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I am a true student of the interior design profession. I live, breathe, eat and sleep this stuff!
Whether you're looking for ideas on TV, in magazines, or on websites like DIY.com, the decorating process still starts with you.
My impression of so much of what’s available on TV, in bookstores, on the internet, is intended to keep you confused, and keep you looking outside yourself for solutions to your decorating dilemmas. I call it “The Great Lie” of interior design. Here is the final section from the book.
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1) Psychology—does the decorator or designer listen to you and ask about your lifestyle, taste, and budget?
2) Product—does she have a variety of products with different price points and style?
3) Project—can she manage your job, juggle all the things that have to be done, meet the timetable you agree upon, and handle her team of people?
Remember in Part 1 when I said a good decorator is part psychologist and part plumber? I should have added part air-traffic controller, too! A decorator has to manage her work crews and actually finish the job. The only way to know for sure if she can “get ‘er done!” is to ask for references—before you go past the initial consultation.
So how do you make sure everything gets done on time and under budget? That could take a whole book by itself, but here are a couple of things to remember.
Managing your project
In the fifty years my family-owned design firm has operated, we’ve discovered that most of our clients begin a project because of an upcoming event: a graduation, a holiday party, a charity event, a birthday or anniversary. They want their homes to look great when people come over.
Believe me, there’s nothing more guaranteed to cause panic to find a half-painted room a week before the “big event”! What started out as a labor of love can quickly turn into a gut-wrenching nightmare of long weekends and weeknights.
If you haven’t done a decorating project for a while, it can seem overwhelming. There are a lot of different things to juggle: money, product, workers, samples—the list seems to get larger the longer you go.
My approach is to decorate from the inside out. That means start with your own dreams, and work your way out from there. When you follow the “Big Picture” approach at the beginning of your chapter, you’ll have the hard part handled.
In addition to the decorating success plan, I’ve included a project management worksheet in the appendix. When you sit down with your family or any subcontractors you’re working with, use it to make notes, plan target dates and see all your work at a glance. You’ll feel much more in control of the project—and sleep better as the big day approaches!
Some final thoughts…
As I wrote at the beginning of the book, even though I’m an interior designer by profession, my real passion is teaching. I believe in empowering people to step through their doubt and confusion to become their own decorating heroes. I felt it was time to help cut through the media
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hype and the market clutter in the home décor business and help you, the do-it-yourself decorator, make your life easier.
In my design classes, I meet women from all walks of life, all professions, and all education and income levels. They pay about $100 for eight hours of classes. Some drive ninety minutes each way after work to come four times a month.
That’s the biggest compliment they could give me, bigger than paying me the money: taking time out of their busy lives to visit with me. I’m honored that they would make that investment in me, and proud that they would make that investment in themselves.
Some of the women I talk to come into my decorating classes in a state of bewilderment, eyes glazed. They are completely confused, don't trust "the experts", and are intimidated by how expensive everything is. They are terrified of making mistakes. All their friends have horror stories, which they willingly share with anyone who will listen.
These women are saying, "I know what I like, I just need a little confidence to get there."
And nobody's listening to her. Not the publishers, the writers, nor the TV talking heads.
Well, I’ve been telling the same story for over twenty five years:
- - Everybody matters. Everyone deserves to have a beautiful home.
-Don’t ever be intimidated by “experts” and “fashion police”. It’s all a machine to sell you product. Be yourself. Express yourself.
-Trust yourself. You can do it. (too Christopher Lowell-ly? Well, he's right about this.)
-Decorate by Design with Mary Cynthia is about giving you a language to articulate your dreams and bring forth the inner you. With a few simple rules that apply to any budget or taste, you can actually have the look you want for less.
-Who’s got time for an endless series of tips and tricks? Who’s got money for trial and error? You have a life to live. Stop struggling! Get your home right the first time and then go enjoy your life and lifestyle surrounded by beauty and comfort.
-Finally, please do the exercises. They work!
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All the Best,
Mary Cynthia
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P.S. Reach me on the web at http://www.decoratebydesign.com
P.S.S. Share this book with a friend—
spare her a call to “The Cleaner”!
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Thanks for taking this journey of creativity and self-discovery with me.
My mission is to:
- Help you create the home of your dreams, on your schedule and your budget.
- Give you a fun and educational viewing experience.
- Make your life easier and save you time.
Click here to take advantage of a special offer on
“Decorate by Design with Mary Cynthia:
Decorating from the INSIDE, Out!”.
You get real knowledge about design principles, not just pretty pictures or “how-to-create-a-window treatment-with-a-sheet” type of projects. If we save you from re-painting just one room the course will about pay for itself (not to mention the time you save—and you can always get more money, but your time can never be replaced, right?).
I'll teach you how to:
- Work color to your advantage
- Make your colors mix together, even a room at a time.
- Place and mix different styles of furniture (“eclectic” that really looks good!)
- Balance a room out so that everything works together.
- Know how to spot a genuine antique from a reproduction.
- Save hundreds of dollars and hours painting a room.
- Navigate the “ups and downs” of hard surface flooring, carpet, tile, and vinyl.
- Use home accessories like lamps, mirrors, pictures, greenery and books (yes, books!) to put the finishing touch on a room.
You’ll have fifty years of real-world interior design excellence at your fingertips: the best of my best.
- Learn the number one rule that will save you the most money.
- Make your rooms brighter—without spending a fortune on lighting.
- Make your sunroom cooler.
- Spice up your black-and-white-tile bathroom.
- Make your local paint store your indispensible home decor advisor.
- Fill up your wall space without buying a truckload of artwork.
- Other ways to display family memento’s and keepsakes.
- Show off your good-looking furniture to make it look great!
- Make all your furniture purchases count before you buy.
- Create an intimate atmosphere in a great room.
- Lighten up or add substance to any room.
- Make sure you can see more of your important family photo’s.
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The DVD contains the "Color and Color Flow" chapters of the book, all in color. I explain the principles of “Classic Design” from the book, and then take you into homes I have worked on to show you exactly how the principles apply.
This combination of text, video, and audio really brings the creative process of home decorating home to you. There really is nothing else like it on the market!
And by taking advantage of this special offer, you’ll receive another special offer when you’re ready to buy the rest of “The Complete Home Decorating System”. That offer is available only if you buy the book! Click here to go to our publisher, trafford.com .
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