Intimate Spaces

Using Your Home to Tell Your Own Story

2006-12-30T17:06:00.000-05:00

Using Your Home to Tell Your Own Story

Throughout the country, a growing number of Americans are using their homes to tell their own personal stories. Perhaps as a reaction the conformity of cookie-cutter housing, they have begun to celebrate their own unique histories, fascinations, and dreams. I call this approach to interior design the Narrative Style. Ideally, each statement in the Narrative Style is a one-of-a-kind, custom-made solution to a particular individual requirement.

A most spectacular example of the story-telling method is that of Napoleon’s Empire Style (1804-1820). Ever a master of self-promotion, Bonaparte commissioned the most accomplished artists, architects, and artisans of the day to create singular furnishings reflecting the glory of his conquests in Egypt and Italy. He and Empress Josephine filled their palaces with powerful architectonic pieces replete with ancient symbolism – eagles reigning over beds and lions feet supporting chairs. (Empire Style adaptations remain remarkably popular today. The American version is known as Federal, while the English version is known as Regency.)

Narrative Style is most easily understood as the opposite of packaged style. It provides an alternative to frozen period rooms, strict Minimalism, and rigid International Modernism, with its ‘machines for living.’ At the same time, however, this is not to imply that you either eliminate period arrangements or that you ignore current trends. Far from it. Cultural heritage and immediate environment necessarily influence all interior design work. What I am suggesting is that you begin a project by focusing on yourself instead of on a formula, old or new. Forget model rooms by this designer or that. Ignore standardized floor plans, no matter how seductive. Trash “guaranteed” color schemes. Tell your own tale, and you will be well on your way to making a personal statement of style.

The idea of expressing personal preferences has become a primary goal in interior design, along with the more traditional goals of beauty, comfort and efficiency. The notion of ‘personal style’ has, in fact, entered the mass consciousness. Filmmakers love to compose rooms that reveal a character’s personality. For instance, in the movie The Specialist, Sharon Stone plays a gone-wrong girl who seduces a Mafia lord as a means to revenge the murder of her parents. The audience, however, knows that she is still a “good girl” at heart because she returns to her childhood persona in a modest apartment filled with family photos, immaculate linens, and charming keepsakes. When the heroine is forced to leave her home to live in her lover’s skillfully decorated seaside mansion with sparkling white marble floors and jagged black sculptures, she takes one look and says, “Next time you order a hit you ought to consider taking out your decorator.”

Character and Panache

The goal is to design personal environments that are not only comfortable and efficient, but that also display a certain character and panache. And although every project is different, there are certain steps to follow. First, evaluate the general ambiance of your world. Think about the landscape, the architecture, your community in general. Second, you must always take into account interior architectural and other functional considerations. The third step is a bit more fun. It’s a treasure hunt. You can learn a great deal about yourself by identifying the things that are most precious to you in your home. Your treasures may reflect a concern for family, status, past accomplishments, aesthetics, and/or memories. Using myself as an example, I count among my prized possessions a book printed by Henry Shirley Millett, the first publisher west of the Mississippi, a sculpture by Noguchi, given to me by the architect Louis Kahn, and a collection of ceramic pots made by a man I loved.

You, yourself, may find that your view of waves crashing against the rocks gives you more pleasure than any object in your home, but whatever the case, identifying the things that you treasure will take you well on your way to developing a personal design concept.
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In design parlance, a “concept” is the central theme that integrates
the artistic whole. That “pulled together look” that is sought so much after is a result of much conceptualization. A case in point, a client of mine, a gracious widow, after careful self-examination, realized that gardening and cooking for friends were the central interests in her life once her children had grown up. She therefore transformed her four bedroom ranch into a two bedroom “garden villa” enlarged by the creation of several outdoor rooms, one for poolside cooking, another for potting plants, and best of all, a secluded courtyard for courting! The former bedrooms were connected to an expanded kitchen/dining area, brightened with new French doors and skylights, as well as graced by seasonal flowers and herbs.

The Unavoidable Step

Editing! Almost everyone needs to eliminate clutter – and anything that’s dirty, ugly, or just plain boring. This process is challenging, but it’s essential for anyone who wishes to refine and elevate his or her style. The finest residential design is invariably a product of evolution. Like any endeavor, it helps to have at least a basic understanding of the principles, and this is where some professional guidance may really be very helpful. A skillful interior designer can stimulate your imagination, eliciting thoughts and ideas you never knew you could have. Home design is a special kind of artistic expression, one that has a powerful impact on the quality of our daily lives. Be patient with yourself, and take the time to create what gives you the greatest pleasure.

Ten Master Design Steps

2006-10-28T11:24:00.000-04:00

1. FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE AT HOME.

a. Evaluate your entire personal environment.
b. Consider radical alternatives: renovating or moving to a new home.
c. Identify your place in the realm of fashion and period of styles
d. Determine whether or not you need expert assistance.

2. DISCOVER TREASURES YOU ALREADY HAVE

a. Learn to perceive with all six senses
b. Keep what you love; reject what’s useless and ugly.
c. Discover how to “read rooms”.
d. Use your own imagination as a treasure.

3. DEVELOP ONE-OF-A-KIND CONCEPTS.

a. Create a theme: art requires organization of ideas.
b. Practicing envisioning techniques.
c. Make your totally personal statement

4. BASE A BUDGET ON REALITY.

a. Appraise your existing assets and disposable income.
b. Check prices for proposed purchases.
c. Get estimates from design professionals and contractors, as necessary.
d. Establish priorities and make sure beauty stays at the top of your list.

5. CREATE COHERENT ROOM ARRANGEMENTS.

a. Study your lifestyle before arranging your spaces.
b. Work out focal points, traffic patterns, and density levels.
c. Draw floor plans and elevations to scale.

