Decorating Woes Need a Decorating Genius

People seem to think that because I am creative in some areas, I must be creative in all areas. This is not true. Those who know me well can attest to the fact that I have absolutely no ability in house décor. Oh, they’re gentle about it, offering a carefully worded compliment like, "That's not true—you, uh, I know! You make nice little arrangments on shelves." Even that could be argued and I appreciate their effort, but in the end we all know that I seem to have no ability to understand how it all fits together.

I seem to hang things too high, too low, or too far to the left or right. I choose the wrong color, shape and style every time. This is further complicated by the fact that I'm also cheap. I worry about spending large chunks of money on furniture or drapes or carpeting that won't be right, so I end up buying nothing and accepting people's donations, you know what I mean? "Hey, we're getting rid of this old bookshelf. Want it?" I say yes every time and as a result I have a house full of unmatched hand-me-downs.

Into this pathetic existence, enter: Anita.

My friend Anita is changing all of that.

After years of insecurity and anguish over my home (even if I managed to clean it, it still looked crummy), I discovered Anita. She was there all along, actually, someone I knew from the church we attended. A friend suggested I contact her, but I was embarrassed to imagine her looking in every room and seeing what a miserable failure I was in this regard, so I put it off. Finally someone else suggested her, so I picked up the phone and poured out my sad story of decorating woes.

As it turned out, Anita was just at that moment trying to figure out how to build her business. Her heart is for people like me who can't do it alone, but can't afford high-end decorators. Even though she has the talent to serve high-end, high-paying clients, she loves the creative challenge of using what people have, finding out their vision for what they want their space to feel like, and pulling it all together for them at a reasonable hourly rate.

In my opinion, she's genius.

She’s never made me feel like a loser. She's slowly but surely helped me sift through all of these half-broken hand-me-downs, salvaging what can work and donating what can’t. She finds great deals on fabric for valances, cute tables that fit perfectly in an awkward spot, a perfectly patterned rug, art and paint color for the walls. She helps me edit, adjust and add in the right thing. In the end, she has saved us a lot of money that would have been spent on something that didn’t work. She’s also saved us from the frustration of always buying the wrong thing.

I’ve never wanted a show home, but I did want to live in a space that reflected our tastes and personalities. Somehow I couldn’t get there on my own. Anita loves doing this, so if you happen to live in central Indiana and want access to my friend, let me know. Send me an email (ann@contemplativemom.com) and let me know. I can put you in touch with Anita, and you, too, can feel confident next time you have to choose paint color!