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• Gallery: Barbara Thompson's home

BARBOURSVILLE -- Enjoying your profession is one of the delights of life. Some are able to find that special niche, and some never arrive. Barbara Thompson will tell you being a decorator for her is like "eating chocolate and never gaining weight. I love what I do."

Since she was a child, she has had an interest in design and art. Over the years, she has honed her skills first as a decorator at Stone and Thomas and then as the senior designer at Lazarus.

"My job is to make your home look its best with the dollar you have to spend," she said.

Recently, a house Thompson decorated for a client in North Carolina was entered in the Home Builders Association Parade of Homes tour and competition. Thompson had helped her client downsize and combine the belongings from former homes into this one house.

"She had beautiful things, and we were able to use most of them," Thompson said. Her design took the grand award in the show.

Thompson, who had a long relationship with the client, understood her style and taste.

"She liked a very comfortable traditional look. However, she wanted me to bring together the paint colors, fabrics and accessories," she said. "I was able to advise her as to what furnishings she could use from her former homes and what she should buy new. It is very much 21st century, yet the results met the comfort needs of my client."

All of the draperies and bedding were custom made in the Huntington area, and then Thompson would take them to North Carolina.

"I would sometimes spend a week at a time there," she said.

When asked about trends and how to integrate them into one's home without breaking the bank, she replied, "I encourage my clients to pull in such things as the new popular color turquoise with throw pillows, candles and flowers."

By keeping backgrounds basic, change is not difficult. When next year's fashion color takes center stage, one can stay current with just a few minor alterations.

"Things that can be replaced at a low cost are the accessories you use to be trendy," she said.

Thompson, a Barboursville resident, calls her own home "The Happy Days House." She and her husband, Corky, have raised four children in their small house and intend to stay there forever. Being a fan of family memorabilia, she has incorporated family documents and historical photos into framed collections that hang here and there.

"(Family photos) encourage you to think about them when you really didn't intend to," she said.

Taking her own advice to decorate with what you love, there are family pieces and historical mementos throughout her home. An interesting washstand that once was located at Morris Harvey College when it was in Barboursville stands in the hallway. The bed in the guest room goes back in her family by generations. Thompson has enhanced the antique bed with a collection of pillows and a tray of plants.

Decorating others' homes has been a lifetime joy for Thompson. She helps clients keep what they love by integrating with the new, by advising them as to colors that work and fabrics that will enhance their space.

To contact Thompson, call 304-638-1038 or 304-736-4125.