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Taking the Fear Out of Interior Design

08 November 2016

You really want to remodel or redecorate, but it seems too complicated and you’re afraid of making a mistake. Then you call a decorator or remodeler and get more confused about what they want to do and how much it might cost. So time ticks by, and your house stays exactly the same.

So how to get out of the decorating predicament? You want to change but you don’t know how. Where do you go for answers? How do you get over your fear of redecorating?

We talked recently to two Phoenix area decorators with interesting ideas about how to figure out what you want to do to your house and how to handle your hesitation.

Lots and lots of people feel anxious about redecorating, designer Barbara Kaplan of Scottsdale told us. They’re scared to pick colors; their home doesn’t feel like their sanctuary; and choosing colors or a new sofa or blinds for the windows overwhelms them.

"Rooms have no feelings; you do." - Barbara Kaplan, developer of the Bajaro Method

That’s why Kaplan developed what she calls the Bajaro Method (www.TheBajaroMethod.com) with the aim of helping homeowners make confident decorating choices and get rid of all those fears and that indecision. She’s written a guidebook on the topic and holds seminars for the timid who want to learn to trust their feelings about what they want to do with their homes. Her slogan is: “Rooms have no feelings; you do.”

The book is intended as a journey of self-discovery that starts with readers recording their family history and attitudes toward homes acquired in the past. It ends with readers starting to plan what to do in their present homes. The book is a personal journal that helps people find their preferences and decorating philosophy by answering questions on the topic and gradually finding out what they want a house to look like.

“I especially enjoyed reading a section of the book that helped readers to focus on their family history,” says Jennifer Romero of our staff at Rosie on the House. “It asks you to remember places where you lived as a child and how those memories influence you today.”

Another possibility comes from a Scottsdale interior designer, Lauren Rosenberg, and her mother, Elaine Ryan, also an interior designer. They’ve developed a hands-on home decorating kit that gives you “everything you need to know to become your own interior designer,” according to Rosenberg.

The kit originally helped promote a book, Color Your Life, written by Elaine Ryan. “I wanted to tie the book into the best home decorating kit I could find, but I couldn’t find one, so we developed our own, ‘The Elaine Ryan® Home Decorating Kit,’ ” says Rosenberg.

Many homeowners would like to have a kit just like this to map out just what it is they should do to redecorate. Inside there’s a readymade grid board that can be used to lay out a room you want to change. There are 200 furniture templates in various sizes with sticky backs on them. You stick the outlines of your own furniture on the board and change things around until you have what you want in a room. It seems a lot easier than moving furniture around.

The kit also includes an intriguing small book Myths, Truths & Tips: Secrets That Interior Designers Do Not Want You to Know. Don’t we all want to read about that? There’s also a guide to how to decorate your child’s bedroom.

There are also two sample color bars. Each bar features dozens of colors that complement each other. But colors in one bar will clash with the colors in the other bar. There’s also a color test that can help you decide what color scheme to choose for your home. You’d take the colors along on shopping trips to pick out furniture, linen and decorations.

This Elaine Ryan® Home Decorating Kit is available online. So check out www.elaineryan.com for more info.

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Photo Credits:

Header Image: Elaine Ryan
The Bajaro Method: Barbara Kaplan
Grid: Elaine Ryan

Taking the Fear Out of Interior Design

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