Perfectly put together in her leopard print skirt, black pointed flats and trendy jewelry with French tipped nails, Betsy Dailey flies around her office pulling fabric samples and furniture cut sheets as she caters her services to Portland’s wealthiest.  The high-energy interior designer sips from her porcelain Starbucks mug as the phones ring off the hook, she converses with her client, and the UPS deliveryman awaits a signature for the stack of packages containing finials and trims.
    Five days a week, Dailey works out of the comfort of her own home as the proprietor of an interior design business where she faces the unpredictability and stress load of the demanding profession that truly fits her erratic character.  “No day is ever the same,” says Dailey.  “With my personality, I could have never been an accountant.”
    Dailey’s passion, talent and creativity allow her to thrive at what she does.  “It’s something that runs in my blood,” says Dailey.  The disciplined decorator is constantly faced with the challenge of meeting the high expectations of the rich who can literally afford to be picky.  While Dailey often deals with hard-to-please clients, unreasonable time frames, and projects that are never truly finished, the designer continues to work just as hard at something she truly enjoys.   
    Dailey, now 53, had an interest in interior decorating from an early age.  Born in Asheville, North Carolina, the creative youth would constantly rearrange her bedroom furniture.  It wasn’t until after high school that Dailey found herself pursuing her career goal.  The five-foot-seven brunette attended classes at the North Carolina State School of Design from 1973-1977, where she overcame sexual discrimination by a dean.
    A year out of school, Dailey moved to Colorado where she began working for a small architecture firm and faced the reality of working as a woman in a male-dominated profession.  The driven, intelligent college grad was forced to work at the back of the office where her boss could sexually harass Dailey without drawing the attention of her coworkers.  By overcoming numerous obstacles during her schooling and job training, Dailey became better prepared for the reality of a woman owning her own business.
    Dailey now works out of the lower story of her 1920s arts and crafts style house in an older established neighborhood in the Portland West Hills.  Her paved, circular driveway encompasses a great maple tree.  The tumbled brick pathway leads to an expansive lawn with formal landscape and a breathtaking view overlooking the Willamette Valley.
    As Dailey diligently tasks around the avocado green office, Mardi Spitzer, one of Dailey’s numerous clients, arrives in a new alpine white BMW 335i.  Spitzer walks through the French doors wearing a black Nike sports suit and freshly styled hair.  The middle-aged, talkative blonde sits down and begins to converse.  Spitzer calmly strokes Lilly, Dailey’s cat, with her perfectly manicured nails as the two women discuss design details in the client’s pool house and laundry room.  Lilly enjoys the women’s lavish lifestyles as she lies sprawled out on the table with her tail in the air.  “She is such a little princess,” says Dailey, interrupting their discussion.
    As the two talk business, but also chat about their personal lives, Dailey asks her assistant, Angela, to call vendors and showrooms to check prices and to monitor the status of previous orders.  Chiming in to answer questions while refilling the printer paper, stamping mail and answering the constantly ringing phone, the assistant with blonde corkscrew curls rushes around, working nonstop.  She perfectly matches the high energy level of her fast paced employer. 
    Endless stacks of fabrics, designer catalogs, and plantation shutters line the walls and windows of the office.  Stark white urn lamps are placed opposite each other on the large, modern desks.  Two fluted columns with intricately carved capitals border either side of the cast cement fireplace.  Colorful, fresh flowers are scattered around the space.  A sea grass rug covers the floor of the bright, well-lit studio.
    Spitzer reveals that it’s been over two and a half years since they started decorating her new Portland pad she shares with her husband.  “The hard part is just keeping up with all the design details,” says Spitzer, as she stays comfortably seated.  The decorating was put on hold during a small portion of those two and a half years when the client wanted Dailey to spend all her time and energy on renovating and redecorating Spitzer’s vacation home in Indian Wells, California.  Spitzer continues to listen to Dailey as the two women then proceed to critique a paint sample, paired with numerous fabrics and pillow piping. 
    The details are important especially when it comes to a person’s place of residence.  “Home is a reflection of who they are,” says Dailey.  The experienced designer does everything in her power to deliver the best quality work, something that is a must with her clientele, catering to the individual’s personal preferences while also staying true to her own tastes.  Dailey believes that what she does is a service, and that service is to make each client happy.  Through her work, Dailey brings beauty to one’s home that is aesthetically pleasing to the client in an effort to ultimately create a better quality of life. 
    While only two flights of stairs and a set of French doors separate her home life from her working environment, the wife and mother of two manages to balance both, while also playing the role of a successful, driven career woman.  Sometimes it’s difficult for her to close up the books and call it a day, but the energetic decorator forces herself to do so, knowing that the work is endless.  “There is no perfect answer,” says Dailey.
    After almost three decades of working in a demanding profession about which Dailey is so passionate, the idea of retirement in the near future sounds enticing to her because of the high level of stress involved in the occupation.  Constantly attending meetings, going to showrooms and installations, working after-hours and weekends to attend social functions to maintain her connections, all while catering to Portland’s elite, has taken a toll on the designer’s physical and mental health.  “I’m mentally unstable,” Dailey jokes. “There’s got to be something more sane I can do.”