The key to good decorating

If you are searching for some ideas to spruce up your home, you can do no better than look through some home magazines to see the latest in decorating thought. Of course, there is no relation whatsoever between the homes you see featured in these magazines and your home, but everyone needs to dream.

However, the good news is that there is a simple secret to elegant decorating, which becomes apparent after you have looked through a couple hundred of these magazines. Think about all of the homes you have ever seen featured. What do they all have in common?

A dog.

Whenever you see someone's home showcased, there is always a dog somewhere in the picture. Usually it is reclining before a hearth, the epitome of contentment and tranquility. The message seems to be: If your dog can be comfortable in this room, so can you!

In fact, one of the requirements to have your home featured in this manner is that you have a dog. And it is always a particular kind of dog, usually something sweet and friendly, like a golden retriever. If a homeowner owns a dog with a less than perfect image -- say, a chihuahua, or a pit bull -- the decorators, who are skilled at staging (which is French for "bringing things into the home that the owners would never in a million years consider displaying") will bring in a more friendly-type dog, often a golden retriever named Rex.

So if you already have a dog, that "decorator's best friend," take heart! You already have the basic building block of the "showcase home." Now all you need is $5,000,000 for decorator fees.