Even Progressives Need to Decorate

The first hint I had that we do-it-yourself decorators are viewed as something of a joke came when I was in my 20s, and listening to a friend describe her latest break-up. "He told me that he thought the three deadliest words in the English language are, 'I love you,'" she told a group of friends at a brunch party.

"Hmmph, he's got that wrong," snorted my boyfriend at the time. "The three deadliest words in the English language are: 'It has potential.'"

He got a good laugh because, at one time or another, everyone at that table had been with me as I combed thrift stores and garage sales, haunted flea markets and even claimed an occasional curb-side reject, always justifying my finds with: "It has potential."

My belief in hidden potential became the trait that defined me. One friend joked that I had to stop choosing men the way I chose furniture and apartments. "For character?" I asked, hopefully.

"Fixer-uppers," she replied, firmly.

'Martha porn'

It's well known that, in times of stress, some women buy shoes. I buy sheets. No, I don't know why. I find it soothing. I also like to paint furniture and walls. Ooh, and I just silver-leafed a vintage lamp! My dirty little secret -- that I'm a feminist plagued with a politically incorrect home decorating fetish -- is a running joke among my friends.

But lately I've noticed that those of us who pay attention to this kind of domestic comfort aren't just getting the most pleasant homes, we're getting kudos from environmentalists, money experts and the decorating world itself. Not only are we frugal, resourceful and noble recyclers, we have a distinctive style.

So suddenly I've become the go-to girl for every friend flummoxed over where to put the sofa, how to set up a home office or spruce up an eccentric apartment. Even the guy who christened my TV-watching habits "Martha porn" has started asking for advice.

I've considered mentioning that it's wrong to mock my proclivities and then make use of them, but I'm a junkie. Reworking a room is my version of a crossword puzzle, and I get a kick out of doing it on a budget that would make one of those shabby-chic advocates titter. I see home design as less about flashy accessories and more about problem solving.

Which is why my editor says it's time for me to come out of my (neatly organized) closet and fess up to, er, fluffing.

"Someone has to talk about the alternative to Ikea and Pottery Burn," she muttered. (Poor thing has been couch hunting and the stress is getting to her.)

Decorators anonymous

So here goes: my name is Shannon, and my hobby is decorating.

Now, I'm not talking the Cordon Bleu of décor -- for that you have to hire Sarah Richardson or Candice Olson, two of TV's designing women who deliver brilliant results on big budgets. I'm talking about the design equivalent of what my aunt calls "a good plain cook."

Despite what shelter mags would have us believe, most of us want homes that are decorated for comfort. That means having lamps well placed for reading in bed and everywhere else; couches and chairs placed close together to encourage conversation; and side tables that are just the right height to hold your coffee (within two inches of the height of the chair's arm). Of course, it needs to appeal to your sense of aesthetics and not the taste of some designer with a penchant for neon orange.

None of this has anything to do with money; it's all about know-how. While mine was all gleaned the hard way, including countless hours spent stripping woods of dubious origin, how-to is now painless to come by. The dawn of HGTV, coupled with an explosion of decorating books and websites, has made it easy to become a self-taught decorator.

Well, actually, it's made it overwhelming. And a little confusing, with all those choices. So here are some of the best resources I've found in almost 20 years of being, as one long-time pal so elegantly phrases it, "Martha-manque." (Oddly enough, he thinks I'll be charmed by him calling me a "Defective Martha," as long as he does it in French. And yet he wonders why no one polishes his wood.)