I have no decorating talent. I am decorating impaired.

However, I do have strengths. I can consider what I like in a room, and look at the gallery here and other pictures, and take away what I think might work in my home.

And I am not afraid to ask questions and consider advice from those here and elsewhere that have a flair for decorating and an interest in helping others, and I'm not afraid to laugh at those who make comments not designed to help others.

Finally, I'm real people. I'm perfectly willing to say that I look through CL for interesting stuff and can't afford a designer to come to my home. There is nothing wrong with wealth, but there is nothing wrong with inventive decorating for those with lesser circumstances either.
I love GW, and most of the people here, from plants to decorating, I come away better when I spend time reading here.

Very good question, Brutuses! I'll be interested to read the responses of others.

My weaknesses: They largely lie in knowing "the rules" -- or should I say instead "the principles of design" -- so that when I break them, I don't truly know what it is I'm going against. ;-) I am always impressed when I read posts here in which it's obvious that there are many individuals who are well-versed and have studied design, and are very familiar with all of the various components that go into creating a cohesive look. I don't know these things, and feel that I spend a lot of time engaged in "trial and error" before I get it right. And then I often wonder if it really is "right", but tell myself that as long as it pleases my eye, that's what matters. Still, it sometimes feels like fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants decorating.

Another weakness of mine is in appreciating other styles, and understanding what makes them work. I could no sooner do an Asian "Zen-inspired" look than I could ride a cheetah. Since it's not my "look", I just can't wrap my head around how one would bring all of the necessary elements together in order to create it. I've had a few people visit my home and tell me that I have an eye for decor, and that I've missed my calling -- I should have been an interior decorator. I always tell them that I would love to do that very thing, so long as my clients all wanted a Southwest-Mexican-Cottage-Cabin look that's exactly like mine! I really have no vision for certain styles. None whatsoever.

I think my strengths enter in when it comes to knowing exactly what I like and what I don't like. I said that my decorating sometimes feels like "trial and error", but I guess I'll now have to contradict myself somewhat, and say that I generally tend to gravitate immediately towards exactly what I want to live with. The "trial and error" really comes into play if a particular piece just doesn't work where I'd envisioned it, and then I always just find another spot to use it. If I love it, I immediately know it, and I know that I want to incorporate it into my home somewhere.

I'm also unafraid to take risks, and to be bold in my choices. When I know what I like and what I want to live with, I go after the look with full abandon. Some people may see that as a bad thing, because it does generally produce spaces that can seem rather "in your face" to many who prefer a more serene environment, but for me the "go bold" approach is pretty much the only way I know how to do it.

I think I have a fairly good eye for color, and for making colors work together. That's definitely something I'm still learning to fine-tune though. It's one area that I'd really like to work on more.

I'm a better shopper than I am a decorator. I think I have a good eye for great stuff in an antique mall, CL, or estate sales, but putting them to use has always been the challenge. I'm getting better with all of the help you have been kind enough to offer, though. The shopping gene came from my mom, who at 93 is still yearning for a great score, so I doubt it's going away anytime soon. Maybe a support group would keep it at a manageble level???

Visualizing paint color is definitely a weakness, as is accessorizing. I'm not good with the small stuff, and arranging it so that it doesn't just get lost in a maze; but I'm learning.

Don't know where I'd be without my friends at GW.

I'm not good when it comes to doing anything ultra modern. I don't like contemporary design.

Also, I am not good at designing a formal garden. Of course I don't like formal, nothing manicured for me please.

I do however, love antiques (American and French) and can pull a romantic bedroom together quite nicely. And I think I am pretty good when it comes to designing kitchens, and horrible when it comes to basements.

....Jane

Excellent discussion!

Flip-flopping. Yep. Thats the problem here. I love so many styles of decor ...... and can "see" rooms of gorgeous light gray sexy French items with pale ivory fabric ..... and a room that looks like Dumbledore's study ...... sheesh!

Impulsive buying spurts. At least I NOW carry a tape measure with me at all times so I can argue with myself that this item will not fit through the door ......

