"I've learned something very valuable about my Main Line clients," Eileen Devine explains. "Regardless of their means, which are usually substantial, they do not like an over-designed room. Or house." Is that a problem for a woman who makes her living as an interior designer? "Oh, no," she says. "Their taste is very sophisticated, very knowledgeable. And the degree of loyalty of Main Line homeowners is just amazing. If you serve them well, you will hear from them again and again as they move from house to house and from one situation in life to another."
What are some other secrets of her Main Line clients? "Well," she goes on, "they have this wonderful natural aversion to anything that's too ostentatious. And the trend of the moment is almost never their trend. The sense of family is so much a part of the Main Line that many, many of my clients have treasured, heirloom pieces that have come down through the generations. Building a room around a piece like that is a request I've had more than once. I think it all comes down to tradition. And the Main Line - and Main Line houses - are all about tradition."
