"Cozy Corner" by Beth Sherman

Sipping herb tea in Robin Lennon's kitchen is about as close to tranquil as it gets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The walls are rose-colored, and the cabinets are painted in luscious tones of melon, periwinkle blue and sea-foam green. Rumpled cream and gold curtains spill from a curtain rod. In place of chairs, there's an upholstered banquette. On the table is a glittering Indian fabric. On the windowsill, an angel holds an urn in his chubby arms.

"I've stopped trying to pretend I fit in," says Lennon, a spirited 41 year-old interior designer with red hair and a melodious voice. "Either people love the space or they don't get it at all."

I'm in the first camp. After trudging through snow drifts and climbing five flights of stairs to get here, I'm ready to relax. Lennon knows just what will help. She instructs me to close my eyes, and take a few deep, cleansing breaths. Then she guides me through a visualization, where I imagine myself crossing a bridge, entering my ideal house, and picturing how the different rooms look--down to the furnishings and wall coverings.

"Sometimes, people picture these dark, empty spaces," says Lennon, who uses this meditation technique with design clients to help them learn to trust their own sense of style and taste. Hers is a holistic approach, one that looks at decorating not as a "gee, I wonder what color couch would look good in that corner" scenario, but as an introspective journey, involving soul-searching and rule-breaking.

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