try every conceivable idea. Don’t stop and theorize about why you should, or shouldn’t, do something. It’s furniture, it’s moveable. Just do it!

(By the way, I wish I could say that I designed the above room, but I didn’t. I love the eccentric calmness that manages to combine several functions into one space. Beautiful and practical)

Thanks to www.dreamhome-design.blogspot.com for the great photograph.