Psychic Interior Design for Fun and Pleasure

I have been out of town for the last several days, a couple days into my trip I really wanted to post a new blog but didn't have time.  I have been percolating a new thought...  I think this is a good sign that I liked writing that last post!

So, at my office I have a box that contains random things I love.  The box holds furniture photos and tear sheets, certain fabrics and leathers, color chips, accessories, chunks of stone, pieces of trim and wallpaper samples.  What is unusual about this? Most designers have samples of product they like to use in their office, their mini library, a derivation and compendium of the showrooms they like to visit and product they like to use.  I have those samples too, but this lidded box sits away from the other samples.  The contents within the box are my absolute favorite things.  I save these things for years,  I squirrel them away because when I find one of those things I know it belongs to a client I have not met yet. 

It is funny how I find these future components of someone's bedroom or living room.  I am usually looking for something else entirely, and suddenly there, out of the corner of my eye I spot a gem.  I always know it when I see it that it belongs to a project but I am not sure of just where or when it will land. 

In the beginning I would try and make it fit into whatever project I had going on currently.  The client would never select that element, in fact they steered themselves far away from it.  I would be frustrated because I could see how fantastic this piece was, couldn't they?  So then I would put that piece away, into my box of perfection, so that at least I could appreciate it properly.  You know, stare at it on a rainy day like old photos.  Nutty.

I can't remember how it came to me the first time, that I suddenly knew where one of these elements belonged, but there it was.  The tile sample I had been holding onto for 18 months belonged in a client's home and I knew where it was going to go, I mean I really knew!  I pulled out the sample, and next stop was the client's bathroom floor.  Designer psychic.

When I have one of these moments it is really inspiring.  It doesn't happen with every client.  In fact, when it does manifest it is because the client is open to the possibilities and allows it to happen.  I have several clients that I have known over the years whose homes are filled with these things.  One especially amazing client, she must have done something very good in a past life because her home design karma has given her the most amazing project I have ever composed.  Every single element was divinely wrought.  Her window coverings are legendary.  I know you all will want to see pictures once it is photographed.

Some of these pieces fall away.  Without ever knowing who the client was or what happened, I can look at my stash of treats and know that this or that can now be retired from its place in the box.

Really cool pot I found in Mexico with random words etched

into the body, top to bottom.