Thursday, May 31, 2012

Simple Is Best.

I am often asked how I am able to seem to put together home decorating vignettes so effortlessly. I never quite know how to answer because, at one time, I thought everyone could do it and that my ability was nothing extraordinary. I was blessed with a mother who allowed me to do almost anything as far as decorating in my childhood home. For the most part I was given free reign to create, move furniture about, and decorate.  I was also blessed with a father who tolerated a son who seemed to like these silly sorts of things!

I have done elaborate displays in stores, store windows, and in homes both traditional and contemporary. I have decorated waiting rooms in office buildings as well as offices. I have decorated large commercial spaces like clubhouses and elegant lobbies. I have festooned churches and created floral arrangements for parties and weddings.

Of all the things I have done, the one thing I have learned is that it is the simplest of things that seem to make the biggest impact. Consider the lowly blue-green Ball Mason jar, filled half way with water and two peony stems poked inside. Simple. Easy. Elegant. What could be better? Next time you are given the task of decorating a space, think about the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) mantra. Take a simple idea like this simple arrangement and multiply it five times up the middle of a farm table or across a mantelpiece. Simple is best.