The making of an interior decorator

<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><b>  What's your interior design aesthetic?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText">             "</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText">"What's that you ask?  Design aesthetic? </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText">Should I have one ?  Perhaps I do! " </span></div><br /><span class="ArticleText">This is not a question I could have answered in my teenage years, but it was those early years that laid the foundation for what I would come to understand and appreciate about design in my adult life. </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText"> I believe our  interior design aesthetic (aspects of interior environments we are attracted to) is developed from what we've been exposed to  through our life experiences:  the house we grew up in,  homes of friends, your home town, reading, travel, and various forms of  media, etc. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtXORXGEq77rUOBVf2UuunIG-5E1LX4nNyc2VJ5zi3uB-VugSDgIK21UPxkYn_FU27BozeVpCXbHKu6xIVmofEb_P8TaqroLdUI1U7WyG_ixrqslPhO6eJN11FYvA3UjBzCQJXQCuZjih/s1600/JERSEYSIDE-499X283+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtXORXGEq77rUOBVf2UuunIG-5E1LX4nNyc2VJ5zi3uB-VugSDgIK21UPxkYn_FU27BozeVpCXbHKu6xIVmofEb_P8TaqroLdUI1U7WyG_ixrqslPhO6eJN11FYvA3UjBzCQJXQCuZjih/s400/JERSEYSIDE-499X283+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The road to my house just before my birth</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1ewQWboXbTuUnlk5xSrXDl5sQmvLXZqyn1Ly-xG8bb-ezVHMlWV_rabJv26LdozWr1PTV_ZfkKdrEYcBu2yGou0ePYbsUFO_pfkqJszIvjbYKRKoCdZz7Re6W3c3hTuIpV7yWhKhz53d/s1600/house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1ewQWboXbTuUnlk5xSrXDl5sQmvLXZqyn1Ly-xG8bb-ezVHMlWV_rabJv26LdozWr1PTV_ZfkKdrEYcBu2yGou0ePYbsUFO_pfkqJszIvjbYKRKoCdZz7Re6W3c3hTuIpV7yWhKhz53d/s320/house.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My house age 8</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TirMCBvPkQUK0Lr-VqYPEZpj3ZyHVeEJ0mLm4TRn8rvEKRSGUd26di4i0F4hAJtPdLqZ-NuPX-UTwgjNZR6K8mzmDWg0sLmuk_H7PZsMEsSWAicXBMyiYjsNN5-lYPGuM7eIscRwqKuZ/s1600/JERSEYSIDE02-503X318+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TirMCBvPkQUK0Lr-VqYPEZpj3ZyHVeEJ0mLm4TRn8rvEKRSGUd26di4i0F4hAJtPdLqZ-NuPX-UTwgjNZR6K8mzmDWg0sLmuk_H7PZsMEsSWAicXBMyiYjsNN5-lYPGuM7eIscRwqKuZ/s400/JERSEYSIDE02-503X318+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"> Is this a town that raises a design conscious gal? </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText">"Yep!"  </span></div><span class="ArticleText"> How did that happen? </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText">I was exposed to very functional decor growing up in a small town in Newfoundland in the the  50's and 60's, but there were always  handcrafted  items in our home and I was encouraged to participate in their creation. There always seemed to be lots of scraps of wool, fabric and thread around.  I  appreciated what an individual could create with very modest materials, and I  believed at an early age that I could create anything I wanted.  That's a pretty powerful beginning. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixovauQ78qPEsaDvjGkK8pC2pXmBbgvQbPb04riUtfwhKn4u-aAFToKBGSGwDLAsvh6MyYeDA0uzw4RpLVktzIp4Lw2qwNn3KEXNM9WPIwH6YwYGkcArIbTtaBCtmf0QO6cD8ZD5bdmUli/s1600/singer.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixovauQ78qPEsaDvjGkK8pC2pXmBbgvQbPb04riUtfwhKn4u-aAFToKBGSGwDLAsvh6MyYeDA0uzw4RpLVktzIp4Lw2qwNn3KEXNM9WPIwH6YwYGkcArIbTtaBCtmf0QO6cD8ZD5bdmUli/s400/singer.jpg" width="400" /></a><span class="ArticleText">The Singer sewing machine got lots of use in our home. It was a sound I did homework to, read to and even made it hum myself. </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText">What came off it was varied: curtains, quilts, bedspreads, and even mini skirts and tent dresses. Fabric remnants came from family members in New York.  That link assured I was current in textile designs! When not sewing I was busy with  crocheting , knitting , and hooking  rugs. All added warmth to our home. