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THE
READING LIST
Voila!
The Queen of Decorating on a Budget offers ooh-la-la.
Reviewed by Kathleen Stoehr
With all of the newly anointed
decorators clogging up our television screens on HGTV, it seems
everyone is eager to get into the game. Designers are not content
to be just designers anymore, they have to be celebrity designers.
Some of these individuals have a positive rapport with the camera;
some I watch as they move across a room and I think . . . they must
have gotten in when the gettin’ was good because there’s
just no charisma here. Design talent yes, but does the camera love
you, baby?
So, I popped in Interiors$ by Michele, Queen of Decorating On a
Budget, A Before-and-After Guide to Transforming Your Home Into
a Palace With Custom Window Treatments, Volume One [sic] with some
trepidation. After all, the cover of this DVD was somewhat off-putting,
showing a dolled up hostess, Michele Caprio, bedecked with tiara
and royal scepter.
Not that everything has to be serious, mind you. In fact, I watched
the whole program wearing my purple Happy New Year crown in homage
to her unabashed cover campiness, much to my daughter’s chagrin.
Most of my problems with this DVD relate to the lack of production
values (slow camera panning, jerky close-ups), the stiff cue-card
delivery of her Royal Highness and the boring, sleepy music that
relentlessly pervaded each segment. My suggestion: Push the mute
button and leave it there—that will solve two of the problems
with this DVD. OK. I shall continue my review, now, in a more positive
light.
QUEEN OF SWAGS
As with most decorating programs on television today, the host or
hostess focuses on one or two rooms in the same home within a single,
half-hour segment. For this 37-minute DVD, then, to show eight beautiful
suburban homes, exhibiting at least three rooms each, both in a
“before” format (typically a bland, vanilla room with
blank windows) to the lush “after”—that’s
a lot of inspiration in a very short period of time.
While there was a heavy emphasis on swags of all kinds, I couldn’t
help but marvel over their beauty. Her soft treatment fabricator,
noted in the end credits as Norma Kees, is a magician. Kees’
work, from what I could tell in the close up segments, is impeccable.
Crisp jabots, softly draping swags, perfectly placed bead trim and
lovely rosettes were entirely professional. Just magnificent!
Caprio also creates pause between certain segments to offer helpful
“Decorating Tips from the Queen”—mostly unrelated
to window treatments but helpful nonetheless. For example, she suggests
looking to the fashion industry to get ideas on what’s hot
in interior design; using bold colors to enhance small rooms; and
to only redecorate one room per year so that a sense of accomplishment
is achieved and that one doesn’t get frustrated by spreading
finances—and emotions—too thin.
Each room also comes with a breakdown of both materials and fabrication.
Most treatments ran in about the $2,000 range, up to $6,000, which
may cause some consumers to question what Queen Michele considers
“budget.” There was also no mention of cost to install,
which should always be addressed. Additionally, one room in the
Casual & Elegant section displayed the same cost of materials
and fabrication as the room previous, even citing “beaded
trim”—which was not evident on the treatment. My assumption
is that this was a production company typo.
Another segue—a quick talk with muralist “Sir”
James McLaughlin, one of her “Royal Subjects”—was
informative. Interestingly, Sir James seemed more at ease in front
of the camera than Her Highness. Don’t get me wrong—camera
work is daunting, so props to Caprio for putting herself out there.
Indeed, a recent e-mail from Caprio informed me that she was taking
a workshop, with hopes of being able to appear on QVC. More power
to you!
CREDENTIALS
Michele Caprio’s design credentials are impressive. Interiors
by Michele, based in Medford, NJ, has been serving the greater Philadelphia
are since 1990 and Caprio was recently named one of the 24 “People
to Watch” by South Jersey magazine. Her designs are frequently
featured in DesignNJ magazine and she is obviously very talented
with an eye to not just window treatments, but also paint, wall
covering and today’s fashion trends. She has just completed
her second DVD with hopes that a series will be ahead.
Should you wish to purchase a copy of this DVD, visit www.interiorsbymichele.com.
Kathleen Stoehr is president of Chemistry Creative, based
in Minneapolis, MN. She is a former editor-in-chief of Window Fashions
magazine and is the author of the recently published Dream Floors,
Hundreds of Ideas for Every Type of Floor, and the upcoming Dream
Windows: Historical Perspectives, Classic Designs, Contemporary
Creations. Stoehr can be contacted for comments, queries and trend
information at kstoehr@chemistrycreative.com.
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