It's terrain the interior designer knows well, and today she's on a mission.

Her client, Mary Zidek, manages to keep up. The two have been a team long enough that Zidek knows the pace and falls into it.

Their destination: the Kravet showroom. The goal: to check out fabrics for a project that has become somewhat complicated.

If Zidek can find an upholsterer to redo some favorite chairs at her main residence in Florida, she'll still need pillows for the sofa to bring in the new look. If she can't, she'll need both chair fabric and complementary pillow fabric. And there's the possibility of a new sofa and loveseat to consider, too.

A novice's head might spin, but Ruggieri's practiced eye navigates a sea of large swatches. Hands speed through sample books.

It's all in a day's work for an interior designer. Still ahead for Ruggieri are a meeting with clients at Symphony House and, very likely, designing after hours.

"Many people think all designers do is shop," Ruggieri says. "They don't understand all the prep time, the drawings, the presentation boards, the designs that get tossed into the wastebasket."

It's a crazy life, she says, but "crazy wonderful."

By the time they get to Kravet, Zidek and her designer are already about two hours into their consultations - earlier, they reviewed several other bits of unfinished design business back at Zidek's part-time home in Woodbury, another Ruggieri project. But neither woman shows signs of wear.

Ultimately, they settle on a fabric that has a slight sheen and hints of moss and beige - a perfect look, they decide, for Zidek's contemporary oceanfront condo in Florida, with its art-deco accessories.

"I think it works beautifully," Ruggieri says.

"I do, too," Zidek agrees.

No tension. No hint that Zidek is intimidated or feels she has to obey her designer.

"I'm not that confident, but I do have opinions. I love design, and I've learned a lot about it from Sherry," says Zidek, a soft-spoken woman who has worked with Ruggieri on three homes on and off for more than a decade.

"She's made me braver than I ever would have been without her. It's the comfort and confidence I need."

In Texas City, Texas, where she grew up, Ruggieri decorated her own room but wasn't all that interested. Still, at the University of Houston, she signed on as an interior-design major, then dropped it in a year.

"It was more like home economics there, so I switched to human resources."

A decade later, after she had a successful career in HR, her marriage was ending, and Ruggieri needed a change. She began working as a property manager, and it was an instant click.

"I absolutely loved being involved in the space-planning end, so I went back to college and took more design classes. I'd found what I was looking for."

A move to South Jersey with her two children led her to an architectural firm, where she was hired as an interior designer. She ultimately married the architect, Phil Ruggieri, and in 1989 they formed Ruggieri & Partners (www.ruggieripartners.com).

She took a detour from strict design work from 2000 to 2002, hosting HGTV's Design Basics, produced by Philadelphia's Banyan Productions.

"I had absolutely no on-camera experience," Ruggieri says, but a breezy manner and ability to convey design information clearly kept her dashing from locale to locale.

"I still worked with my clients, because that's what my life is really all about," she says. "But it was a pretty crazy two years."

By midafternoon, Ruggieri is off to Symphony House in Center City for a meeting with John Paz and Maggie Felton. They have combined two 18th-floor condo units into a 2,400-square-foot home, with Ruggieri advising them on both the design basics and the flourishes of the space.

Initial consultations were about paint and wallpaper colors, and some bold choices resulted. The den/office is a rich pumpkin; the entry foyer's ceiling is red; a guest bedroom is done in kiwi green with black and white accents.

Illuminating the space is among the challenges, because there's so much natural light that needs to be softened and diffused.

This particular conference was about cabinetry that will surround the master bedroom's fireplace, a solution to both aesthetic and practical issues.

"We bring Sherry the problems, she solves them," says Paz, who also is working with Ruggieri on office-space planning and design for his business, Godwin Pipes.

Paz admits he needs a constant flow of information and updates. "I definitely like direct access," he says. "But Sherry knows that I'm also willing to splurge, especially when she has an instinct about something fantastic.

"And her instincts are always right."

Case in point: the condo's architectural glass-and-acrylic coffee table, a Ruggieri find Paz and Felton instantly recognized as perfect for the space. They also happily took the designer's advice to swap the den and the dining area, to better enjoy the views.

"I'm a businessman - I'm pretty practical," Paz says. "Working with Sherry is not only fun, it also saves me time and money. Maggie and I might have made costly mistakes without her. With her, we don't."

Ruggieri didn't finish at Symphony House until late afternoon. But chances are she didn't go home to put her feet up and watch TV. Typically, this designer's days melt into nights, and weekdays flow into weekends.

In the course of a day, Ruggieri might also work with clients such as Nancy Einstein, a Bala Cynwyd teacher who first hired her simply as a guide through the design plans of a seashore house in which Einstein and husband Alan wanted to showcase an extensive crafts collection.

"She was my sounding board," Einstein says. "We wanted a shore house that was funky and fun and bursting with color, and Sherry helped us get there."

Their Longport house has accent walls of purple, pistachio and Wedgwood blue, and the Einsteins love it.

Now, they're about to work with Ruggieri in yet another way. As they reconfigure their suburban kitchen and dining room, breaking down a wall for a very different look and feel, Ruggieri will work as a consultant with their contractor, selecting flooring, counters and backsplashes.

"Sherry has been in on the planning and design phase, and ultimately she'll be in on the final selections, pulling everything together," Einstein says. "It's good to know that if I get delusional, she'll rescue me."

When you ask Ruggieri about a typical day in her designing life, she laughs. No such thing, she insists.

In fact, a look back at a few recent workdays reveals:

An almost full day designing a custom reception desk for a business client.

A 30-minute review of fabrics for Zidek's Florida project.

Six hours reviewing architectural drawings for a commercial project.

A quick stop at the office in Woodbury to grab some plans, then a meeting at Symphony House with electricians for Paz and Felton's lighting installation, then a visit to an appliance store to select two flat-screen TVs and all the necessary components for the condo.

Travel planning for a trip to Florida, for more work on the Zidek home.

And some breathless time in her "other life" as wife, mother and dog lover with four show dachshunds.

It's a full life, which Ruggieri captures in a single word:

"Whew!"