Too many little items. I tend to feel sorry for forlorn ojects and take them home ---- thats how I ended up with my DH! ((JUST teasing!!!! LOL!))

Sticking so closely to the budget that the "good" stuff got away ...... ah! the stories of the ones that got away ...... (and thats not even referring to my love life ..... DH just shook his head and snorted .....LOL!)

Jan

I'm color impaired when it comes to my home. Anybody else that I've helped choose colors all they've had to do was layout what they liked and I could pull a palette for them right away w/o second guessing myself.

Indecision is also a huge factor for me. Getting to be less and less as I get older. Maybe I just don't trust myself. Or maybe it's just that I can't get the big picture for myself but I can see it right away for others.

I'm good at tablescapes and making beds! I was always the one to get those jobs when I worked at the furniture store.

I think what jjam said also describes me a bit - I'm a good shopper but then what?

And yes Newdawn you can pull a romantic bedroom together!

I think my best decorating talent would be furniture placement. I have that engineering/math heavy/spatial relations type brain that can see how the scale of things should fit best, figuring in the negative space too. (I'm also the one who packs for trips because I can get the most stuff to fit in the least space.)

My weakest decorating aspect would have to be that I'm all over the map. I love everything. OK, not everything, but my taste is so varied that it's hard to pull together a cohesive room.

Weaknesses - maybe too many pillows, hanging onto things I should have gotten rid of long ago, not being organized enough

Strengths - color, art, creative in putting things together, finding new uses for things

Your sweet TTodd, thanks.

This is good, brutuses. The thrill of victory/discovering a treasure...the agony of defeat/now what???
I can spy beauty in a pile of ugly real fast and bring it home with all sorts of ideas, but until I have time to address it, I pile it with the mound of stuff in the basement! "But it was such a good price and I would have never found another one, honey". DH says I have saved us enough money to make it to backruptcy court!!!! Isn't he funny??!!! So, I guess shopping is my weakness. BUT, in my defense, I find bargains. Occasionally, I splurge on something, but it's easy to justify since I saved so much money on all the other things!!
My strength is the redo. I have been a decorative painter for 15 years. I am pretty dang good at achieving a finish. That is why so much of my furniture, etc. has a painted finish. I also love to accessorize, but sometimes I get dizzy! I think I have something right, and then I re-do it about 10 more times. I have decided that there is not a totally "right". Sometimes, a lot of things work - I just have trouble stopping. On the other hand, I do think there are a LOT of "wrongs" and I FEAR going there.
I also think I worry a bit much about other people's opinions - I am getting better.

Weakest? That would be working with high ceilings, on a budget, apparently. :(

By the time I get to live in a 'normal' house, again, I'm afraid I'll forget what to do. I work best with darker palettes but was afraid to make a costly mistake with so much wall space to paint. We had to hire it out.

Like Jan, I have many styles that I admire. Combining them into a cohesive look is always a challenge. I finally got DH over the fear of people thinking we couldn't afford a matching DR set. You pretty much have to be fearless if you decorate outside the lines.

My post, that bru was referring to, shows how varied a response can be to a room that breaks a preconceived notion of what a room *should* look like.

As my spaces are evolving (slowly like a turtle) they are becoming a little too subdued for my liking. Money has become a big factor. There are days where I aspire to giclee, instead of debate their worth as an art form.

My weakness....gad don't we all have a few? I don't have any one major problem, it's several that cause my overall issue.

First, I fall in love....I fall deeply and intimately in love with things. I'll be walking through a favorite haunt and see "the one" and while I may not buy it then...because I try to tell myself it's just lust, I go home and look and think and wander my home with a tape measure, looking for the place to put that one thing I just fell in LOVE with! And I hold my love close to my heart...I cherish the stupid thing, whatever it is for it's beauty, forloorness, quirkyness or gad whatever made me fall (ie a bronze hand, or a 16th century shoe, or a dress makers dummy, or a...well you get the picture). This must be why I need a bigger house...so I can fall in love more often and not crowd the space with my finds LOL

