What Makes a Room Great?

When describing a room, magazines will often use the word “Timeless” to capture the elegant and everlasting quality of a space. How do we design a room to be “timeless”? What is the difference between good design and great design?  In the coming months I will start a series of blog entries on 20th century rooms and what makes them appealing to us today.  I will also suggest changes that could be made to bring the rooms into the 21st century. I hope that this will serve as a guide to anyone seeking to understand how design works, the trends involved, and where things change and where they stay the same. 

Living Room by the late Mark Hampton
Photo by Durston Saylor for Architectural Digest
Published in 1996

Classic pieces are understood to last, but what makes a piece a classic? Trends are best used in small amounts, but where can I use them and still keep my room looking updated and current? This series of rooms will be a fun way to explore these and other questions that a decorator can help answer. I also hope that this will give you general knowledge of some famous designers and what made them great.

Decorating a room doesn't have to be a never ending project, but it also isn't something that we can set aside for years at a time. In these blogs I hope to show you quick ways to keep a space fresh and new feeling, without having to start over every couple of years.