Don't Buy the Blouse Without the Skirt

Huh?  I know.  Here's the story...

I was helping a client today who had worked with me on fabrics for her living room sofa and two chairs three times before, almost went for it once, then didn't.  You may be able to relate to her -- she has a really hard time making a decision and being confident that it's the right one.  Haven't we all been like that at some point, over something?  Of course.

So, how do you move past that fear of making a mistake, especially when you've made costly furniture blunders in the past?  You make a plan.  With your designer.  Or, with someone you trust who can help you with your taste, not theirs.

To make a long story short, my client wanted everything neutral, so she could make color choices changeable with accents.  Ok, no problem., makes sense for her personality.   After much consideration and seeing some new fabrics, she committed to a textured, neutral sofa.  It's gorgeous.  Then, time to decide on the chairs.

Deliberation ensued.  In the end, she couldn't commit, because it wasn't clicking for her.  "I'm just going to do the sofa for now," she told me with confidence, "I'll find the chairs later."  My immediate response?

"For you, I think that's like buying a gorgeous blouse, but not buying the skirt that goes with it.  How will you find something to go with it once you get it home?" (In context, here, her room is completely empty.)  She was a little taken aback.

For this client, not doing the chairs at the same time (or at least deciding on the fabric to come back for them if budget were an issue, which is was not) would be an emotional mistake.  Why?  When the sofa arrived, all by its lonely self, she would hate it.  It wouldn't "go" with anything.  And then, she'd have to start from scratch, again, feeling like she'd gone wrong!  Ouch.

a concrete sofa via google sofa images

She threw up her hands (figuratively) and said, "Ok, what would you do if I said to pick it for me?"  I showed her a tone on tone neutral pattern that coordinated nicely with the sofa.  It completed the "outfit," it could stand on its own without accessories for a while.  It was "her."  She loved it and ordered it.

The moral of the story?  Know yourself when it comes to decorating.  Do you like to see things mapped out in your life, or do you go with the flow by nature?  My client needed to, at the very least, plan her outfit -- to know what chairs her sofa could wear.   How about you?

Talk to you soon,
Carol