I am very impatient with unfinished projects (this from a gal who's taken three years to have her kitchen get finished). I used to be ok with one or two nice pieces, knowing I was going to have to do some fill in's and paint and carpet and blah blah...but I find as life goes on, the joy of walking into a finished room is a big deal to my sanity. Perhaps this comes from having a sick child and spending so much time in other places (hospitals, hotels, family etc). I just want to come home and sit in a space that gives ME peace...not one designed by the Hilton staffers who assume they know what comforts me (ya sharp metal tables and a 2 year old are REALLY comfy) or a hospital psychologist who thinks dusty blue is relaxing (when paired with peach normally) or even be in one of my SIL's lovely homes. I just want to be in my space, and I want to sit there happpy...in a "done" room!

This is what lead me to the lamps in my library (still have to go) and what pushed me on a quest (what DH calls my shopping trip for something specific) for different seating and a rug. I actually do enjoy the items when they come home, but the quests can be challenging and annoying when every chair is 2" too big! I still need different lamps in that room and everytime I walk out the bedroom door and see it from the landing my eyes go right to those freaking lamps!

Ok Impatient...what else. Oh I love many styles and really could see myself "doing" different ones with success, but I don't have enough houses to try all of the fun ones (and never will LOL). I'd love to do MCM or ultra modern. High Style Art Deco, or craftsman style. I'm getting Victorian (offering today woo hoo) and our house is eclectic...but I still see other styles I'd love to play with and have to slap my hands every once in a while as I try to figure out how the gold velvet sofa, which screams 1950's glamour, would fit into our home...

Stregnths. I'm good at design and scale. I am comfortable with the codes and the math necessary to know to design a kitchen or bathroom. I'm very creative and search for the unusual to fulfill the impossible (like my tub where they said no tub would fit). I don't mind spending the time to make it work and that's why it does eventually work.

I definately do the color thing easily. I can get a big picture feeling about a room within a few mins and invision it in the overall space of the home including how it's going to flow pretty quickly. And I do "see" the finished product before it's done, which is a big deal when you're conceptualizing it all.

I have to go lamp shopping now...you all reminded me LOL

Wow. Great question.

My greatest weakness is the last touches. I am not very good at assembling tabletops and other accessories, and have always needed a partner who has that gift. I'm not good at decorative drapery, either...I don't much like fussy or elaborate curtains, and so have very little experience with them, even though I have seen some that take the breath away.

I'm not very good at mixing a lot of patterned fabrics and rugs into a cohesive look. I always struggled with having to work with pieces I don't like when a client wanted to keep them, or couldn't afford to replace them.

My greatest strength is in the three dimensional and functional aspect of designing space. I know how to put together a room that is easy to move through and comfortable to be in, and that supports the intended functions.
I know where the light switches should be, and how to place a rug so that people don't trip over the edges, and which way to make the door swing.

I'm good at balancing color (where to put the light and dark pieces, and which colors to use where) and I'm good at lighting. I also understand the emotional power of color, and the effect that color has in shaping space, disguising flaws, and creating background. I'm good at framing pictures so that the image comes first, but the piece works in the space. And I am good at manipulating light and space with mirrors.

And one of my big weaknesses is also a strength sometimes. I am nothing if not opinionated! But I work hard on developing good opinions, and am happy to exchange a long-held view if something better is pointed out to me.

Good question, Mine is definitely wall paint and choosing fabric. I think I am strong is design and weak in color.
I also tend to overdue things, like over accessorising.
I see some members do a lot of accessorizing and it looks wonderful... mine...well, it looks cluttered. I still am not satisfied with my server in the Dining room :( One of these days I'll get it right.

Joann

Wow,thanks for sharing. I see myself in so many of these comments.

I've always said if I had to make a living decorating in othe styles besides Traditional, I'd starve to death. I can admire other styles, but I could never pull a room together in anything but tradtional or country casual or shabby chic. Then again modern is a lot easier, but I'd always feel like I left something out because it is so minimalistic (is that a word?)

I relate to the "falling in love" aspect of things. Truly one of my weaknesses. I'll do without before buying something that I'm not in love with. So don't be surprised in a year you still see my new house empty. LOL I won't be able to afford what I love most of the time. I've also run into a decorating corner by buying something I love only to find out later, it's really difficult to decorate around.

