One of our favorite shows to watch on the weekends has been HGTV's Design Star. I was glad to see that one of the last challenges was to redo a room for a family member. It was a very welcoming and refreshing break just to have time for the contestants to see their families. And the fact that they were able to do something for their families was really the icing on the cake with their $10,000.00.
It reminded me of my first paid design job. It was for my parents. I started out as an Interior Design and Art Major. I did well, but I needed a break from living at home. I also thought pursuing a degree in education would serve me better later on since my Father thought it would be more practical and give me more opportunities. However, I did not have any money to go away to school. I applied to a private college in Los Angeles and got accepted. What was I going to do to pay for college? My parents made me an offer that I could not refuse. The previous year they had just purchased a new home. They both worked and they were not able to really work on decorating their home. My Dad told me that if I decorated it and got their new home just like my Mom wanted that he would pay for my tuition, room and board for the first semester of college. I would have to figure out how to pay for the subsequent semesters. My parents sat me down and told me that they really felt I had a gift in decorating and they really liked all of the decorating I had done. They felt I could help them get this home finally finished. The one stipulation was it had to be done the way my Mom wanted it done. Not a problem, since I viewed both parents as my clients. My Dad told me there was a limited budget to get the supplies. I took on my own Design Challenge without thinking twice! This was in the early 70's so all the trends were with the harvest and fall colors. Avocado green, harvest gold and oranges were all the rage then. I worked on my parents' four bedroom, two bath, and 1,800 square foot home for two and a half months solid to complete this amazing decorating project.
I first spent time interviewing my Mom and found out what she wanted. She was very particular on some items and the rest she left up to me to be creative. I learned all kinds of skills with this project. We did not have Internet back then, so I had to rely on various home department stores to figure some of this stuff out. I also had to read books to figure other things out on my own. I have always been a visual learner and some things I just learned by trial and error. I had done quite a bit of painting throughout my life as I assisted my Mom and Grandmother on various decorating projects. I also learned how to cut and install paneling that I installed in the family room and the bar area for my Dad. Most of the colors were very warm golden tones. I painted the formal dining room a burnt orange, rust color. I decided it would be more interesting to do something different with mirrors to show off the very unique wrought iron custom painted chandelier that we found. It really highlighted this formal dining room and their beautiful dining room set. It had a vaulted ceiling and I made a design to install these beveled mirror strips vertically on part of the dining room accent wall that followed the ceiling line. I wanted to do this instead of a typical mirror on the wall above the formal dining room table. I learned that you have to use special glue and special nails to secure mirrored strips to the wall.
Believe it or not, but my Mom wanted to use the acrylic paintings I had done for my painting class in the living and dining rooms. That was something else! I made those pieces earlier, not knowing they would match her décor, color scheme and transitional style. When we learned about Vincent Van Gogh's art, I painted the very thick paint on a field of fall trees. That was fun. We had moved away so since I did not know many people, I put all of my efforts into my studies and excelled. I made the Dean's List since most of my time was spent working on my projects. I did not know all of my art projects would come in handy in decorating my parent's home!
One of my brothers wanted a tropical island theme since he was able to go Hawaii with our church youth group. So, I followed his lead with his tropical gold and avocado green and brown color scheme. It was fun. He had some old furniture that I also painted and even antiqued a few pieces. He loved that I was able to customize some of those old wooden pieces to match his style and décor.
My youngest brother was only six years old at the time. He loved Charlie Brown and especially, Snoopy the Dog character. This was the only room in the house that I used a wallpaper border. I have never been a big fan of wallpaper. Once, you remove it, you learn you can do so much more with paint and various painting techniques. I painted the bottom of the chair rail blue and the top part above the Peanuts border a beautiful vibrant red color. Of course I also made some curtains for his room. We were able to find some cool Peanuts themed bedding for his room. He also needed some new furniture. We found some newer furniture for him that would last a while for this very active little brother.
(I wish I could share the best pictures of their home. My Mom has the best pictures in California. Unfortunately, I was only able to find a couple of pictures of the back yard of our home right before my Dad went on a motorcycle trip with his friend. It was during my birthday weekend. You can see the outside of our home right before my Dad went on his trip in the other picture.)
I got their home done a week before I was to leave for college. My Dad paid me and I was able to use it for that first semester. I put my heart and soul into that home. I wanted to make sure that it was done right and really reflected my parents taste. I worked some very long hours to get that project done. It was not just about the money, it was very important that they would enjoy it and it reflected their personalities not mine.
Being the older sister, I also had to be the supervisor for my little brothers while my Mom and Dad were working. My brothers were pretty good, but sometimes it was challenging to do that, cook dinner and get this massive project done in time. My favorite parts were when I was able to do the Big Reveal and the progress I had done for my Mom when she came home from work. She loved it and she was truly the ideal client. She knew what she wanted and some things she just left it up to me. I learned the importance of asking lots of questions. I never made any major decisions until I got approval from her on them. It was the beginning of my interior design formal "paid career". I was eighteen years old and I finished a couple months later shortly after I turned the ripe old age of nineteen years of age! It was so rewarding to know that I could do something meaningful for my parents, especially for my Mom. She worked very hard. This was their first new home they had ever owned!
Why was this experience so special for me?
- There were lots of long hours of hard and honest work.
- It was great to see what I had done.
- It was an opportunity to do something I loved doing.
- And it was the knowledge I could really make a difference in other people's homes and lives.
- It was a dream comes true for me.
- That wonderful feeling that I could change the personal space and enrich people's lives has always been really rewarding for me.
So, when I saw how great those Design Star finalists felt when they finished that project for their family members, it brought tears of joy to my eyes. Because, I really knew how great it felt from my personal experience. It has truly been one of the highlights of my life and I will never forget it!
Have a Colorful Day!
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