Decorating 101

Do your decorating projects snowball into major headaches?  Read on...

Home Design: Managing the Snowball Effect
By Marni Jameson

When my kids were little, we used to read a book called "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Joffe Numeroff. In it, a demanding rodent wants a cookie, then a glass of milk to go with it, then he wants a straw for the milk, and a mirror to see if he has a milk mustache, and so it goes, until this two-ounce dictator has driven one indulgent boy to exhaustion.

This is exactly like decorating. One decision detonates another until you unravel like a cheap throw rug.

Until recently, I confronted my own mouse-and-cookie problem every day while facing the bathroom mirror. No, I wasn't fretting about body image or Botox. I wasn't even peering into my soul to reflect upon guilt or failure, though I could have gone any one of those places. This reflection was more superficial, and literally about the mirror. It was the wrong shape, had the wrong frame, and was just as wrong as O.J. Simpson. I needed a new one.

But like the mouse getting his cookie, if I got a new mirror, I'd need something else. I'd need to buy two, one for over my husband's sink. But before I hung them, I'd want to paint the wall, or maybe wallpaper. But that would mean picking a wall color, which would mean choosing drape fabric. The drape fabric would need to work in the adjoining master bedroom, because master suites must share unifying window treatments it says on page three of the U.S. Constitution.

The drape fabric would also need to coordinate with the bedspread, which I plan to change to I'm not sure what. And, back to the bathroom, I'd really like to install a great ceiling light fixture, but then I'd have to choose the metal finish, which should go with the mirror frame, which must go with the cabinet hardware. And if I changed the knobs would I also need new faucets?

This is why so many rooms never change.

Decorating decisions can spiral. So often when I consider redecorating a space, I soon feel like an umbrella in a Tsunami - under equipped and overwhelmed. Or like the mouse's friend - wiped out.

When I finally grew sick of facing the mirror and reflecting on my cowardice, I bit the cookie and hired a tile guy to use the same tumbled marble I'd used on the bathroom floor and counters to craft frames for new mirrors over each sink. A glass company custom cut mirrors to mount inside the marble-tiled frames. Whew! Next I found some antique copper colored wallpaper that looked like faux finish on plaster. It will warm up the room, add character, and is neutral enough that it won't limit my fabric options.

Drapes are next on my list, along with new bedding, just as soon as I gather more courage.

Next time your decorating decisions start to snowball, here's how to get control:

• Divide and conquer. True, to achieve great design, everything needs to work together. But don't let that overwhelm you. Break the process down into all the steps you'll need to make. Write a list, then tackle one task at a time, keeping in mind the big picture as you go.
  
• Think layers. Start from the walls and floors, and move in. First, choose flooring, wall color and tiles in colors you can build on. Next layer in window treatments, furniture, and accessories. I got stuck by starting with accessories, hanging framed mirrors. Like artwork, these should come last, unless you build them in as part of the background, as I did once I installed tiled mirror frames on the wall.
  
• Watch that first step. The first decorating decision you make in a room is often the hardest because it sets the tone, and has a ripple effect on every subsequent design decision. In home design, fools often rush in. Take your time, think of the future impact and choose well. Choosing should get easier as you go -- unless you do something impulsive, like buy a red leopard-print carpet then get stuck.
  
• Spend wisely. The more expensive something is and the longer you plan to keep it, the more neutral and timeless it should be. Be more trendy and personal with less expensive touches that are easy to change. In a bathroom, for instance, pick tile and cabinets you (or the next homeowner) won't tire of. Add pizzazz with towels and floral arrangements.
  
• Think of it as an outfit. Dressing a room is like dressing yourself. Start with good basics. Be sure the wardrobe staples are well constructed, classic and tailored. Then accessorize with the scarf, the shoes, the jewelry. Or the vase, the drape, and the perfect mirror.

Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of "The House Always Wins" (Da Capo). You can learn more about her and her book - which can be a nice housewarming gift or a tool to show buyers some great ideas on turning a house that isn't quite right into perfect, at www.marnijameson.com.