Most people are under the perception that when you hire a high end interior design firm, your space should look refined and designed with trendy colors, matching patterns, and color coordinated accessories.

The truth is that spaces with the highest quality interior design do not appear to be designed at all. The best designed spaces are those with character. They seem as if they were conceived effortlessly.

In short, truly beautiful interiors don’t look like they were worked on by a professional interior designer at all… they look like they were simply put together by someone with great taste. They say something about the lifestyle of their owners.  They are timeless in detail and character and do not rely on fads and clichés.

A TELLING STORY
I once had a client who told me she was completely tired of her home. When I asked her when she had last had it designed, she said, “four years ago.”

Frankly, I could see why she felt the way she did.

Her main living room was all about paisley.  Her wall coverings were paisley. Her sofa was paisley. Her ottoman was paisley.  She had a painting of paisley.

I couldn’t tell where the wallpaper ended and the painting started.

Not only that, but there was teal green everywhere – a color that was deemed popular by the Universal Color Fashionistas 6 years earlier…with complimentary accents of brown and…yes, you guessed it, orange.  It felt like the Miami Dolphins’ locker room.

But half a decade earlier it was the height of style.

INTERIOR DESIGN ISN’T ART
Here’s the problem…

Many homes that have a high end interior design look aren’t about the person living in the space. They’re about the designer. (O LOOK WHAT I CAN DO.  I can match colors!!)

Most high end interior designers are creative people. As a result, they often view their clients’ homes as places to showcase their artistic experiments. And a lot of art, like other forms of culture, is big on trends.

The thing is, even the most luxurious home is not a museum. Believe it or not, for most people a home is a place to live— often for many years to come.

The space needs to reflect that.

IT’S ALL ABOUT TASTE
Great design is not about matching colors or patterns. It’s not about using the popular color of the year.  (Actually, any good designer should avoid the popular color of the year like the plague.) Good design is about contrasting texture selections and using them in a real way that speaks only of itself.  It is about choosing colors that have a timeless quality.

Good design should reflect a client’s soul and personality.  It should enhance and contribute to the way one lives.  In fact, the most premium interiors designs look as if the client did it all on his or her own with the best imaginable taste.