If every piece is perfect the room becomes a museum and lifeless.

Even if it's not a style of architecture or period you like, a decorator has to have a feel for a house's personality and try not to fight against it. I like to get the juice out of a house and not spoil it.

How lucky I've been to live in such beautiful places and able to make them as I dreamed. I've been lucky. I've adored my houses more than my friends (or husbands).

Crossing too many t's and dotting too many i's makes a room look overdone and tiresome. One should create something that fires the imagination without overemphasis.

A gentle mixture of furniture expresses life and continuity but it must be a judicious mixture that flows and mixes well. It is a bit like mixing a salade. (I am better at room than salads).

I like to preserve simplicity rahter than over-polishing. Fashions are changeable. Taste is in realizing the essence of a place.

It is usually a mistake to impose an individual's taste on a room that has its own....style. Conversely, to put very fine pieces of furniture in a room that is without architectural distinction is as absurd as wearing a tiara with a bathing suit.