Parma, you still don't have drapes for those windows? LOL, now I know won't feel badly when I don't have furniture in my new house for a while.

I have that interal fight going on with formal vs casual. I love formal and could go hog wild, but then I remember I can't live with formal. My cats and dogs keep me grounded.

My poor DH just rolls his eyes when I start talking about what I need to buy for decorating. We too are going broke on all my "bargains". LOL I just came from the dollar store and spent $48. Seems too much to spend in a "$1" store. HA! I went in for an inexpensive flower pot and potting soil. Seems I drifted into other isles.

Well, need to dash out again to the UPS store. Chat with ya later.

My weakness is to leave something undone if I can't get exactly what I want.

Two things come to mind. First is indecisiveness. It take me forever to make up my mind on items to purchase b/c I want it to be perfect, which leads me to the second one, slow to decorate, which leads me back to the first one. So, if indecisiveness and slowness go hand in hand with me, it can take alot of months before a room is completely pulled together. It's a vicious cycle.

Weakness - I tend to need approval from someone before I do something or accept it. (In regards to decorating)
I'm also very indecisive.

I'm think I'm getting stronger with putting fabrics together but again, the approval thing.

One thing you do have shee, is good taste. I love the way your house has evolved. It's very pretty.

Weaknesses: editing. I sometimes think I have design ADD because I love seeing lots of art on the walls, pretty much any open space, I love pottery, I love glass...and I don't have the time or energy to do the editing and rotating thing. Also love silly or sweet folk things (not the geese with ribbons, though--not like that :) and it's hard to edit those out.

Another weakness: followthrough. I need someone to be able to say "make it so" to and move on :). I tend to leave things about 85-90% done, with lots of little finish jobs piling up probably for when we sell. Also a reason why I don't photograph places: I'm never really completely done anywhere, so it's not public-ready. Maybe I need to leave more untouched and do smaller projects so I can move on. But projects just keep piling up for me to do 'in the future'.

Can't think of any strengths right now...

I am like suero-- I tend to leave something undone until i can do it the way I want. My limitations are sometimes but not always money-- sometimes time and availability also. I am frequently in search of the perfect [fill in the blank].

Furniture arrangement is another area I don't do well with.. and creative window treatments. I have done all sheers and been happy with just that.

I am not sure I do anything particularly well-- other than spend money.

Weakest - anything to do with home. Best - anything to do with church bulletin boards. If only my house could be one dimensional with a theme! Give me construction paper and scissors over fabric and accessories any day.

My weakness is finishing a project before I move on to another one - or two - or more! I also hate to shop.
My strengths are fabrics, colors, & scale. (Fabrics should be in the weakness category also, as I never met a fabric I didn't like.:)

I'm right there with you, magothyrivergirl - I LOVE fabric! I am a true Gemini - change my mind alot. It makes decorating very difficult. No sooner have I finished a room then I'm off to the fabric store in search of my next whim. Dr. Phil would have a field day with me.......

I have one serious weakness as an interior designer..and that is MONEY..I really hate to charge people for the work I do although I know that I am talented I also know that most of my clients have very little money. Generally the work I end up doing is pro bono, as I can't seem to bring myself to ask for money. That is why my business as an Interior Designer and Garden Designer, generally isn't very affluent. I find myself giving people plants, and planting them, and caring for their gardens..for nothing as well as designing their homes...often for free.

And I guess people know i'm a sucker for a poor friend, cause they call me for everything.

Early on I guess I was better at asking for money..but lately, I just don't have it in me..some people however do pay me, sure, but I honestly find myself doing much more for free.

As far as the design itself..I'm not really familiar with southwestern style design..haven't spent much time there and don't feel super comfortable with it. I've done mostly traditional style design, but feel equally talented in contemporary, but honestly, there isn't a big call for contemporary design in Michigan.

