Interior design for him and her

No matter what you might hear to the contrary, size matters.

That’s what acclaimed interior designer -- and brilliantly funny

man -- Michael Payne said about the bulk of people’s furnishings in

relation to the space they have to work with. The No. 1 mistake

people make, when trying valiantly to decorate without the help of a

professional, is not taking scale into consideration.

Payne, who is the host of the popular cable show “Designing for

the Sexes” on Home and Garden Television, will share these views, as

well as classic gender conflicts that arise while decorating, at a

special seminar at 4 p.m. at Macy’s Home Store in South Coast Plaza

Saturday.

Here’s a little preview of the type of dilemmas Payne tackles:

“OK. So you get these couples who just bought this brand new house

and all of the sudden there is this sense of urgency. Ohmigosh, we

have to get furniture and we have to get it now,” Payne says in his

English accent. “They drive down to this warehouse-type store and see

the most fabulous couch. They like the color, they like the texture,

they love everything about this sofa, and since they desperately need

it, they buy it. They get it home only to discover this 7- to 8-foot

sofa takes up the whole room. They think, ‘Oh what have we done?’

It’s a very big, expensive mistake.”

Payne wants people to stop decorating studio apartments with

grandiose furniture and conversely, 14,000 square foot homes, with

high ceilings and French doors should not contain bean bags and

futons.

He said a new word is working it’s way into our society:

super-size.

Houses are getting bigger and bigger, taking up every square inch

of the lots. There’s no room for a garden or a backyard or a tree.

It’s all about the house,” Payne said. “Then you’ve got these

super-sized vehicles that can take seven people and a dog trekking

through the mountains -- not that anyone ever does that.”

Some people’s eyes are just bigger than their living rooms.

In the event that homeowners fall into the super size category,

they must buy furniture that corresponds to that scale. The contrary

is also true. You can’t shove a house-full of furniture in a

two-bedroom condo, he said.

Aside from scale, there is the whole gender issue. Apparently, men

and women don’t always have the same ideas on decorating, Payne said.

There are basic fundamental differences he sees time and time again.

One is color. Men love white. It’s neat. It’s simple. It matches

everything. It’s good. Women, on the other hand, love color, Payne

said. No shade is too bright or too shocking. Burgundy walls? Oh

yeah. Aqua blue bathroom? Bring it on.

Now, beside mixing white and burgundy and painting the entire

house a nice shade of mauve, there are other compromises couples can

make.

(Neutrals anyone?)

Another classic conflict is technology.

“Most men have never met a TV that is big enough,” Payne said.

The screen could take up an entire wall and even cover the

entrance to the bathroom and it would still be too small for most

men. Not to mention the amplifiers, the digital hookups, theater

sound, stereo system, DVD and VHS player, Sony Playstation and the

shelves and compartments to hold all the accompanying games, music

and movies. Not to mention the remotes.

“And only one person in the house can operate the system: him,”

Payne said.

(All my ladies out there are cringing.)

Women are much more into software. No not computers but nice,

supple, frilly little touches like lace and tassels. The ladies want

to adorn every last pillow, table cloth, runner and rug with some

sort of decorative touch or trim. They are beautiful and gorgeous and

collectively expensive, Payne said.

(What’s that guys, there’s only one place you like tassels and

it’s not on your remote?)

So, if you want to learn how to scale your house, or you have some

odd fascination with fabric swatches, come down and check out Payne.

You might learn something.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.