The Reston-Great Falls Interior Design Corner:

A vision of the future has always been critical in coping with crisis. I remember the first time I was living abroad. I had a fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutsche Akademishe Austauschdienst or DAAD) to work on my doctoral research. West Berlin was then a very unique place. It was the Cold War, a time of uncertainty. Anxiety was high; every time a plane was breaking the sound barrier, my heartbeat accelerated. From time to time the news on TV was showing the missiles aiming at West Berlin, the epicenter of the Cold War. If you went straight in any direction in Berlin, you would inevitable reach the wall. It was certainly a new world, the New Normal for me, at least for a year, although at the time it seemed much longer. The winter was long and the days very short. How we feel today due to the pandemic brought those vivid memories back.

Back then, I developed my coping mechanism, which I have used to deal with difficult situations later in life- my imagination. When I was feeling that I needed some fuel to continue, I was remembering my father’s garden. My father had a special touch for gardens. He cultivated the most beautiful roses I have ever seen. As I was closing my eyes, my journey through his garden would start. First, I would go to the big jasmine bush. I could smell the fragrance of the flowers and sense the velvety feeling of the flower petals. Then, I was heading to the rose bushes. I could smell the delicate fragrance of the roses, first the white bush and then the pink one. Other times, I imagined I was sitting with my father by the fire drinking a nice whiskey in the living room. I could visualize the modern fireplace that he had designed, a unique piece, indeed. I could even count the lacquered boards of the firewood holder. I felt secure in my parents’ home. That gave me not only the serenity I was looking for, but reminded me of what was waiting for me upon my return home.

It is our inner strength and vision that keep us going through adversity. It is our vision of a positive future that brings us hope and a sense of direction. These difficult times will pass, although the end may seem too far away, or time may seem to go by too slowly. However, we are in control of our perception of time and we can choose to spend our time wisely.

Because our home is our refuge and our foundation, I invite you to a journey to envision your dream home and be ready to resume our lives this summer. As you have been spending long hours at home recently while sharing the spaces with other members of your family, you probably started finding “issues.” What projects have you wished you had already done? Is it that home office that was never redesigned and now the working spaces at home are crowded, or that bathroom renovation you had planned for last spring and did not happen? Is there a dated window treatment that every time you see it reminds you of the need for replacement? Maybe the family room is not functioning as you would like because it needs some space planning. Well, we all have a long list of home projects that we feel behind in planning.

This is a great time for planning. The Reston-Great Falls interior Design Corner will be by your side this stay-at-home spring as you create the visions for your home. Let’s do a review together of each room in the house.

We will start with the bedroom. Staying relaxed and well rested is critical to our daily success in any activity we pursue, whether it is a stressful business career, an academic career, or being a stay-at-home mom, at night when our family gets together we all want to be at our best and offer the best to our family. Being well rested is the key to starting your day fresh. In our next article we will discuss colors, styles, bedding, window treatments and much more for bedrooms.

Please feel free to send topics that you are interested in and I would be happy to include them in my articles (ameliavinteriors@decoratingden.com). If we stay together, time will pass faster.

Amelia Vallone Interiors has moved all spring events to virtual events free of charge.

Next Virtual Event: "Color Trends and setting the right mood in your home."

Friday, April 17 2020 at noon

Zoom meeting

RSVP to ameliavinteriors@decoratingden.com to receive the link and join the meeting

Amelia Vallone Logan, Ph. D.

Interior Designer

ASID Allied Member

Virtual complimentary Initial Consultations (phone, facetime and zoom)

Virtual Design presentation (zoom)