Decorating is not about making stage sets, it's not about making pretty pictures for the magazines, it's really about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul.

So many people arrange furniture in order to see what's going on outside. But why? The view isn't going anywhere.

Decorating is not about making stage sets, it's not about making pretty pictures for the magazines, it's really about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul.

After the design is firmly fixed, the decoration is added. Decorating is the final enhancement.

Forget the floor plans. Arrange the furniture where it is the most comfortable and will look best.

When Van Truex defined the difference between designing and decorating, he used the analogy of preparing a roast of beef. Design, he said, is the preparation and cooking; decorating is the final seasoning, the savoring.

Design is about discipline and reality, not about fantasy beyond reality.