Believe it or not, I am ACTUALLY writing a blog! It has only taken a couple of years of thinking, “This would be an awesome blog post…” and then doing nothing with it. I blame it on the two kids and ever-growing list of activities they want to try in every spare second, but here we are, so let’s do this.

I want to talk design “rules.” Last week I went to a consultation with a fabulous home owner who was looking to sell her property. We walked through the home, and I made recommendations inside and out for items to update, replace, and rearrange. After our consultation, I wrote up the recommendations and sent them over. The next morning, I received a phone call from my client; she questioned why I selected the particular number of colors for the exterior and was concerned we were breaking design rules with the selections. After talking it through and showing her some examples, she was completely on board and followed through with the beautiful update.

I hear this a lot with my clients: they want to know the rules that will make their home look and feel like a model home. Now, I’m a girl who likes rules, but I have to say, the more homes I am in and the more I develop my own style, the less I rely on rules. Yes, you want a certain amount of space between a coffee table and a sofa, your art hung at the right height on the wall, an awareness of overall scale, and more. But as for hard and fast rules, know what you like, stick to general guidelines for good design, and sometimes take a risk. Go ahead and paint that small room a bold, beautiful teal—as long as it's a color you love, it will be fabulous!