The people here want things WARM, cause it is so cold out there..and warm does tend toward traditional..contemporary can be quite cold..and people turn to the layers here as well..and contemporary doesn't usually involve layers.

we need layers in our house just like we do outside in the winter here..so we tend to layer layer layer..and we also tend to hang onto older things..like the french and the british do..we aren't into flashy and bright, more muted and old..and not fake old..really old old..although reproductions are OK with us..we more tend toward HONEST..like real fabrics..old quilts, old rugs, old furniture, real patinas..etc..

I have done some faux finishing..but it has to LOOK real..not the fake looking faux finishes..they just aren't welcome in Michigan.

but as I said..I'm born and raised in the cold north..so when it comes to the desert south..i'm just not there.

Bru - Aww thanks! I also have expensive taste but my budget makes a difference in the things I bring home. I don't think I'm the only one in the world with that problem though.

In reading all these posts it appears we all have one common thread and that is not having an abundance of money to feed our habit!!

I have a complete and total blind spot for selecting pictures and hanging them. I can't go into a store and walk out with a piece of "artwork". I am too afraid it will be the wrong size, etc., and don't want to risk wasting $$.
Casey

I would probably make a better home designer than interior designer. I have no problem designing a kitchen or bath, or lighting or electrical plan. I can visualize, in detail, a room from a plan. When you talk about tablescapes however, my eyes glaze, and as for accessorizing bookshelves? Puleez! Aren't bookshelves for books? Stacked or in random heaps?

I can carry a color in my head pretty well but that's where the talent probably ends. I have always understood the color wheel - though I don't think I have ever consciously used it. I don't like shopping so I never score those fabulous deals that some of you do. Like many of you I do everything possible myself, from design to building, painting, refinishing furniture and making drapes and pillows.

So my weakness is a lack of any particular talent, my strength is a willingness always to learn and to try.

I find that I'm very good at putting main pieces (rugs, furniture, main accents) together when they don't look like they'd go together...and getting good deals...

But I"m HORRIBLE at finishing touches. I always have 'bald spots' and it always looks unfinished. I'm afraid of clutter for sure.

My weakness: I am not good at decorating.

My strength: I research like hell, find what I do like and try to make it work.

Biggest weakness: I don't get the whole accessorizing and finishing touches.

Great idea for a thread, brutuses.

Cannot do a tablescape. Want to--but can't. I also have a hard time working with colors or things that don't personally appeal to me. If a friend has similar taste or style, I can be of use. Otherwise--not so much.

Strengths? Well, I am pretty good at sniffing out a good deal--on used furniture, fabric, and choosing paint. And, I find that every item I find works in every room I have....whether I planned it that way or not. That is handy for when I get ready to move things.
And my Absolute Best Talent? Picking out the exact right guy to marry....the guy who shakes his head at my latest escapade, rolls his eyes when he sees the painting stuff out again, and goes to put his shoes right back on when I tell him 5 minutes after he gets home that I need him to go pick up a bookcase I bought thru the newspaper.

Red

I think I can finally say that I can look at many rooms and many styles and pick out exactly what I like and what will work for me. I'm pretty good at picking out art (because I love doing that) and hanging it in an attractive way. I also like to get everything done as quickly as possible. I want to see the finished product immediately, which is not always a good thing.

My weakness (or one of them, really) is that I'm not a very creative person. I need to be inspired by what others have done and then adapt it to my space. I could never be a decorator because I'm not good at all at envisioning many different possibilities and styles. I'm totally incapable of putting together a whole room scheme all at once.

My strength is that I keep on decorating until I'm pleased with what I see. For years. And years. I kept decorating my last house for 35 years. No... wait a minute... that's my weakness! =8o

Well, after reading through everyone's answers I've concluded that my new house will be decorated with your help, like a million dollars, but only cost $1,000. Am I right? LOL

OK, here's the deal. I need to get off this computer and get busy with some projects. One being my dining room chairs. Remember the ones that need to be RAfinished and recovered? So far I've Restore A finished one, that's it. Pathetic. So when you see me on this forum tomorrow, tell me to get the heck off and go do some work. Thanks for being strong for me. HA! I'll miss ya, but I need to get a move on and get those chairs completed. I'll be moving in a couple of months and I'm dragging my butt, feet and whatever else I can, because I'm always "talking" about stuff instead of doing. My arthritis feels so much better when I'm talking rather than doing.

