Irwin Weiner ASID - It's part of the culture we're living in to believe that we are empowered and enlightened people who can tackle anything . . . and, in the words of Sinatra, "do it my way." I appreciate empowerment, but too often I see potential design clients who don't appreciate all the training, skills, and special knowledge that goes into what an interior designer has to offer. The old "they pick out great throw pillows and paint colors" stereotype still plagues our industry.

In part, I blame television's rash of home makeover shows for giving homeowners the false notion that they can take on complicated interior design tasks and transform their home with one big sweep of a do-it-yourself wand. Just because I watch a steady diet of medical shows doesn't mean I have the adequate training and skills necessary to perform surgery! We recently took a video of Westport, CT interior designer Katy Cleare for her take on the importance of professional help and advanced planning from an interior design professional. She shows us examples from her own home of a fraction of the tasks we designers went to school to learn more about and refine every day on our clients' job sites.

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