One Decorator's approach to the profession of interior design, this new column and YOU!

(Ms.) S.A. “Sam” Jernigan, Interior Designer, IFDA

Having just celebrated 20 years in this business last year (2007), my philosophy of design was nevertheless shaped early on in my career and is integrally based upon my strong feelings regarding home -- a la' Dorothy: there's no place like it. As a decorator, I'm invited into people's most private spaces and as a result I've always felt a sense of privilege in being part of this very personalized process of bringing beauty, style, and enhanced enjoyment to the lives of those I assist. With particularly spunky clients, from time to time, I've also been able to help inject elements of fun, whimsy, and downright campy looks to suit the tastes of those who are true "individuals" (and how I relish those folks!).

Interior Designer, IFDA

While, of course, the creativity and “juice” of being presented with endless design challenges is indeed the fun part of the job, in many ways I also strongly relate to the likes of Michael Finney, the Bay area consumer advocate (KGO-AM). With my penny-pinchin’ Scotch-Irishness in full display when I ardently keep an eye on client’s expenditure$, I’m just hard-wired with an abiding respect for budgets and how far they can (and often, can’t) s-t-r-e-t-c-h.  So, I am adamant about helping my clients – and now, You -- find value in your purchases and design decisions and that is facilitated by my providing valuable technical information to clients BEFORE they head out to hit the stores. After all, who can afford to find out after the new $2000 couch is delivered that it’s too large for the family room and hangs into the doorway....or that the fabric is easily stained? That’s an expensive and unwelcome learning curve -- and one I’m determined to spare you. 

I also have a personal design philosophy that I’ve grown more convinced is best over the years.  Namely, my overarching goal is to bring your style to the forefront of your home, not mine. This tidbit brings to mind one incident I’ll never forget. When arriving at a residence in Sonoma for a consult, I  was invited into a sumptuous living room that truly looked as though it would have been appropriate in a full-color spread in a decorating magazine. The distinctively deep crown moldings with the rich faux finish, striped silk draperies and dense wool carpet all had a decidedly high-end feel. As my new client escorted me back through several other rooms to the area she wanted my help finishing I commented enthusiastically on how lovely her home was. She sighed audibly, rolled her eyes, and said, “Yeah, well, this is the decorator’s taste -- not mine.” What a sad outcome given not only the money she’d clearly spent but, more importantly, the fact that she ultimately felt trapped in a living page out of some designer’s portfolio. She went on to tell me that when it came time to select fabrics for various applications, the decorator had only shown her 3 swatches, for example.

Don’t let this happen to you! In fact, let’s touch for a moment on the fact that many furniture stores offer “free design services.” Do you have any illusions that the in-store decorator for XYZ Furniture Co. is actually going to “advise” you to do anything other than purchase as many items as possible at her store exclusively? Will she thereafter be able to similarly advise you on paint colors? Wallpaper? Lighting? Window treatments? How about helping you decide on carpeting vs. hardwood....or laminate? What about kitchen counter choices? And cabinetry? Plumbing fixtures? Appliances? Backsplash materials? Lamentably, most of these earnest individuals employed by retailers are just that -- employees. And usually commissioned employees at that. And their expertise is simply limited to knowledge of the products they’re directly involved in selling. Period. When I began my design consultation business in 1992 following 5 years full-time employment as a designer for a small family-owned business (indeed on commission!), I took this reality to heart. Personally, I wanted to be free of the restrictions of representing only a certain range of offerings (especially when I have a weakness for antiques and flea market finds). Instead, I wanted to create a unique service to address a need I felt was obvious:  providing the most creative solutions, useful information, and technical insight and guidance on virtually everything a homeowner might require so that clients could make informed and intelligent decisions before they spent their sometimes limited decorating dollars. 

I also wanted to help those who were still sorting out what they wanted for their personal environment -- to assist them in finding choices that they could not only live with -- but adore. Colors that cheered, or soothed them -- patterns, styles, and fresh combinations that helped uniquely imprint their taste on the rooms they and their family inhabit day in and day out. And do it all on a consultation-only basis with NO SELLING (e.g. no direct retailing of products or services, including when a designer subcontracts with plumbers, electricians, etc. and dutifully builds in an override on their fees to the homeowner).  With this approach, I was no longer trying to “sell” someone and as  a result, everybody could just relax and enjoy the interactive process, including yours truly.  In fact, nothing pleases me more than to surprise clients by saving them money on their planned purchases through passing along knowledge and ingenuity.  I recall a client with a newly remodeled rec room who was asking about window coverings and said, “So I’ll put that treatment on the sliding glass door too, right?”  To which I replied, “Nope.”  She simply didn’t need to cover that sliding glass door as there were no privacy, thermal, or light control issues whatsoever – and she kept about $1000 in her pocket as a result.  Independent information such as this can be just the ticket for removing built-in assumptions about decorating that can actually be a roadblock to the best solution!

This new decorating advice column & YOU…
While I can use this space to explain, educate, and encourage you via penning articles on sundry principles of interior design, I believe it will be more gratifying yet for me and more tangibly constructive for YOU if I help you with your decorating quandaries directly – don’t you think?  So if I receive “help!” s.o.s’s from you in the form of clearly written e-mails outlining your design dilemma, I’ll be happy to respond via this column (as space and time permit) and try to provide solutions for you. Digital photos will be a MOST expedient and helpful tool and by forwarding these, you are giving me and Reviewboard Magazine permission to publish them.  No last names will be used, instead only first name, last initial, and city/state. Please note: photos will not be returned. I’m ready to roll-up my sleeves if you’re ready to start sending in your questions.  Try to keep photo sizes to under 1 MB and route via email to:  jernigan@Reviewboard.com  Looking forward to hearing from you…and hope you’ll stop by this new space regularly.  After all, our houses/apartments/lofts/condos/ranches/castles and the decorating challenges they pose inside ‘n out are a part of our daily landscape -- because there’s no place like home…