OK, so once I posted yesterday’s entry, I found this web article from HGTV which basically contradicted everything I just said.

Another bit of evidence that truly, this is a subjective art.  My mantra is you should decorate your home in a way that pleases YOU.  So if stair stepping your pictures without a set of stairs makes you happy, than have at it!  Still, I write this blog because my clients often do not know what looks aesthetically pleasing to them.  It is my job to try to fish that out. 

That being said, I do believe that there are certain strategies that create more harmonious, easy to live in spaces.  Sometimes people do things that throw off harmony and once I correct it, they say, “WOW”.  I try to do this without injecting my personal style.  But once again, a caveat.  Alex, from my business group, once told me that he liked my style.  What?  I was shocked to hear this because I try so hard to keep my personal taste under wraps.  “No,” he said.  “You definitely have a style.  Restrained. Clean.  Confident.  I see it in all the examples you show.” 

Hmmm.  I guess I have to agree, and thus explain the dichotomy between my view and the HGTV article.  I DO like clean.  I prefer uncluttered spaces where the occupant can have a breath and inject a bit of self into the surroundings.  I prefer one big piece to a mash of small.  I think earth tones and complex colors are more livable than loud brights.   I think styles do come and go with fashion–and hanging art in a staggered pattern is completely out of fashion–and I believe most people that hire a decorator are paying me to know what those fashions are and to give them an updated look in the confines of their personal tastes.    And while I am confessing, I will admit that I think this is a difficult task that many other decorators are not up to.  (I hope this doesn’t sound too ugly!)