Once upon a time I worked on a television show where I introduced a secret tip into a design of mine that baffled some and impressed others; I created a fake window in a dark master bedroom to bring both balance and light (by hiding rope lighting behind the shutter). Not only did it do the trick, it fooled the homeowners into believing we'd actually put in a real window (keep in mind most design shows on TV have low budgets and little time, so putting a real window in wasn't realistic). While I don't make it a habit of fooling clients, I do enjoy using a few of my tricks whenever I can. Take this tight laundry room we added in a basement. Because the budget was nearing the finish line, we grabbed off-the-shelf cabinets from the Home Depot, added drawer pulls and found marble remnants for the countertops. To hide an ugly electrical panel in the corner I channeled my inner TV-host, built a frame around it and added a store bought window shutter for under $50.00. Here's proof that faking it from time to time just gets the job done quicker!