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText">At 13 I discovered the library in the next community and my design world expanded.  </span></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoBIsbKvHqbg2lAkIYy4C599kxh8FLPTzHHtX52dipN3oQ1xhyPf3dsDUYd3q4R_1unw-rwteFDp8FWLphBlzVdWfUVFLTFWtdQ_aXFqK3XkQMSgH_c6ywdaHywYufVNMktWr0InPMorO/s1600/1964_OLD_SCHOOL_INTERIOR_DESIGN_MID_CENTURY__MODERN24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoBIsbKvHqbg2lAkIYy4C599kxh8FLPTzHHtX52dipN3oQ1xhyPf3dsDUYd3q4R_1unw-rwteFDp8FWLphBlzVdWfUVFLTFWtdQ_aXFqK3XkQMSgH_c6ywdaHywYufVNMktWr0InPMorO/s400/1964_OLD_SCHOOL_INTERIOR_DESIGN_MID_CENTURY__MODERN24.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGpGCLKaABKiuJxqFsc2-RIEper_rO-UyjfNalUFPKg-9QTmTZmiTEaRFsToWKy8nYoCABulDYyLSASGvlwMkP0A4ubBGCfUoxU1WuIY3m2GJ3fPPPr09EeI6HrIFWBg7KDMojM-gkieJ/s1600/may64-goodhousekeepingi23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGpGCLKaABKiuJxqFsc2-RIEper_rO-UyjfNalUFPKg-9QTmTZmiTEaRFsToWKy8nYoCABulDYyLSASGvlwMkP0A4ubBGCfUoxU1WuIY3m2GJ3fPPPr09EeI6HrIFWBg7KDMojM-gkieJ/s400/may64-goodhousekeepingi23.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Good Housekeeping</span></div><br /><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"> </span></span><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText">There were books and magazines  that took me well beyond the small town I grew up in.  I devoured them, imagined, sketched, and rearranged our bedroom (with my sister's help) numerous times.  Mom took it all in stride. </span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lXh7nNDpuAy41PJKpVGf6eMGlEa0rvPNEgRU-w3mpDQGCZcUELBwYSZ2Clsgo-9zTp__fFdWnG2zydU5F0NzOxjsN7-WFwAY6XgAT2bPMbhWi1clmObAXrVUxN4WD8z5JrGtJllbZyCB/s1600/me+sofa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"></span></span></a><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lXh7nNDpuAy41PJKpVGf6eMGlEa0rvPNEgRU-w3mpDQGCZcUELBwYSZ2Clsgo-9zTp__fFdWnG2zydU5F0NzOxjsN7-WFwAY6XgAT2bPMbhWi1clmObAXrVUxN4WD8z5JrGtJllbZyCB/s1600/me+sofa.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4lXh7nNDpuAy41PJKpVGf6eMGlEa0rvPNEgRU-w3mpDQGCZcUELBwYSZ2Clsgo-9zTp__fFdWnG2zydU5F0NzOxjsN7-WFwAY6XgAT2bPMbhWi1clmObAXrVUxN4WD8z5JrGtJllbZyCB/s320/me+sofa.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"> Quite the design statement!  I had nothing to do with this decor, but I did make the dress! Not bad for a 15 year old.  At the time, I thought I would be a fashion designer, but good old Newfoundland practicality took over.  </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4jqiepP6fiJmqvks7XTTPsh_5dGosTBfV_E4XTyJ1-hErrCV1zZtmr_ANXWaiHc3KA1ZfNagReM4cvCN1ZDZ9NDvNMieQIrYQ6FL-xfe3Ot_0LBGqaFt9QPtXMqL5-9vCdG709HPBgjI/s1600/UNCLE_cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4jqiepP6fiJmqvks7XTTPsh_5dGosTBfV_E4XTyJ1-hErrCV1zZtmr_ANXWaiHc3KA1ZfNagReM4cvCN1ZDZ9NDvNMieQIrYQ6FL-xfe3Ot_0LBGqaFt9QPtXMqL5-9vCdG709HPBgjI/s400/UNCLE_cast.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText">TV programming added to my understanding of what was in style. I jet setted around the world with The Man (Men) from Uncle without ever leaving my living room. </span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlOUTW-lqyGUKR-Jiowwx3QoQVADLUhguXVfyutjU4G4qqXJmWXrKntMOyTi-dldSYqMODRunen9jtd09YntpqIRKlV_x97KEtTMhzk0UffCXaVouyEvDF5ahwb7-BGdc9MZqSEuujWAi/s1600/avengers_header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLlOUTW-lqyGUKR-Jiowwx3QoQVADLUhguXVfyutjU4G4qqXJmWXrKntMOyTi-dldSYqMODRunen9jtd09YntpqIRKlV_x97KEtTMhzk0UffCXaVouyEvDF5ahwb7-BGdc9MZqSEuujWAi/s320/avengers_header.jpg" width="301" /></a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"> And got my first taste of that famous British style on the Avengers. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText"><br /></span></span></div><span class="ArticleText"><span class="ArticleText">What we now refer to as Mid Century Modern design was in its prime in my formative years.  