In business and especially advertising circles, you often hear the expression, “What is your elevator speech?” The idea being that you should be able to quickly and effectively communicate to a total stranger what you do for work in a matter of minutes or even seconds. You leave them with just enough information to be memorable while wanting to know more. So when people ask me what I do, I tell them that “I fix ugly, one room at a time!” I’ve even started a Facebook page by that name. Feel free to check it out: https://www.facebook.com/fixingugly

Purple Nightmare Room

Of course, there are variations on ugly. I thought of that again this week when a friend shared a real estate listing for a home in the UK. Every single room in the house was decorated with nothing but shades of purple, gray and white. Not just any purple mind you… Barney Purple! Her question for me was what I’d do to fix this?

Well there’s ugly. Then, there’s UGLY! I honestly don’t know how anyone could live in such a space. But never being one to turn from a challenge, I’d give it my best shot. I love Purple… Check out the swirls in my company logo! But, Purple is one of those colors that should be used sparingly because of the powerful statement it makes, much like it’s “father” Red and “cousin” Orange.

So how do you use a bold color like Purple? For me, picking one element in the space and making that purple would have been sufficient. Either wall color, carpet, window treatments, or furniture… one major element alone would have been all the purple anyone could ever need in a room. More than likely I would have reversed the room, making many of the other elements white and gray and using the Purple as a powerful accent color in pillows, art and accessories.

As they say, however, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Far be it from me to suggest otherwise. I just hope this realtor has the patience of a saint. I doubt this property will be under contract any time soon!

Happy Colorful Decorating!