Thanks again for taking part in this thread, it was fun.

Strengths... um, I'm having kind of a "bad me day" (sort of the mental/emotional equivalent of a bad hair day) so I'm having a hard time coming up with any strengths.

I guess I'm a pretty good planner - between having little money and physical issues making DIYing very difficult (along with DH not having a lot of time to put into trying to figure out how to DIY things, since we're short on convenient handyman-type friends and relatives and the learning curve is darn steep when you're trying to learn from a book), not a lot actually gets DONE but I have entire rooms planned right down to the last doorknob and light switch. That's including some things that will almost certainly never be done while we're in this house, like the exterior restoration. OTOH, knowing to the last detail all the things that need doing and not really being able to do much about it does lead to frequent bouts of "I hate my house" (it's an adorable house in an exterior picture taken at the right angle on a nice day, I'll grant that!).

It may also be a strength in that I'm able to just not give a hoot if someone who doesn't live here likes my taste or not. When you pay my mortgage then you can dictate my tastes. :-) I don't think it's confidence, because I don't know of anywhere in my life where I really have much if any confidence, I think it's just that I don't have the energy for worrying about impressing people. I don't know if a preference/need for stability and consistency and thus a lack of interest in constant serial redecorating is a weakness or strength, considering said preference was rather scornfully called "stagnant", "no imagination", "stale" and "boring" just recently.

Weaknesses... I have plenty of those!

A stubborn reluctance to spend money, especially on what my gut says is unnecessary. I also usually have to be kicked in the butt pretty hard to purchase expensive (to me) things like the sectional and coffee table we got last year, even though it makes SO much more efficient use of our small living room. I am very hard on myself if I do take a risk on something and it bombs, wasting money.

I suck at hiring contractors. I always seem to stick myself with the ones who talk a great line, have glowing (and probably shill) references, show me two nice projects they've done (out of a hundred mediocre-to-crap ones, like as not) and end up being completely incompetent and usually jerks to boot. (That's after calling 20 contractors, having 6-7 return my call, 4 show up for their appointment to do an estimate and 2, maybe 3 follow through with the paperwork.) Being the obsessive planner that I am, for example when we did the master bath in the previous house I did things like draw lines on a subfloor showing where plumbing fixtures would go and the plumber still put the rough-ins in the wrong place because he wouldn't read the freakin' manuals I left for him with the rough-in diagrams, tacked to the studs above each fixture's location, and then I had to get another plumber in to fix it because plumber #1's phone was suddenly disconnected. (Angie's List is essentially nonexistent in my area and networking is a laugh because few people we know own homes and virtually none of them could afford to hire contractors. They're all on the "pray nothing goes wrong with the roof/plumbing/furnace/etc." plan for home maintenance/repairs.)

I couldn't care less about tablescapes, accessorizing bookshelves (my books wouldn't fit if I did that), "vignettes"... that doesn't mean I don't have and like decorative objects, I just can't get into that much fiddling. This little house is a lot smaller than the previous one and totally lacking in surfaces to put the "decorative clutter" - no mantel, no deep bay windowsill, nowhere to hang up shelves, etc. - which is probably a good thing in many ways, although it means just about all of my tchotchkes must remain packed away. To be honest, though, I don't miss most of them, and I'll probably end up getting rid of a lot of it. (There's artwork, like paintings and prints, everywhere though, and a closetful of same remaining for me to find places to put it all.)

I'm pigheaded about function first, then aesthetics. Doesn't matter how beautiful something is, if it's not practical as well (like a chair that's too fragile or uncomfortable to sit on) it has no place in my home. I really wanted the beautiful olive velvet for my sectional but it attracted my dog's black, silver and cream hair like a magnet. So, I got the sagey sort-of-flat-chenilleish tough-as-nails upholstery instead, which doesn't hold as much hair and when it does it doesn't show (less contrast). Not quite as pretty, much more sensible.

