It all started I’d say, because...while my mother can and has won accolades for her cleanliness, cooking and gardening skills-- and although my father was incredibly skilled in carpentry and various other trades; neither of them could win so much as an honorable mention for their decorative aesthetics. Oh let’s call a spade a spade
My early years began in a suburban, squeakily clean, sturdily built totally style-less interior!
Years later, when I was being interviewed for a magazine article the journalist inquired of my mother if she could be credited for my design sense… my startled mother laughed and admitted that “we don’t know where she got it….we just all thought she was weird; constantly moving her bedroom furniture around
I tend to be most creative in the morning planning many of my interior schemes between 6 & 8 am
“Every Saturday morning her father and I would lie in bed, hear her moving furniture around, and wager this week she’ll have to repeat an arrangement… to my memory, she never did.”
In my preteens, I expanded my projects beyond the bedroom to the family living room—to my siblings and parental astonishment guest upon entering, immediately commented on Mom’s beautiful decorating. Mom would poke her head from around the kitchen wall and say absentmindedly “what? …oh Charmaine did it…you really like it?” By did it she meant that I had
· repositioned the furnishing in a cohesive format, (years later when I trained for interior design I learned this was called a conversation grouping)
· removed the dated doilies, massive center floral arrangement and excessive nick-knacks from the tables (to avoid having to dust them- but by happenstance also creating a space for a cup of tea)
· lowered the art from their former skyscraper placements (just ‘cause to me it looked better)
And as I tweaked further-- repainting and replacing busy floral cushions ….with calmer floral cushions (smile, it was after all still my Mother’s home and she refused to purchase anything else)
I say all this to encourage those of you out there who like me come from a family that is less than impressed with your talents. Remember the old expression
A prophet is not without honor except in his own country
So stay true to your passion!
I’d love to hear from you about the things you’re passionate about also send in photos of your style-less interiors for my tips about how to make them Stylemaker File worthy…. I’ll be adding periodically (hopefully every Friday) to my post so come back again and I’ll share how I wound up making a living as an Interior Stylemaker with a North American clientele.
Charmaine Wynter
www.wynterinteriors.com