6. USE LIGHT AS REVELATION.

a. Evaluate existing lighting, both functions and fixtures.
b. Decide how much ambient, task, and accent light you need.
c. Use light to reveal your works of art.

7. PLAY WITH THE MAGIC OF COLOR.

a. Look at color as a personal matter.
b. Learn the basics: hue, value, intensity.
c. Experiment with unique color concepts.

8. GO SHOPPING AT LAST.

a. Identify the best sources, and concentrate on quality.
b. Consider hiring a designer to buy for you at a discount.
c. Find out how to make shopping a gratifying experience.

9. PULL YOUR ROOMS TOGETHER ARTFULLY.

a. Study esthetic principals and apply them three-dimensionally.
b. Create active rooms for comfortable living.
c. Learn how to display collections and artworks.

10. HAVE A PARTY!

a. Edit what you’ve already accomplished – and then embellish.
b. Be open to change: the best décor is evolutionary.

© 2000 Millet Enterprises

Caroline Millett Bio and Resume

2006-10-28T09:43:00.000-04:00

Caroline Millett has had a lifetime of experience in three seemingly disparate professions: Diplomacy, real estate development, and residential design.

As an over-educated but under-skilled single woman, she got her first big break when she entered the Foreign Service. After earning her M.A. in cultural history at Stanford, Millett went on to complete three more years of graduate course work in education and design. At the University of Wisconsin, Millett received a B.A. in U.S. history and comparative literature, with a years’ interlude at the University of Edinburgh (where she concentrated on fine art and architectural history).

Eager to go to work in the ‘real world,’ Millett was delighted when the U.S. Information Agency posted her in Sao Paulo. Here she had the remarkable opportunity to found and direct a brand-new American-Brazilian Binational Center. Ultimately she was promoted to the position of Cultural Attaché in the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, at the age of 29.

Toward the end of Millett’s tour of duty, she began to recognize the darker side of political life. In the 1960’s and 1970’s torture was a horrifyingly common practice in Brazil. Victims included liberals and intellectuals whom Millett met at seminars she taught at the University of Sao Paulo. Official American policy was in line with the fascist regime’s much-publicized slogan; “There is no torture in Brazil.” By the time Millett reached Brasilia, she vociferously opposed her own government’s ignorant position, and she would have been sent home in disgrace but for future President Jorge Figueiredo’s patronage.

This was a major turning point in her career. She took a leave of absence, and subsequently managed to arrange assignments in Washington exclusively within the realm of arts and culture. Over a period of eleven years she worked on a number of different projects. Millett directed architectural studies programs for all posts overseas, coordinated international arts exhibitions (including Sao Paulo and Venice Biennials), and produced film clips regularly featuring Secretary of State Kissinger. She also acted as a State Department delegate , first as Executive Secretary of the U.S. Inter-Agency Committee on the Arts, and then as a delegate to the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Toward the end of this stint she was awarded the title of “Advisor on the Arts.”

When Millett moved to Washington she bought the only beautiful old house she could possibly afford - a dreary and dilapidated Edwardian townhouse in Logan Circle. Finally she had the opportunity to practice what she preached. She preserved all of its historic features and used modern methods to create sunny, open interiors. Louis Kahn, a superb architect whom she had featured in USIA’s “thematic programs,” showed her how to create light and space. One freezing winter she also became friends with Plumbley the Plumber, who traded her a new furnace for 52 home cooked dinners. By the end of a year, Plumbley had taught her the “how to’s” of working with contractors. (Example of a Plumbley Principle: Pick your plumbers, electricians, roofers, and masons by their character since you never really know what they are doing.) After converting her home into three rental apartment units, Millett began buying similarly ancient wrecks, along with parking lots and liquor stores. By the time she left Washington in the early 1980’s, Millett had bought, renovated, and sold over 100 properties. Much to her surprise, she had become a serious businesswoman.

In 1982 Philadelphia provided her with a new opportunity - helping her former Foreign Service boss turn a local arts college into the University of the Arts. She took the job of Vice President in charge of public relations, special events, art gallery, and fund raising. After the university was formally established she returned to real estate development full time. Millett took a great liking to University City, in West Philadelphia, where she could renovate some more wonderful old houses and teach interior design at the University of Pennsylvania. Perhaps her greatest accomplishment was the total renovation of a city block formerly owned by the Catholic Church – a vacant school, rectory, and cathedral-sized church buried deep within the slums. This 165-unit project offered her the opportunity to restore a troubled neighborhood, and at the same time, provide moderate income housing for both university people and existing neighbors. During this period, Millett was very active in community service. She was appointed Trustee of several major Philadelphia foundations and the Preservation Alliance honored her for most outstanding contributions to the interior design profession.

By 1990, Millett realized that the work she best enjoyed always involved designing and art collecting. She began designing professionally for clients, just as she had for herself in many projects. She learned how to subordinate her own ego and help others tell their own stories in their own homes, “Narrative Style.” Moreover, teaching in Penn’s continuing education programs allowed her to discover new, intensely interactive ways to help students edit and refine their work. For fourteen years she taught a number of different interior design courses. Subjects included: period and contemporary styles, personalized color schemes, collecting and exhibiting arts and crafts, renovating and arranging space, and most importantly, developing personal stylistic expression. She built her own firm, Millett Design, specializing in residential design and fine arts consulting throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. The firm provides a wide range of services, from short-term color consultations to full-scale renovations. She has also published interior design columns called “Narrative Style,” and wrote Re-Designing Design: A Guide to Personal Environments.

More recently, she and Emmy-award winning writer/director Susan Baronoff have produced and co-created a television show entitled “Intimate Spaces.” Their goal is to reach a wide audience of Americans who seek to create genuinely fine design in their own most personal spaces.

Download Resume in Word format