Accessorizing a room is and can be a very very personal journey. The detailing of a room should be taken to H E A R T, as a friend and client of mine found with an interesting twist to an ageless necessity in the Design process. The following drama exemplifies a simple truth in that Design rules should be followed to the letter, especially the ones that make up your name, or you will suffer the consequences. The story is as follows and the rule is as stands; proceed with caution and do learn a sincere lesson.

My Dear Friend Marion had made a decision to complete a room in regards to an on going project, that being the accessorizing of a room. A large room, then the Florida room, a beautiful space approximately 15 feet by 45 feet large with surrounding windows, quarry tile floor, an oak ceiling ...tongue and groove with a 12' pitch. Their were tons of plants, soft furniture against the weeping brick backdrop walls, and of course a big beautiful hot-tub to seat the entire family if so desired.

The perfect accent for such a room was of course ...... the ever popular world of "animal prints". They are very impressive, I must say and to of course now nick name the room "the safari room" and that it truly is!

To continue on with the Design adventure .....my clients last phase of Design was to take out the stuff that had accumulated over the years of shopping. All the beautiful stuff we simply run into and ....must have.... for our lives fixes on "stuff", cute "stuff ", great "stuff " and all this matters little in the scheme of Design. We simply can't live without it and must have it and we of course have good reason for it and usually do not know clearly where we are going but its all very purposeful at the time. We surely bond with all of it...... and it grows in the "mix" of things.........pay attention and pay heed as I continue on with an interesting Design adventure.

As my Dear friend and client Marion had asked me to help her complete the detailing of her Safari room .....to come step one is .................to remove all that's present and put it back, old with some new to have as a finished Design a beautifully balanced and accessorized room. A lot of times even though the massive amount of "stuff" we have accumulated you don't like the total look of it that being close to "clutter" that being not good for our daily reflections of life.

But we have through its accumulations usually built in something we definitely like that has gotten out of hand and gone astray. In our attempt to "fix" one thing we didn't like, we ended up with something we definitely don't like.............. the key here is to ask ourselves what we were trying to fix. Therein lies the solution to our problem to come. Do continue on and learn a little about yourself. But do be careful in the fix......we don't over fix and disturb what we set out to improve......delicate but important.

My story simply points out that bit of sensitivity...... We begin to remove "stuff " and the usual amazement is truly disbelief in how much stuff I had in there! "No way, I don't believe it its impossible....get it out!" and then "I cant believe how big and beautiful the room is..." "Wow it looks great" You do forget how the walls looked , the arch. detailing in the room and just how great it all is .......My dear friend and client continued to proclaim success in the new Design redo.....Little did she know what was to come.

Myself as a professional Designer cannot get in a clients head! I can surely perfect the design and guide the plan, but it is extremely important that: YOU NOT ONLY LIKE HOW IT LOOKS BUT YOU ALSO LOVE HOW IT FEELS.......as my dear friend finds out to her dismay and enlightenment how important this really is!

As we finish the project to end-up with a beautifully arranged assortment of accessories and begin to pack up all the other "stuff" after a lot of work and a lot of time involved my client suddenly sits down and begins looking very depressed, even to the point of an anxiety attack....."What's the matter" I ask her and she says back to me '' JOSEPH I'M UPSET WITH THE RESULT HERE AND I W A N T M Y R O O M B A C K .... I DON'T LIKE THIS AT ALL ....WHY DON'T I LIKE IT .... IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL, BUT I WANT MY ROOM BACK'' she simply says please help me.

Even though the room looked absolutely beautiful and was magazine quality ....my client missed that quality that affected her life and enjoyment of her room..... the quality she spent a lot of money and time to acquire what was it? I began to ask her some important questions about her likes in the room and what she missed, this all had been put aside because of the excitement of the project and is utmost important to understand what you want the room to end up feeling like. This is as important as what it will look like. In an introspection with her and an admission on her part that the architecture had always seem harsh to her and came across to her as cold was in fact very true.

The new beauty accented the architectural boldness, thusly enhancing the COLDNESS and only made it stronger. "Joseph please help me before I faint and my husband comes home and kills me for sure......please." Of course once that was realized just a "Dash of softness added here and there, very little in fact, and in literally 10 minutes and proper application of specific principles.......Viola she said " I got my room back .... I love it".

"I love it...... I truly do Joseph and now its time for a giant garage sale.....I love it I got my room back!" In regards to my statement about your "name" that simple refers to remembering to get your inner feelings out as to your direction of design.... and truly always remember, You must not only like how it looks, but you should love how it feels..........that's the magic.

I hope you enjoyed this Design adventure. Design is full and real ... do enjoy it. It can help you experience a better life, it really can. I hope to catch you again. Sincerely your personal Designer ...............Joseph Barbotti