Some days I am surprised by how many people can not visualize change whatsoever. Given my career choice, I should be grateful for the zero-visioners out there, but it's still somewhat shocking to me something as simple as a paint color can send someone into a tail spin. I was recently approached by a client to "fluff" her upper east side Manhattan apartments dining room. The one request (well, two); don't change the curtains or the dining room table AND don't spend a lot of money (okay, guess that was three requests). My easy quick fixes; paint dark, dated cabinets in a matte white, add a new chandelier and the biggest sell of the project...paint the ceiling BLUE. Sometime I hide a few details to surprise clients, this one I shared my idea of painting the ceiling a dark color and you would have thought I told her to spray paint herself pink and parade down the street. Eventually she gave in and trusted me after shouts of IT'S GOING TO MAKE THE SPACE LOOK SMALL, DARK, CLOSED IN...No, no and no. In the end she hugged me, cried a bit and has sent emails almost every night about how much she loves the room. The point; when in doubt, PAINT and when hiring a designer TRUST THEM!
