Interior design? Maybe you know what it's like…read more Indecision? Planning a 'pied-à-terre', we had finally bought a little old place down in Cornwall and had it gutted. We hadn't had time to do much with it, and 'la contessa' was beginning to get restless. In between times, you tune in to that bloody 'Grand Designs' programme on the TV and the wife (now getting nominally desperate) starts warbling on about Why don't we just sell up completely and put one of those environmentally-friendly German prefabs up on Bodmin Moor somewhere with a nice view? Great fodder for a harmonious relationship ;-)) As the weather had been improving, we had been spending more and more time down there, with the intention of getting the interior sorted. I like to think that I recognise good taste, but I am not good in designing from scratch, too indecisive, and I was too tight-fisted to spend money on some dopey and pretentious interior designer telling me how I should live! So you surf around (not in the Atlantic ;-) looking for ideas and still keep dithering. The good lady started coming up with ideas, some of which sounded quite reasonable, even if I was not fully sold on all of them. Then the worst bit started. You have to start going out shopping ;-( to look at curtains, wallpaper and all that kind of crap. Real men's stuff, especially if you are a grumpy old man. We had looked at a few bits and pieces in Launceston and fortunately bought nothing. ;-) It was time for a pint! Then la contessa suddenly noticed yet another place over the road (and I discreetly refrained from spitting venom). We went in, and the friendly people there seemed to exude a reassuring freshness that we had not experienced elsewhere. It was not What do you want? but very much along the lines of How can we help? I thought that the questions they asked were very intelligent and I opened up a little, still trying hard not to burst into tears and say I'm dying for a pint and I still can't make my bloody mind up. As the conversation progressed, they caught my drooping imagination more and more and I didn't feel that I was being sold something, but rather being listened to by people who seemed sympathetic and capable of giving sensible and well-reasoned advice. We had spent a while there and (pint still beckoning) I made an excuse, suggesting that we come back the following week to maybe buy some curtains and things that actually looked quite appealing. We returned happily the following week and they opened up with a very friendly We were thinking about some of the ideas that you had. It then turned out that their services go that extra mile further than I had realised (I hadn't noticed that the previous week, having suffered from a nominal lack in attention span caused by MSS [male shopping syndrome]). They showed us some of their completed projects, which I found surprisingly convincing. They were not doing a hard sell, but rather 'painting pictures', which I like. We retired yet again, leaving them no doubt to think that I probably needed mental rather than design counselling. Discussing it in detail between ourselves, I spontaneously agreed to invest further in their services. Doubtless to their surprise, we returned and a deal was struck for them to come around, and give our 'Kernow yurt' the once-over. Combined with our wishes, their input was great and the full package eventually followed thereafter. They arranged for some of the stuff to be made to fit for us, which is a real godsend when you are based at a distance. We owe these guys a lot (no, I don't mean we haven't settled their very cost-effective account)! They created something very special for us and we are very grateful indeed. At some stage during the project, the affable proprietor also bought me a pint, so posting this review is the least I can do! (For reasons of privacy, I do not wish to post images of my private chambers, but I shall contact these guys and publish any pix to which they can claim intellectual property rights).