Dream to Decorate

By HOME and GARDEN TELEVISION

Last update: November 8, 2009 - 12:48 AM

Most designers can't even get their minds around hiding mistakes because they are so bent on preventing them in the first place. But here are the suggestions some professionals have for minimizing post-decorating regret:

DREAM A LITTLE.

Designer Terry Willits suggests keeping a dream notebook. Tear out magazine pictures of rooms you love. Start a "favorite things" box that includes materials, pictures, wallpaper -- even cards you're drawn to. "That's a tangible way to educate yourself about what you really like," says Willits. Another option: Go to decorating showrooms and see what works.

PROCEED SLOWLY.

Cindy Piccoli, host of HGTV's "Decorating With Style," has just moved to a new apartment and hasn't yet decided on her color scheme. Instead of a hasty decision she might regret, she's opted to slipcover two new chairs in inexpensive white duck cloth. "I can dye them or paint them with fabric paint and have some fun. Eventually, I'll upholster them, but now I have the time to decide what colors and fabric I want. And I can put the slipcovers back on if I have a kids' party. They're a great temporary solution."

MAKE A PLAN.

This is perhaps as close to a mantra as decorators get. "If you have no organized plan, you will soon have a collection of garage-sale items," says designer Rebecca Rahl. "You need a floor plan and a color scheme. Then you can shop the sales and pick up quality pieces."

GET SOME HELP.

"You don't need a professional to decorate the whole thing," says designer Scott Dolphin. "But have a designer come to your home for two hours to make some suggestions. He may suggest things you haven't thought of: a new conversation area, a different traffic pattern, how you can use the room."

YOU CAN ALWAYS POLL YOUR FRIENDS.

Linda Hardy, interior-design instructor at the Art Institute of Dallas, suggests asking your friends what they think. "If you start to hear a consensus, start there."

Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.

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