Venice Living Furniture & Interiors’ president and CEO Gayle Rector has been transforming indoor spaces in Southwest Florida since 1963. From Grey Oaks Country Club and Sharky’s on The Pier to private homes, retirement communities, and apartments, Rector puts the unique wishes of her clients at the forefront of her design philosophy.
This warm, personalized approach to interior decorating begins with an illuminating two-hour meeting that Rector calls “Decorating Therapy” – a process she created to uncover each client’s wants, needs, and aspirations.
“We try to listen carefully to our clients’ hearts’ desires and make that all come true, no matter what,’ said Rector. She explained that Decorating Therapy revolves around fact-finding. “We ask a lot of ‘why’ questions. Why do you love this piece of furniture? … why did you move here? … why is this important to you?” The ensuing conversations are transformative in themselves, as clients express, possibly for the first time, the meaning behind each stylistic decision they have made. “We get them to talk about things they may not even have considered before…or tried to put it into a sentence or a thought … it's just a feeling for them. And so, we try to help them take that feeling into reality.”
Whether the project calls for slight changes or a large-scale makeover, clients receive a thorough, possibly therapeutic, consultation and enjoy highly personalized results. “We need to hear your vision of what your dream home in your mind looks like,” said Rector of the initial two-hour session. “Sometimes it's just for a room, sometimes it's for an entire house,” she noted. There are even instances when “it's for a house that's not built yet [and] we’re working with blueprints.”
After the initial Decorating Therapy session, clients then meet with a designer in the Venice Living Design Center, where they can envision their new space with the materials that best fit their profile. Those materials cover the gamut. “We do wallpaper, wall colors, flooring, area rugs, art,” Rector said. “We start with the basics and … we lay the last accessory.”
Each client’s lifestyle and values, which are revealed in Decorating Therapy, are thoughtfully reflected in the final details. “I just [worked with] a gentleman who … lost his wife,” recalled Rector, “so we had asked for some pictures, and we actually had an original piece of art done with her in it … so that she was still a part of this project.” “This was their dream, to have this home in Venice, and so we totally included her,” she explained.
The importance of honoring and accommodating family and friends is often emphasized in Decorating Therapy. Rector noted that many individuals struggle with hosting company in small spaces due to a lack of seating room, which she described as “the number one issue” her team faces. To this end, Rector herself cleverly implements minor changes that have a major impact: exchanging a cramped kitchen dinette for a sprawling banquette or using a combination of sofas, loveseats, and chairs to open up a modest living room. “We are problem solvers all the time,” she smiled.
If Rector could describe Decorating Therapy in one word, it would be “discovery.” “That's the point of Decorating Therapy,” she said: to “discover who you are, discover what you want the room to look like, [and] discover that you can achieve your dreams.”