Deck your Halls with Green

Deck your halls with green this year and be right in step with the Pantone Color of the Year 2013 selection. It is widely known green is my favorite color. There isn't a green I don't love. I've always loved that it brings the outdoors inside. I'm so drawn to green that I've often wondered if it's not due in part to my Irish heritage. Either way, jump on the emerald green trend and add a blast of green to your home with a green pillow, tablecloth, napkin, or ornament.  Nature is our greatest source of inspiration for color, so take a walk outside, look around and be inspired.

It Started in a Storefront

My first step toward becoming a professional was setting up a business -- Grand Interiors -- in the front window of a paint store on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. That window became my palette, where I created displays every month using draperies, fabric, paints and wallpaper.

The surrounding neighborhoods of Crocus Hill and Summit Avenue were filled with historic houses built in the late 1800s, and at that time people were beginning to renovate those homes. They would see my display and walk in looking for wallpaper. That became my specialty, and I eventually accumulated nearly 5,000 wallpaper books, the most extensive collection the Twin Cities.

Wallpaper worked well for both the people who wanted to maintain the traditional character of their historic homes and for people who wanted to transition into a more contemporary look. I enjoyed starting at the ground level by renovating historic houses.

I also learned to enjoy the process of finding out how to serve the various needs of clients and their families. My expertise expanded to include drapery, furniture, bathroom renovation and more. I found myself offering full design services, from beginning to end.

Eventually I realized that the relationship with my clients was much more interesting to me than being an entrepreneur and running a business. That’s why I sold Grand Interiors in 1992 and became an independent designer with offices at International Market Square, which is filled with resources for interior design.

Shadowfalls Design                1992 - present

Blog: www.mrswoz.com        December 2012