Excellent responses here. I think mine would be excessive minimalism. Not only do clutter and color make me anxious, but i really can't tolerate a lot of "STUFF" around me in my home, even gorgeous stuff. It congests my mind. And it's a weakness because i end up living in a fairly sterile, neutral environment that lacks "character."

[Insert my mother's voice, "Would it kill you to have some color in here?"]

Oddly, when i go into other people's homes who have collections or an abundance of lovely artistic objects strewn about, i feel very comfortable.

wierd, i know.

My greatest strength is probably color, followed closely by an ability to coordinate fabrics...but that has a lot to do with color, doesn't it? I think the reason I am agile in those two areas is because I am passionate about them. Okay....I admit it...I am a paint junkie and I just about never leave a fabric store empty-handed. :-) I am also pretty good at coordinating disparate items in a space, but I use (you guessed it) color to get there. So, it's really all about color for me.

My latest and greatest weakness is electrical planning. I got a lot of things right, but I wasn't savvy enough to catch some of the mistakes made during the rough-in. I love my fixtures...that part is fine...but the placement and functional locations of certain switches and fixtures leaves a lot to be desired. The only things that really bug me about this house all go back to the feakin' electrician.

I don't like to dwell on my weakness :-) so....here are my strengths: I can visualize almost anything. I understand undertones and colors although can't put my thoughts into words well enough to pass it on to others much. It's all intuitive.
The big picture is always there but the big picture is made up of thousands of little details.
I love shopping and organizing- the quest for the perfect lamp is a thrill along with reorganizing the linen closet.

Another weakness: I guess it's spacial planning. I forever forget how small my rms. are and bring home the largest item I can find. Usually unreturnable. Who else would have a 42" round cocktail table in a 12'X13' rm?!

Does anyone else do the making a picture frame out of your fingers and peering through it to get a particular view? I've caught my 2 sons doing the same thing around the house now. I also regulalry find them measuring things w/ my tape measures. Maybe I should heed their advice on that one!

Being a paint junkie too, I have paint cans all over the house. So many so that one day when dropping our then 3yo DS1 off at preschool he spied a paint can and asked DH why mommy was there.

"Another weakness: I guess it's spacial planning. I forever forget how small my rms. are and bring home the largest item I can find. Usually unreturnable. Who else would have a 42" round cocktail table in a 12'X13' rm?!"

Ttodd, don't feel too bad. I did the same thing with my CL Chinoiserie coffee table. We're all told that a few big pieces are better than many smaller ones, so...

It's now replaced with two small, square bunching tables. But, on a higher note, I found a use for the MB sitting room...piling up all the cr*p that didn't work downstairs.

Hello! :) Have I ever posted here before? Can't say for sure but I do read this every day and feel as though many of you guys are old friends.

Now, I don't know if you call this "talent" as I consider it more of a blessing or strength: I know my own mind, what I like; whether or not someone else likes my style is not of great importance. Please don't let that sound snooty because it's not meant like that. It would drive me crazy to try to decorate our home to please others.

ronbre, I love what you had to say about Michiganders (like me) -- we do mostly like traditional, don't we? LOL! There are also some who like a touch of nautical because we have many, many miles of lake shore. And there are quite a few, especially in the northern part and upper peninsula who swear by rustic, up to and including log cabins. Love your take on Michigan. As far as layers, though, not sure. I take down my green lace curtains in the winter and put up my white lace ones. Why? Because it's so dark for so much of the day. Anything to lighten things!

Being an old lady is cooler than you might think. You no longer care about trends or changing things all the time. You're in the home where, God willing, you'll spend the rest of your life, and your walls are the nice, light, neutral color that is soothing and goes with anything. You no longer have those urges to run around changing it all, and have learned contentment. There is no thought to whether it's "sellable" as you have no intent to sell. And you've learned there's nothing sweeter than a small, cozy, simplified, organized home.

I probably sound totally disgusting. But it's so much fun to see how you work hard to make your homes work for you!!

Parma,

LOVE that table! I can just picture it now in my BT LR w/ a low round vase of creamy pale yellow David Austin roses, full blown and closed white peonies and Ladies Mantle.

