One of the things I love most about being an interior redecorator is having the chance to meet so many people and hear their life stories and, even, love stories.

Last week I worked with a client who had first called my firm in the early 1980s (she’d worked with one of our senior designers a couple of times; this was the first time she and I had met).

She told me how she and her present husband knew each other since childhood because their families were close friends and how he had taken her to her senior prom. Although there was a strong attraction between them, he was swept away by another woman, a dancer, whom he’d later married. She had also married and had children; yet they stayed in touch because of their parents.

Years later, with their respective children grown, they each left unhappy marriages and became a couple again. This time he realized that the sweet woman who was devoted to her family and loved to knit was, and had always been, the perfect girl for him. He wrote a beautiful and touching poem for her, declaring his true and undying love and he married her in New York on September 12, 2001, even though many of their guests were unable to fly in for their small wedding.

Last week, she showed me the black and white photo of the two of them taken at her senior prom. In it, a young man in a tuxedo is standing behind a young woman in a strapless gown who is wearing a wristlet corsage.

My client and I hung that photo in their bedroom, just an inch above her husband’s framed poem. Some things and some people just belong together.

If you’re busy getting ready for the holidays, consider a new idea that could become a tradition: this year have the whole family make homemade decorations, together.

A holiday decoration that is easy to make, for all ages.

You might want to start on Thanksgiving when the family is gathered together or the day after, if you’re not in the mood to shop with the crowds on Black Friday. Just put out some arts and crafts supplies on a big table, in pretty, matching baskets, along with some old Christmas cards for recycling, ribbons and greenery.

Here are some more easy-to-accomplish ideas from eHow.com Home that you can share with your loved ones.

Let the fun and great memories begin!

I love lists. I make a list every night before going to bed so I can sleep better. It really helps.

The List Producer blog has posted my 10 Most Common Decorating Mistakes, in case you need a reminder and want to fix up your home in hours, without spending any money. Check it out:

http://www.listproducer.com/2011/10/20/10-most-common-decorating-mistakes/

Finally, an elegant and practical solution to the issue of how to display the most precious pieces in your home: your children’s artwork.

IMPROVEMENTS catalog has a good-looking “Dynamic Artwork Frame™” (in black or cherry with white matting) that not only allows the artwork to be changed whenever a new creation demands attention; it also provides storage space for 50 earlier masterpieces. There are 2 sizes, $24.99 – $34.99. Smart.