View From A Chaise Longue

First of all, I know I’ve chosen a somewhat “controversial” title for my blog, if only because so few English speakers pronounce “chaise longue” correctly. So let me take care of that problem immediately:   shezzz longg. 
 

 “We’d like a ‘shay’ in the bedroom.”  or “I want one of those ‘chase lounges’”.  How does one correct a client who may be spending thousands of dollars?  Gently and tactfully.  We shouldn’t just throw some furniture in a room and present a bill.  We need to educate our clients and sometimes ourselves.

Speaking of which, there’s one word in particular mispronounced constantly by many (some extremely famous) Interior Designers/Decorators, who should know better: that word is “accessories”.  It is NOT, ladies and gentlemen, pronounced “Uh sess’ uh rees”.  It is ACK sessa’ rees”.  Two words which appear similar but are spelled and pronounced differently and mean very different things: (“We had total access Backstage Passes at the Springsteen concert!”) as opposed to (“We had to assess the level of danger before we went diving in shark-infested waters.”)  There really is no such word as “assessory” while an “accessory” can be a glove, a vase or someone who aids in the committal of a crime.

I went to Catholic schools so I’m a stickler for correct spelling, pronunciation and punctuation.  I realize we live in a world where not many people know or care about such things anymore.  Rappers have made billions of dollars spelling words incorrectly, e.g. “Ludacris” “Eyez”.  But as designers, we need to know what we’re talking about.  Every profession has its own language and terms.  Our profession’s language is just as important as that used by doctors and lawyers.  Take the time to learn how to correctly pronounce the foreign names of various eras, types of furniture, designers, etc.  (I’ve actually heard someone pronounce “Louis XV” as “Louis Quinnze”)  If you have a blog or website, use spellcheck, use Google. Use all the wonderful tools at our disposal.  The more you know, the better job you can do for your client.