For the youngun' reading this think  Mad Men. </span> </span><br /><span class="ArticleText"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqDQzJ5SmDl8DfmSBM41_-a2IjcBdh_ktJNMql_qSySqmUPRZLx56vSvEZFT-VfTFnk1_KMN6lnmuvSSO8zCe_1Ox6BCQHpJE0x0XoBQK6tjmxM4xkrTzkHyrobwOmkPcFz2GfOToVAlj/s1600/Ackerman_Good_Decor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtqDQzJ5SmDl8DfmSBM41_-a2IjcBdh_ktJNMql_qSySqmUPRZLx56vSvEZFT-VfTFnk1_KMN6lnmuvSSO8zCe_1Ox6BCQHpJE0x0XoBQK6tjmxM4xkrTzkHyrobwOmkPcFz2GfOToVAlj/s400/Ackerman_Good_Decor2.jpg" width="355" /></a><span class="ArticleText"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="http://www.midcenturia.com/2011_01_01_archive.html">source </a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiv999/sets/72157621975018997/with/3843435099/"></a><span class="ArticleText"> When I was 19 I spent the summer in New York. It was a trip of firsts.  First time I went to large department stores,  first time to see art galleries,  first play.....   And what about what I saw on the streets and in store windows?  It all went in and somehow came together into a feeling, a sense of what I liked and wanted in future interiors.While this type of decorating was happening in New York.... </span></div><br /><span class="ArticleText"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEr1h0_D0zc23NFjgBn3FGwskPgi87ajBj5XoTSfZmxxbZn8ocZ-SpAfkt8qdMQWCHrJg2odAWiHd2ai5ALGtxvYk2SNLt0bfLAMukHLJ1NxufM0PTT243BJ_8fSnHh7OoxE96FOri7CH/s1600/Screen-Shot-2012-04-11-at-5.14.58-PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEr1h0_D0zc23NFjgBn3FGwskPgi87ajBj5XoTSfZmxxbZn8ocZ-SpAfkt8qdMQWCHrJg2odAWiHd2ai5ALGtxvYk2SNLt0bfLAMukHLJ1NxufM0PTT243BJ_8fSnHh7OoxE96FOri7CH/s400/Screen-Shot-2012-04-11-at-5.14.58-PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText" style="font-size: x-small;">Albert Hadley, New York, 1971</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ArticleText" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="ArticleText"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hBy5YC3Lvhwfcda9bRxVAoq88eYp6ZB-fj4WPsE2AFDZpSCH6dXOQ8q9ZgUED7yMGywzrqWR4cZuo1_ByLF_FV_oDhQcH-evVJpMeqW6vFgupEmd5R9f3c9lZmoxDeaaLtmEOmssbWOQ/s1600/70slivingroom-300x215.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hBy5YC3Lvhwfcda9bRxVAoq88eYp6ZB-fj4WPsE2AFDZpSCH6dXOQ8q9ZgUED7yMGywzrqWR4cZuo1_ByLF_FV_oDhQcH-evVJpMeqW6vFgupEmd5R9f3c9lZmoxDeaaLtmEOmssbWOQ/s320/70slivingroom-300x215.jpg" width="320" /></a></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">The average homeowner was living in this. </div><br /></div><span class="ArticleText">That was a pivotal time in my understanding of the broader world and the vast discrepancies among the homes I was used to and the homes of the "out of reach". I began to read more and think about what elements and principles interested me  in the designed interiors I was viewing on TV and reading about. My design aesthetic was forming.  </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText">In 1973 I got my first apartment and  it had a lively colour scheme of white with red and navy accents.  All very fresh and simple.   All second hand and dressed up with lots of covers and paint.   I moved from being a university student to a teacher - a different kind of designing! I continued to read about design and do lots of DIY projects.  </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText">It wasn't until the mid 80's that I decided to study interior decorating and it would be another twenty years before I officially advertized as a decorator.  I would contend I was always one. During that time I also began to paint.  It was this activity that honed my colour sense and gave me a firm understanding of the elements and principles of design.  </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText"> My design interests today can be traced back  to my roots as a mid century modern girl.  I still love clean design without too much "fussy".  I like  furniture with straight lines,  geometric motifs especially circles, lots of texture, light colours, hand made items and abstract art.  I describe my look  as casual contemporary with a quiet edge. </span><br /><br /><span class="ArticleText"><b>What's your design aesthetic? </b></span><br /><span class="ArticleText"><b><br /></b></span>

The making of an interior decorator

  What's your interior design aesthetic?              " "What's that you ask?  Design aesthetic? Should I have one ?  Perh...

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