Tablescapes, Home Decor, Thrifting, Cooking

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Why yes, I make house calls

 

 

Occasionally I get a request to go out for a visit to a customer’s home.  Often times, they have a new home or are remodeling and just overwhelmed by all the decisions that need to be made.  Early this week I had a call from a customer.  Her daughter is having a birthday this month, has a brand new house AND a brand new baby and she wanted to treat her to a dining room centerpiece.  She asked if I could come to her daughter’s home to see the room and make suggestions.

 

First I wanted to talk to the daughter.  I like to be prepared when I arrive, so I have a checklist of questions I always rattle off such as:

 

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* what is your decorating style or taste?  This young wife and mother thought she liked more contemporary

*what colors are you using?  None at the moment.  The house is brand new, the walls are Sherwin Williams Latte but nothing else so far that dictates a color

*what colors do you want to bring in?  She wasn’t sure yet.  So then I went on to say that reds are still very much in, and are leaning towards an orangey red.  She thought she would like that.  Then I told her that true orange is very much in vogue right now if she might like that.  She loved that idea as she really wanted to bring in a vivid color.  She also shared now that we were deeper into the discussion that she didn’t want the arrangement to be super flowery.  I assured her that I had many interesting pods and fillers to take up the space and it wouldn’t have to be overly filled with flowers

*what size is your table and what is the stain of the wood?  The table was handed down to this young couple from the husband’s parents.  It wasn’t what they would have chosen, but it certainly was nice and worked for now.  The table held six chairs and the wood was a darker mahogany

 

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So now I felt I had enough information to get started.  I went down to my workroom and pulled oddles and oddles of stems ~~ orchids, proteas, interesting pods, a variety of greens, berries, even fruits and vegetables in case she didn’t know until I brought them that she liked that.  That is the case sometimes. A person doesn’t really know til it’s brought to their attention something that might be interesting in their designed piece.  Artichokes and pears are very good transitional/Pottery Barn types of fruits that work well.

 

 

 

oh yes, it is a very messy business!

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Oh wait~~  I see an arrangement already in my inventory that actually might have great potential.  The colors are good, the look is right, the price is in the range of what the Mom told me.  Only trouble is, it isn’t quite long enough for the size of table.  No problem.  I just grabbed a few more stems to lengthen the arrangement. 

 

 

 

Before….

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A close up of some of the detail in this arrangement…. click to see the entire picture

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I had one more in mind that could be quite stunning.

 

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Rather than overwhelming this young mom with my basket full of goodies, I decided to bring in the arrangements that just might work for her first.  Well guess what?  I sat it on the table and she loved it immediately!  She liked the other one with heavier poppies but was afraid her husband might not care for the peacock feathers.

 

 

After…. this is on my table before I took it to her  ~~  Pretend that fabric isn’t sitting beneath this, okay?  ;)

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I love a happy customer  ~~ and her new home is absolutely beautiful.  I think we’ll be seeing more of each other as she is in the beginning stages of decorating.  It’s so nice to be able to bring something in and the customer can actually see it made up and know that she likes it. She is having me make something for the back of her toilet to match two pictures she just purchased.

 

 

Now I have a lot of things to put away. :)

 

 

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19 comments:

southerninspiration said...

I am not at all surprised that she loved it!! I am not surprised, either, that she wants you to make more. you are so talented! GREAT job!

Suzanne

Cathy said...

Donna, beautiful and like Suzanne, not surprised at all. You're so talented!

Do you make housecalls to SC? :)

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Lovely!!! You are so talented. :)

Tootsie said...

you rock girlie!!! and You know it! lol

Unknown said...

Donna, it is stunning! Anyone would be thrilled to have your lovely creation on their dining table!

Tina

Anonymous said...

Very colorful and so pretty!

Kristens Creations said...

Hi Donna, the arrangement turned out beautiful!! I just love your work! I will probably be in Dallas for the mini market in Sept. My former boss, Sherry, has a beautiful house there and wants us to come and visit. If your going maybe we can meet. Have a great weekend!! Kristen

susan said...

What a thoughtful gift! She was lucky to have your guidance and talent! Thanks for stopping by :)

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Vaery pretty Donna...what an eye you have to do all these beautiful arrangements...May you have a great weekend my Friend....hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Anonymous said...

Hi Donna! Sorry I haven't visited in a while; I'm way way behind on blogging!!! Funny I love peacock feathers! Wow, what a stock you have to play with!!! Very nice arrangement too; goes with every style!!!! Now you've inspired me again to go see what's in my little "stock" supply as I need to make a new arrangement as well! Hope you are enjoying yourself and I'll be back soon (I hope!!!) I'm off to see what else you've been up to! Sincerely, Jeannette

Paula@SweetPea said...

I love your creation. Your client probably has called every friend she has to come over to see her new arrangement.

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Beautiful arrangement! Great questions to find just what she needed. :-)
Susan

Miss Laura Lu/RMS4291960 said...

Love it! I bet you just love your business Donna! I would be in heaven surrounded by all those silk florals! Thanks for sharing this great story! God Bless! Lauralu :)

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Donna, I can see why she loved it. It is stunning! I'm so sorry you're having such trouble visiting my blog. I wish I could figure out why. laurie

stitching under oaks said...

wow! I'm sure she'll enjoy it for years...you did a great job. Such personal attention is so lacking too often now a days.

Petit Coterie said...

The arrangement is just beautiful! I'm sure she love it. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. It is always nice to meet new blogging friends.

Michelle

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

You are TOO sweet. Thanks for the kind comment. :) So glad to have you and the Belles around. ;)

Domestic Designer said...

What a beautiful arrangement! I sure wish you made long distance house calls. :-) Thanks once again for the inspiration! Have a great day!

Decor To Adore said...

What a gorgeous arrangement. I loved the peacock feathers. You are truly talented!