Superior Interiors Desgin Consultant Marilyn Jackson Lets Experience Do The Talking

Within every home resides a decorating dilemma.

Like what to do with the wacky L-shaped living room or the heirloom armchair, a sentimental eyesore. The family room so poorly lit the kids have dubbed it “the dungeon” or the avocado carpet in too good of shape to replace.

You get the picture.

But when life’s more urgent matters crowd the priority list, we reluctantly make do with what we have and attempt to overlook these residential shortcomings.

Yet, our homes reflect who we are and how we feel. Home is the last place of refuge in a fast-paced world. Indeed, home decor does matter.

Now, a professional is ready to offer solutions to your decorating woes. Free of charge. Ideas to make your home a more satisfying place to cocoon.

Starting Nov. 10, interior design consultant Marilyn Jackson will write a column called Interiors that will appear in the Friday IN Home section. In Interiors, Jackson will answer your decorating and design questions.

There is hardly a scenario Jackson has not encountered in her 15 years as a professional interior designer.

Whether you are starting out or starting over, building up your home furnishings or paring them down, man or woman in whatever season of life, you are encouraged to send decorating questions and Jackson will answer as many as possible in her column. Friend to friend.

Jackson earned a master’s degree in interior design from Eastern Washington University. She taught in the Spokane school district as well as a course at Whitworth College called “The House and Its Equipment.”

Jackson’s ASID certification is the top tier of the American Society of Interior Designers, signifying that she has passed an intensive test given by the National Council of Interior Design Qualification Board, a nationally recognized standard for those who, by education, experience and testing, are qualified to practice interior design.

Only a handful of designers in Spokane hold this certification.

“A designer is different than a decorator,” Jackson explains. “A designer uses what people have in a way that looks like it is planned and purposeful to make families happy and healthy and to improve their well-being.”

Since 1980, Jackson has worked at The Bon Marche helping customers understand design concepts and choose furnishings to meet family needs and budgets. Her job also takes her into clients’ homes.

“I like a room that looks like it has open arms welcoming people into the room,” she says. “I want to design a room that enhances the function of the interior, improves the quality of life, increases productivity in that room and protects the health and safety of family members.”

Jackson accomplishes these goals by analyzing furniture placement, traffic patterns, color schemes, accessories, lighting and fabric choices, as well as other elements.

She also asks her clients a lot of questions to determine likes and dislikes, quirks and nuances and what makes them happy in their living spaces.

“Creating happy homes is what I enjoy best,” she says.

One question Jackson is frequently asked is how to change an outdated color scheme.

“Color schemes have a life span of seven to 10 years,” she says. “To change color schemes you need to divide and conquer. If your colors are blue and beige, for example, take all the beige tones and put them in one area. Put all the blues in another area. Blend the old color with a new color, maybe a burgundy, to create a new color combination.”

Eventually, by changing accessories, fabrics and furnishings, you can phase out the old colors while maintaining unity throughout the home.

Jackson is often approached by newly married couples furnishing a first apartment and trying to decide which pieces of furniture they want to have around them in a small space and what they should purchase.

“For them, I try to pick out timeless pieces that will be useful now and stay in style. Something that can be used for one purpose now and might be used later as something else, like a dinette table to be used as a game table in later years.”

For the bedroom, Jackson suggests these couples choose one piece of furniture with plenty of storage that will work with additional pieces to be added over time.

For the living room she advises choosing a sofa without wood trim.

“Different kinds of wood go in and out of style and will limit you if it is specifically Early American, Queen Anne, Mission, etc. A sofa without wood trim is going to become any style you combine it with later, as long as the color works and the fabric has the degree of formality you want.”

Accessorizing a room is another common topic. Jackson says creating a focal point by taking into account the art elements of scale, rhythm and harmony in the room is important.

“A focal point can be several things seen from different vantage points that make you feel comfortable and happy.”

Putting the right accessories around a room creates a mood. Jackson suggests grouping like objects together to form collections and storing away some objects to be brought out seasonally.

“Don’t be afraid to move things around, accessories especially. A change gives us a new start on life.”

Jackson gets questions on how to make a room look larger, how to scale down a larger home into a smaller residence and what to do with an unusually shaped room. She gets asked what colors and what styles work well together.

And everyone wants to know what he or she can get on a limited budget.

For the answers to these questions - and your questions - stay tuned to the Friday IN Home section. That avocado carpet may soon give you reason to smile.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NEW COLUMN Interiors, a home decorating and design question-and-answer column by Marilyn Jackson, debuts Nov. 10 in IN Home, and will appear every other week beginning Dec. 1. Send questions about decorating to Marilyn Jackson, Features Departmnet, The Spokesman-Review, Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210, or fax them to 459-5098.