Doctor/Decorator
Aug 26th, 2008 by Lauri
The scene: An interior redesign consultation (accompanied by decorator trainees).
The clients: A couple at odds with the way their home was decorated.
The wife, pregnant and not working, liked traditional furnishings and was very unhappy with the way the small temporary rental looked with their over-sized furniture brought from their last, much bigger home. The husband, a physician, who preferred modern furnishings did not agree with the need for professional decorating help; he did not want to part with his too-big pieces nor put them in storage.
I sided with the wife because the apartment was completely over-crowded, uncomfortable and did not look good. It had terrible Feng Shui.
Here’s what happened: I offered solutions that would solve most of their problems but the husband would hear none of it. The wife liked my ideas a lot so I tried to reason with her mate. He told me that although I thought he was “just a doctor,” he actually knew a lot about decorating. I decided not to tell him how much I knew about medicine. His wife took me aside and said that she was very sorry and totally mortified by his rude behavior but I assured her that it was not a deterrent (on pages 72-73 in Use What You Have Decorating the issue of some men - okay, many men - and their perspective on decorating is addressed).
I kept my cool even though the doctor tried to goad me into arguing with him (no, I will not divulge the gory details but I will tell you the trainees jumped in to defend me, bless them). After a “discussion” I got him to agree to the living room and dining room rearrangement and, if he didn’t like it, we would put everything back the way it was, originally. 
I stipulated that we would only return the pieces after we finished the master bedroom so that he would have sufficient time to adjust to the new arrangement and that he and his wife would, hopefully, rent a storage room for the unused baby grand piano, big glass dining tabletop and several other pieces, until they moved into a house.
The trainees and I proceeded to rearrange both rooms and they looked 100% better. Everything seemed more open, elegant and comfortable. The wife was thrilled. I didn’t ask the husband what he thought. Then the trainees, she and I went to work on the master bedroom. When we finished it looked and functioned better, too. The wife called her husband in to take a peak at everything. As the doctor looked around, he nodded, and shook the decorator’s hand. And then he apologized.
This guy sounds like my husband! He has seen the light after having a professional team remodel our kitchen. His mantra was why can’t we design it? I showed them pictures of kitchens I loved — and they translated it into an actual kitchen. They were worth every penny!
Hi Laurie, I’m enjoying your blog so much! This was a great example of re-decorating at work!
Kathy,
Hopefully, your hubby will remember this experience when you get ready for your next decorating project!