Chapter 6      
Floors, Walls and Windows:  Designing at Eye Level

     Are you starting to notice the “domino effect” of home decorating?  Each choice you make for color, fabric, furniture, etc. starts to influence others you make later in the game.  The last thing you want is to box yourself in after you’ve spent hundreds or thousands of dollars!
    That’s why this chapter is the longest in the book.  Your floors, walls and windows provide the backdrop for your home décor masterpiece.  If you get them right the first time, you’ll save thousand of dollars over the long haul when it comes time to freshen things up.  That can be done by changing out accents, re-covering furniture, or side pieces.  Your big surface areas (floors, walls, windows) provide the anchor for your future design adventures.  Our approach in over 5,000 homes since the 1950’s has been simple: do it once, do it right, and get on with your life!

You saw the benefits of designing at eye level in the “Color Flow” chapter.  In this chapter, we’re going to dive a little deeper into eye level design, and I’m adding floors to the mix.  Let’s start with carpet and hard-surface flooring.

Getting the most out of your flooring
    Over 50 years, we've seen a lot of games come and go in the home decor business.
    My goal in this section is to help you become an educated buyer.  Knowledge is power! So, never was the phrase "you get what you pay for" more accurate than in the carpet business.
     My father has been dealing with the carpet and flooring industry for a long time.  He has been on the advisory board of one of the country's top carpet companies.  He's taught me everything he knows about the business.  As a result, I understand how the industry works.

 Figure 53- Shades of burgundy in the roller shades, striped draperies, upholstered chair, floral arrangement and patterned carpet make this bay window a focal point with exceptional "eye appeal”.  I selected a collective color for the walls: a warm gold beige.

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      Right now, larger dealers make their money on incentives or quarterly rebates from the carpet mill.  Basically, their goal is to sell as much carpet as they can at any price necessary.  The everyday cost of most carpet is the same, "apples to apples" (or comparing the same level of quality).  The raw materials for carpet come from the same manufacturers.  When one has a price increase, they all raise prices.
     So, I’m saying that a $3.99 per square yard carpet is going to be about the same quality no matter where you go (I'll get more into that in a minute).
    Also, there's not much markup (the amount of money added to the cost of the product to cover expenses and profit) left to play with in store sales.  The bottom line is everybody out there is selling the same basic product at the same price.  That's the plain truth!
    We have been talking about color and everything else.  Now, I'm going to tell you what the carpet stores don't want you to hear!

What’s the real deal in flooring?

     I think carpet and flooring are the most confusing categories I have ever seen.  A huge portion of the cost of the carpet goes into advertising the product  telling you about the newest fiber formula on the market.  To top it off, flooring salespeople have made it so that people are paranoid about flooring and scared to buy.
    Does anyone know what Zephlon is? I don't either.  It sounds like Teflon.  I can't even tell you what is in some carpets these days.  But, they get patented by all these companies that make them and, for the most part, it is a gimmick! You talk to a salesman and they tell you, "This is a 28 pound-per-square-inch carpet and it has Zephlon and Teflon".  Or, "this carpet is stain resistant".  Most people know about it, that's a given now.  It is on your furniture.  It is part of the "woodwork" now, so to speak.
    Next, I'm going to show you what you're really getting for your money.  I know everyone wants a "good deal", but you really do get what you pay for with flooring!

The simple rule of thumb is three years of wear for every $5.00 per
square yard of actual product cost.

    Let me just say that the carpet industry is in transition right now.  Traditionally, carpet has been priced by the square yard.  Now, stores are moving to pricing by the square foot.
    So, to switch to square footage for any number you see here or out there, just divide by 9.  That means you'll get 3 years wear for every 55 cents per square foot of actual product cost.
    That's important, because many stores are quoting carpet prices including installation.  How do you know how much you're paying for the product versus pad and installation?

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Chapter 8

Scale and Balance: Creating Harmony in Your Decorating 

     This chapter brings in parts of everything I've talked about so far.  The reason its last is that it's probably the hardest thing to talk about.  It's easier to show you.  That’s why on my Decorate by Design DVD series, I have over 20 minutes of room shots showing scale and balance.

     If I had to sum it up in one sentence, it's about the feeling you get when you walk into a room.  Most people instinctively know when something is "out of whack", but can't exactly put their finger on it.  After reading this chapter, you'll know why!  Remember in the furniture placement chapter, when I wrote that I used a set of scales in my head?  It’s that kind of process, and you can apply it to fabric, window treatments, lighting, and architectural elements.
    When I design a room, I use scale and balance to make a room interesting and lively, save money by balancing the amount of materials used (I don't "go for the throat" with everything!), and create a sense of pleasing harmony.
    When you use the principles of Classic Design, a home is easy to live with over the long haul—set it and forget it!
    Let me show you some ways scale and balance applies to the different elements of your decorating.

Figure 68- Same room in both photos. Top: these cornices are works of art, but they’re out of scale and, with the sheers, too heavy for the windows.  Bottom: we converted to drapery panels that run floor to ceiling, which are much more in balance with the room as a whole.

Window treatments

Remember cornices are a padded board that runs across the top of a window.  I use it to frame a nice view.  Incidentally, more and more cornices are covered with unusual material, like leather, or just left bare and stained or painted.

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