Ask interior designers to share their biggest client peeves, and they’ll tell you, it’s not clients who have lousy taste, nor ones with minuscule budgets, nor those who can’t make a decision without asking their mothers. The leading beef among residential designers is clients who have collectionitis — inflammation of the need to collect stuff.
Designers, then, must try to artfully address this stuff. Finding a decorating solution to a client’s prized display of 600 beer cans — no two alike! — or cherished troll-doll collection takes the nimbleness, patience and creativity of a celebrity wedding planner.
Fortunately, some designers have that. For example, Los Angeles interior designer Sarah Barnard recently worked with a couple whose home reflected their passions all right — in 3-D and living color. The wife collected egg cups and loved all things roses; the husband shared a symbiotic connection with his six surfboards. Here’s how Barnard elevated the couple’s collections into art.
The egg and I“Because my client’s friends all knew she loved egg cups, she kept getting them as gifts,” said Barnard. “Soon her quirky collection outgrew its holding rack and overran her kitchen.” (Too bad Humpty Dumpty didn’t land here.) During the home’s remodel, Barnard had a large, custom niche built into the dining room wall, which now comfortably houses the collection. Because all of the egg cups are grouped and framed, the collection works as a single piece of art.
Rose overdoseOriginally, the same client had expressed her rose romance by having an artist paint climbing rose vines all over her kitchen walls. She put cabbage rose throw pillows on her sofas beside silk rose floral arrangements. “The theme was heavy-handed and just not as sophisticated as my client really is,” said Barnard, who honored her client’s passion, but toned town the homage. Now rose imagery is subtly embossed in the leather covering the dining room chairs and carved into the mantle of the limestone fireplace. “It’s there, but it doesn’t hit you over the head.”
Making wavesAs if making the egg cups and rose theme work in the same house wasn’t challenging enough, Barnard also needed to appeal to the husband’s surf obsession. She hung his first and favorite surfboard, a wood monster made before fiberglass boards ruled the waves, on the wall over the bar. Nearby, she placed a contemporary surfer painting. As for the rest of his surfboard collection? They grace the guest house — and stand ready when he is for the next set of waves.
Syndicated columnist Marni Jameson lives in Castle Rock. She is the author of the just released “House of Havoc,” and “The House Always Wins” (Da Capo Press). Contact her through .
Calm and collected
I’m all for a home reflecting the lives and loves of the people who live there. But if you’re umbilically attached to, say, your hubcap collection or your 85 boxes of vintage laundry soap, before you trot them out for display, consider these suggestions from California designer Sarah Barnard for turning your passions or collections into tasteful home decor.
Avoid the literal.
Keep your love subtle. Adore hunting dogs? Don’t put hunting-dog figurines and artwork everywhere. Rather, have a faux-fur ottoman that feels like a big dog.
Capture the essence.
People often want a Hawaiian theme to conjure the feeling of being on vacation. A common mistake is to hang hibiscus-print curtains, and framed posters of palm trees. “They look cheesy,” she said. “Plus no one has those in Hawaii.” Instead of reaching for manufactured images or icons, recreate the feeling by capturing the colors, textures and mood through bamboo blinds and grass-cloth wallcoverings.
Home in on one or two passions.
Having too many collections can feel like a hodgepodge. It’s a lot easier to make an upscale presentation of one type of item.
Employ the power of suggestion.
Sometimes just a representation of a passion (like the one vintage surfboard) — and not an entire collection — is enough.
Consider function.
If you actually use the items in your collection, make them accessible. For one of her clients who plays and collects guitars, Barnard mounted the guitars on the den wall, where he can grab them when the musical muse strikes.
Think of your home as a gallery, and you are the curator.
