Passion can extend to home décor as well as people

 

Happy Valentine’s Day dear readers. As we know there are all sorts of love and passions celebrated today. But since we write about inside spaces in this column, we’ll stick to that and let other scribes address such things as affairs of the heart.

However, for those of us who love our homes and have a passion for making them the best they can be, that’s just as much an affair of the heart as any. And, lucky for us, we celebrate all year long, not just for one day!

So, assuming that most of you out there share my love of inside spaces, just imagine this:

You are given the opportunity to go into a furniture store and pick anything your heart desires to decorate a dedicated room in the store — just to exhibit your talents. The store is yours for the time it takes to dress up your space the way you want it. There are lamps, dishes, rugs, candles, plants and accessories of every description. Oh, and I almost forgot, the star of not one, but two decorating shows on HGTV is there to critique your final layout and give you helpful hints for your own home.

Have I piqued your interest?

Well, this scenario piqued mine and I decided to check it out.

Wickes Furniture, a relatively new store here in town, offered just such an opportunity to a group of its shoppers. Apparently, the retailer has done this in several regions around the country and since it is new to our valley, this was an introductory present to shoppers.

Shoppers were invited to participate by filling out forms in the store and then their names were selected in a lottery-style drawing. Frank Fontana, interior designer and host of "Design on a Dime" and "Takeover My Makeover," was on hand to offer decorating tips and judge the decorating talents of the participants.

Three vignettes had been set up in the store: a living room, a dining room and a bedroom. The basic furniture was in place, but there was nothing else. The lucky shoppers divided into three groups, one for each room, and then set out on their quest to make their space the best it could be. Each group was assigned a store employee to help them maneuver through the store and speed up their searches.

What happened next proves the theory that "birds of a feather" is true. Total strangers who had a mutual love of interior spaces and a joint mission quickly bonded and got to work. Each group tried several options for their rooms, switched out accessories, lugged in area rugs and throws, set up tabletop displays and positioned silk trees and plants. And when they were all satisfied, Frank came in to check it all out.

Now, granted, this wasn’t hard-core — like you were auditioning to have your own design show — but it was important to all of those who pulled the rooms together. Frank asked each group to pick one person to be the spokesperson and make the presentation to him and those of us who were watching the action. The spokesperson for each group did an awesome job of telling us what they wanted for the rooms and how they made their selections. After much wringing of hands and sweaty palms, Frank picked the winning room. At the same time, he assured all three groups that their design selections were sound, the rooms worked and they were all to be congratulated.

It was a very good night for the three groups. They got to indulge their passion, had the opportunity to meet a TV personality (and a very nice, friendly and talented guy), and, oh yeah, they got gift certificates for their trouble. So, all and all, it was a good time.

Most of us don’t have this particular opportunity, but all of us do have the opportunity to indulge our passions, either by actually shopping and decorating or fantasizing about living in a model home or a fabulous design seen in books and shelter magazines. And remember the words from a sappy love song that goes something like this: "If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with." Love the space you have and make it the best it can be.

Thanks for indulging my weird sense of Valentine’s Day humor, and happy Valentine’s Day to all of you inside spaces lovers.

Carolyn Muse Grant is the founding president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home section of the Review-Journal. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.