Singsingsky - thanks for posting. Excellent points!

I think my strength is that I have an honest evaluation of my life. I have a strong visual sense, and I love to look at magazines and books about design, but I know what will work for my family and what won't. My kitchen counters will always have appliances in plain site, because we cook all the time, and I'm not dragging the stand mixer out of some hiding place.

My weakness is that I'm probably a little too eager to live with a temporary fix, rather than really spend the time to solve the problem or find the perfect solution. I've got a cardboard box of wineglasses sitting by the kitchen because I can't manage to find the exact storage piece I want (steel credenza, 90 inches long, to fit under my windows). So rather than spend the money to get one made, I'm ditzing around on CL, looking for something that I can adapt or that might work, or hoping, hoping, hoping that what I really want will just appear.

Of course, I got a 15 drawer steel flatfile for free this way, but it took years.

Best: I have a good sense of color. Doesn't mean I don't make mistakes with it (hello, sad gray hallway that's getting a re-paint ASAP) but I can look at a room and tell what accent colors it needs to make it come alive. I'm also not afraid of color at all.

Worst: my spatial sense is lacking. Not so much my sense of proportion, but...you know how some people can walk into a house and mentally transform the space by opening up a wall here and shortening a hallway there? I'm lost at that stuff. Even when I lay it out on a floorplan, I don't 'feel' it until the walls have actually come down and I'm standing in the space. When we were planning our renovation, DH would be running around sketching out ideas about blowing out the center of the floor so we could make the bathroom bigger and move the closets, and I'd be in an utter fog.

My best talent is probably visualizing the potential for change and improvement in a house or room, even if that requires totally changing the look and style of the room. I can look at a traditional room and imagine it contemporary, or vice versa, or imagine changing the functions of a room (living room to dining room, etc.), or moving things like stairs and doors, without being constrained by the room's current state. That skill came in handy since my house looked very tacky and early 80s dated when I bought it; paint, removing wallpaper, and changing the flooring made dramatic differences, and I saw past the prior owners' taste.

Other strengths are probably shopping, being comfortable with color, & choosing complementary colors for other rooms, and finding new ways/places to use my old furniture.

These days I think i have more weaknesses than strengths. The weaknesses are --- changing my mind mid-project; starting new projects before old ones are done (like some upthread I end up 80% done with a room and then start something else instead of finishing); choosing window treatments.

I also tend to get bogged down by perfectionism, which often leads me on 'holy grail' type quests for something very specific that I think would be 'perfect' for my room(s). Of course I then find that nothing like that is sold or if it is it's way beyond my price range, but I refuse to give up, and spin my wheels for months until I get a new 'great idea' to pursue.

The other weakness is being a die hard bargain hunter. I've missed out on things, or lost huge amounts of time shopping, because I was determined to find a cheaper version of something. I wish I were more comfortable just spending the money to buy what I want, regardless of sales. I'll never be able to afford everything that I want/admire, unless I hit the lottery. But there are many things that I can afford and pass because they never go on sale and I can't find something similar at homegoods, furniture outlets, etc.

I don't like clutter, shabby chic or brightly painted walls. So that means I like white, off white and tan(no flexibility). I generally buy quality BIG pieces then don't fill in around them. I like sitting at the dinningroom table and spreading out the newspaper and NOT having a table center piece to knock over! I like sitting on the couch and not having the cute throw fall off the back, because there is NO cute throw on it! :0) If I like something, I "like" it past the stage where it's still "in style"(I follow trends). So I kept the kokopelli and howling coyote thing going waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long!!! lol

This is why I ask for others here to look at a wall or a room and try to see it thru a fresh set of eyes. :0)

Weakness : Color Choice. Most of my threads on here are "What color to paint my room?" threads as I just can't envision a color in a room its terrible and frusterating emotionally and on my wallet as I end up painting a room so many times.

Also I have a hard time picking an overall look for my house as I am drawn to so many styles so my house can seem a bit mismashed sometimes.

Great thread.
Cheers
Haley