Being a Decorating Diva

Last week my class and I attended a seminar put on by a high end interior designer about bringing out your designing diva.  I  collaborate with the designer that presented the program and do a significant amount of floral design work for her. Cheri Ware is the most organized designer I know. She always has a book with all her samples, swatches, colors, diagrams, furniture layouts and dimensions for every client. This is the important information I need to determine the size, form and design of the arrangements she specifies for each area in each room to achieve the feeling and style of the arrangement needed. I try to get this same information from all my custom clients which is not always easy.

Cheri with her gals!

Cheri's team came to set up for the program the day before. Rather than a screen she used a 50 inch flat screen to show her power point. There were a couple of design boards showing samples of paint, fabric, wood finishes, counter tops and hardware for two rooms. There was also a grey parsons chair and a traditional and a contemporary framed print. They also set up a lovely table for treats and a special drawing giveaway.

The next night Cheri did her presentation for about 60 people of which 6 were from my floral class. Community education is a great way to get customers informed and involved. She gave tips on finding your personal style. Her clients fill out a 15 page profile on every thing from what color car they prefer to what color clothes they have in their closets.

Tonight's audience had to choose a celebrity they most closely relate to - Jackie Kennedy, George Cloney, Kate Middleton, Johnny Depp, or Mariah Carey and that helped decide what style they related to traditional, contemporary, classic, etc.

Contemporary Art

She stressed doing a sample of your paint color on a wall in the room you want to use it in and watch it throughout the day to see how the natural light effects the color as it changes brightness. Some colors look more green at times or washed out. And another note on color - yes, you can paint small rooms dark colors. Bathrooms, mudrooms and laundry rooms are places that you can play with bold looks.

Her "grey chair" exercise was to show that neutral furniture pieces can go either traditional or contemporary depending on what accessories it is paired with. This is where she showed how we work together to pick elements of a floral arrangement I would put together for her.

Classic floral

 A home should flow room to room instead of being a collection of disjointed themes. Big ticket items should be neutral finishes not this years fashion statement. She spoke of how important scale is when choosing furniture. She had a picture of a sofa wedged in an alcove. Not every wood piece needs to be the same finish - not matchy, matchy-  for interest it is okay to mix dark woods, metallic woods and painted furniture finishes. Another important point is the home should not look like a page from a magazine. It needs heart- personal elements that fit your lifestyle.

Cheri during the presentation

The formula for a good design is personal style plus life style plus budget equals master plan. Keep this in mind next time you want to update, remodel or build.

Cheri and Ann at The Front Porch before the Class