Page 3 of At Home With A Designer An Interview with Charlotte Moss

Here is more of what Charlotte has to say about trends, floorcoverings, and personal style...

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Q. How would you define your personal style and the elements that you like to use in your own home?

Charlotte Moss: "It's so broad. In my room now there's everything from needlepoint, tortoise shell frames, chinoserie letter box, French tables. I like mixing things up. I like marrying things that maybe don't look like they should be married. I buy what I like and I'm immediately drawn to things. I've never had to sit down and decide if I want something. It's usually 'I've got to have it', and I think when you buy like that -- from the heart -- the things that you really love and are drawn to, they almost become a part of your family. And somehow they all work, and they all get along.

"It's when people don't know who they are, and they bounce around all over the place. You look at their rooms and think 'this is such a confused statement.' I buy what I like. I love European thing, I love antiques. I collect paintings of interiors and rooms. I love learning from other people. There's a lot of learning to be done if you don't know what you want to do, just by reading and educating your eye. That's what I'm always telling people to do. You can't do it sitting around in the house in a vacuum. You have to get out and see what's happening. And only then, when you've exposed yourself, will you figure that out.

"I know that I've figured that out for myself. But now I'm sitting confronted decorating a new office for myself, and I'm all over the map. I've got furniture earmarked for it, I know basically what color palette I want, but decorating a new decorating office is a very key statement like your living room. Every fabric has to be carefully selected."

Q. What career advice do you have for student or people want a change?

Charlotte Moss: "People ask me a lot of quesitons about this. Students, people interested in a career change, women who have heard me lecture or something. You know everybody is different. I just jumped in hook, line, and sinker, and went off on my own. Not everybody can do that. I'm on the board of NYSID, so I know Inga Heckle would probably kill me if she heard me say this, but I think that sometimes school is not the best choice. There are some people that I call very quick studies, and they've got it naturally. The best thing for them is to jump right in an apprentice with someone whose work they admire.

"I tell a lot of people to go out and buy Victoria's book, The Business of Bliss, and read all the stories about those female entrepreneurs. Look at them and see what you can learn about perhaps a situation that is close to yours. See what you can figure out. Everybody has to figure it out for themselves. A lot depends on your financial resources as well. I left Wall Street with a bonus and began buying antiques, but not everybody can do that.

"I will tell you a funny story. When I left wall street there was one person I really wanted to work for, and that was David Easton. And I thought if I could carry his briefcase and learn by just being around, I would love to do that, but I felt that I had nothing to bring to the table, coming from Wall Street. Anyways, as of last week, David Easton is my new partner, we've merged our firms. So things come around, and someone whose work I admire is now my partner. That's how life happens."

"I think people want to see how other people live. They did a good job with the tips and ideas, and it's not just a book of pretty pictures and pretty rooms that people wonder by the time they've fininshed it, "oh my gosh how can I do this myself. There's some real actionable tight material in there and I think that's what doesn't leave you feeling hungry at the end. It's sort of a kick in the pants, actually."

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