Decorating 102

Mark Phelps - Interior Decorator

1. Symmetry is important.
2. Mixing checks, leopard and needlepoint gives a room a feeling of having been decorated over time.
3. An ottoman can serve as a coffee table when a tray is placed on top of it.

Roger Banks-Pye - Artistic Designer

1. Always upscale not down.
2. If in doubt make it bigger.
3. Make a dark room darker.
4. Most modern sofas and beds are too low.
5. Old rugs are right in any house.
6. Changing patterns and colors in a small apartment makes for visual indigestion.
7. Never force your curtains into corrugated folds.
8. Proper height tables give authority and dignity to a room.
9. There are moments when white walls seem like a relief. Those moments should be discouraged.   

William Diamond and Anthony Baratta - Master Colorists
                        Tips for the color challenged

1. Work with several colors at once. Stripes, tartans, tattersals and checks help you achieve an exuberant yet graphic unified look --and they are patterns that men, women, and kids can agree on.

2. Florals can unify a color palette beautifully. Knock out color combinations: red and green, black and white, red and turquoise, orange and teal, yellow and blue and brown and pink.

3. When mixing floral, stripe and a check, each should have one common color.
4. If you put floral on the front and sides of an armchair, put check on the back.
5. The more vivid the color, the more vivid personality your room will have.
6. Use white in a striped fabric or for upholstery piping.
7. Bright colors lose their punch next to beige or taupe.
8. Colors have cycles, just like fashion.

9. Gray is very sophisticated with many colors- black and white, red, pink, yellow and light blue- but don't ever do burgandy and gray.  
     
10. In dark spaces, fair shades gives tthe illusion of light.
11. Black is a wonderful accent for a room; think of it as an accessory.
12. Floors look great painted shiny black.