FAQ
If you have questions, we probably have answers:
Can we talk about more than one room during the consultation?
Honey, we can talk about pinochle if you like. It’s your two hours! If, however, you prefer to focus on the strictly decorative, we can discuss anything your heart desires — whether it’s your walk-in closet, a single room, or the entire house. My goal is to make your life better, easier, and just a little bit more beautiful in whatever way you choose.
Are you going to impose your style on me?
What?! That’s crazy talk! I’m not here to impose anything on anyone. While I will offer suggestions on matters both functional and aesthetic (that’s why you hired me, right?), my goal is to make you deliriously happy with your home. In fact, nothing delights me more than being able to channel a client’s own personal taste like some kind of Long Island Medium of design.
That said, if you’re looking for floor-to-ceiling chintz or a place that would make Marie Antoinette verte with envy, I might not be the designer for you.
I’m not ready to greenlight a big design project. It’s probably too early to have a consultation, huh?
No way, José! In fact, this could be the best time to get input from a professional. That’s because interior design isn’t just about throw pillows and drapes. It’s also about making the very most of a space — in terms of layout, flow, and organization — and coming up with practical solutions for the specific ways in which you and your family will use a given room.
Bringing me in on the ground floor, so to speak, means that you’ll have a game plan before you begin any work. This can protect you from heading off in the wrong direction, sourcing from the wrong vendors, or building that new closet on the wrong wall of your bedroom. Mistakes are expensive, dude.
How much improvement can you really see in one day of design work?
You’d be amazed at how great it feels to finally do that “thing” you’ve been putting off since the day you moved in. You know, the “styling that mess of a bookcase in the family room” thing. Or the “figuring out how to tie together the disparate elements of your living room” thing. (Not that I have experience with unfinished business in my own house, mind you. My house is a pristine paradise.)
So why not use me as the kick in the pants you need to stop procrastinating and Get. It. Done? I mean, unless you enjoy being slowly driven mad by unfinished business everywhere you look.
Can you pick paint colors for me?
Paint colors can be tricky, huh? Fortunately for you, I have been trained in both color theory and its employment in practical applications. (Doesn’t that sound fancy?) I also painted needlepoint canvases for pocket money in middle school, so I really do know what I’m talking about!
Let me loose on your problem area(s) and we’ll have the perfect hues lined up in no time.
I never know what to look for when I’m shopping for accessories. Can you teach me?
Gladly! As it happens, I am a firm believer in that old adage: “Give someone a fish, and you feed them for a day. Teach someone to fish for treasures at Home Goods, and they have a bad habit for life.” Isn’t that how it goes? Well, anyway. . .
Accessorizing a room isn’t rocket science, but there are some guiding principles I would be happy to share, along with techniques for putting them into practice. So what are you waiting for? Grab your comfy shoes, slip on that fanny pack, and let’s get shopping!
Okay. Maybe not the fanny pack.
What’s included in full-service design?
From your perspective, full-service design will feel a lot like lying on a divan eating bon-bons while someone else transforms your home. Sounds dreamy, huh?
My team and I will take care of the whole project: from initial discussions about what you’re hoping to accomplish. . .to design, sourcing, procurement, and fabrication. . .to installation and end-of-the-line zhuzhing that makes your space ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille.
In other words, we do all the heavy lifting, so you can focus on what you do best — raising your six perfectly behaved children. Or curing cancer. Or both!
Can we work on my house in stages, rather than all at once?
Of course! Next to design, there’s nothing I love more than strategizing. So I’d be delighted to help you plan and execute your project on the schedule that works best for you. For reals.
Can you make my spouse/child/cat give up their hideous recliner/bean-bag chair/scratching post?
As the unmade beds in my children’s rooms attest on a daily basis, I cannot make anybody do anything. I can, however, propose a beautiful replacement for your beloved’s unsightly “treasure,” and explain the design principles behind that proposal in the clear and compelling phraseology of an award-winning former screenwriter/journalist.
The rest, my friend, is up to you.
Are you the Amy Baker I went to elementary school with?
Probably not. As it turns out, almost everyone has known an Amy Baker at some point in their life. (Everyone also seems to have had an aunt who went to my alma mater — Wellesley College. Go figure.) All I can say is that I’m the youngest of four, so presumably, my parents were scraping the bottom of the name barrel by the time I came along.
Anyway, unless you grew up in Fairfield County, Connecticut, I am not your Amy Baker. But maybe that’s a good thing?
Can you tell me your Meyers-Briggs type so I can be sure we’ll get along?
Sure! I’m an INFJ, which is the Jesus/Gandhi one (although I like to think I have better clothes). And while saving the world one bathroom at a time might seem a tad less noble than their particular contributions to society, I do believe I’m doing my own small part for the betterment of humanity.
Call me crazy, but I’m convinced there would be fewer despots in the world if every potential tyrant had a tastefully designed living room. (See, also, Donald Trump. ’Nuff said.)
Working in Hollywood must have been really glamorous, huh?
Ha! You’re funny!
It might be glamorous (at times) for people like Julia Roberts, but for the humble screenwriter, the movie biz is most certainly not. Think: sitting for hours on end in a booth at Jerry’s Deli, knocking back cup after cup of caffeine, and arguing with your writing partner/husband about the subconscious motivations of entirely fictitious people. For months.
I know. Sexy.
What is Tom Hanks really like?
Tom Hanks is every bit as lovely as you think he is. Isn’t that reassuring?