“After” photos by John Nation
Some people are born with the knack for making a house feel like home. For the rest of us, though, achieving that House Beautiful look is a struggle. We purchase and collect things we love, but somehow, when we put them together, they just don’t fit quite right.
For the decorating-impaired, the easiest solution is to hire an interior designer. Unfortunately, it’s also the most expensive, since most designers prefer to start from scratch and change everything from the wall and floor coverings to the window treatments and furnishings.
A less drastic approach is an accessory package designed to give a room that “finished magazine look,” says Abigail Bell of Interior Marketplace on Bauer Avenue. “A flat fee of $389 entitles you to seven hours of professional design consultation on how to arrange and accessorize up to three rooms in your home, including updating the window treatments,” she says.
After several consultations, the process culminates in an “accessory run” — loading a truck with fashionable accents and, in a matter of hours, rearranging the room, hanging window treatments and putting new pieces, such as art, mirrors, greenery, lamps and “sit-abouts” (aka knickknacks and other bric-a-brac) in their proper positions. “Clients keep everything overnight,”
Depending on what’s purchased, the final bill is usually in the $6,000-$9,000 range, but that,
Accessory appointment beyond your budget? Consider hiring a redesign professional. Unlike interior designers and decorators, redesigners work with what you already own, albeit with occasional recommendations for a new piece of furniture, lighting or art. “They re-use, re-place and re-purpose to create a fresh new look for as little as $250 to $600,” says Dana Dickey, executive director of the national Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (IRIS) association.
To find what they need, redesigners “shop” your home from attic to basement in search of hidden treasure. “The objective is putting what you already own in the right spot,” says Remarkable Interiors’ Sherry Oexman, eight-year redesign veteran. “I’ve taken pieces out of Goodwill boxes, garages and even off patios.” Once the resources are marshaled, the redesign itself is usually accomplished in four to eight hours — one reason Oexman refers to this service as a “done-in-a-day makeover.”
Here’s a look at what three local quick-change artists have done to take a room from boring to beautiful.
Project: Living Room Redesign Problem: After more than a decade, the owners of this long, narrow living room were tired of the way it was arranged, but, try as they might, couldn’t come up with a better alternative. After hearing about Remarkable Interiors’ services at a professional organization meeting, the man of the house decided a room redesign would make a perfect surprise birthday gift for his wife. Cost: $400 Solution: “To be serviceable, long narrow rooms should be divided into several functional spaces,” says Oexman. Because the owners use the room most for watching TV, the focal point had to be the large entertainment center rather than the fireplace at the opposite end. By angling the couch, Oexman was able to add two more chairs to the furniture grouping around the entertainment center, making the area much more conversational. To preserve the view of the fireplace, she placed the antique desk on one side, where it could actually be used as a desk. On the other side she created a pleasant reading nook with a view of both the fireplace and patio outside. By double-stacking pictures on the wall above the chair and table and adding a tall floral, she turned the reading area into an eye-catching vignette. Best of all, the redesign required nothing new. Oexman was able to re-use everything in the living room, with the exception of two small lamps. Was this surprise birthday gift a success? The husband says that after a week, his wife hadn’t changed anything, and that, he says, is a good indication she’s pleased.
Designer: Sherry Oexman
Remarkable Interiors
www.remarkableinteriors.com [4]
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Project: Accessorizing a Home Office Problem: When this work-at-home owner found a guestroom too cramped for her occupational quarters, she carved out a more spacious home office by renovating the garage. What she already owned: her desk and chair and a hutch, to which designer Abigail Bell added a couch from the living room and rug from the dining room. What she needed: everything else. Cost: Approximately $6,000 Solution: The client wanted her office to have a Tuscan feel and had already selected a putty-color paint for the walls. In keeping with the theme, Bell added warm reds, terra cottas and greens to the room through such accessories as a seven-foot silk ficus tree and large oil painting of an Italian landscape on the blank wall beside the couch. For the window she chose tassel-trimmed panels in a red silk tapestry-like fabric hung from a wrought-iron rod. The coffee and occasional tables by the couch complement the wood tones in the desk and hutch, while black leather-look stacking boxes provide additional storage as well as inject texture and drama. For task lighting and warmth, Bell added a desk lamp along with an iron floor lamp and table lamp beside the couch. The wrought iron, she says, offers a welcome break from all the wood in the room and matches the chandelier. To help fill the space created by the office’s high ceiling, Bell brought in a tall upright chair upholstered in cream hound’s-tooth, establishing a comfortable conversation area for collaborating with staff.
Designer: Abigail Bell
Interior Marketplace
www.interiormp.com
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Project: Family Room Redesign Problem: After 23 years, the owner of this family room was in the mood for something different. She had already planned to get rid of the faded floral couch and was happy with the rest of her furnishings, but was looking for the “oomph” only a pro could provide. Cost: $300 Solution: “Setting a couch in front of a fireplace doesn’t make for an easy entrance into the room and actually blocks the view of the focal point,” says Cynthia Smith. After removing the floral couch, there was sufficient space to angle the remaining sofa and move both easy chairs to the opposite side of the room, putting the fireplace in full view. The area rug, too, was angled, giving the room a more spacious, dynamic feel. Smith replaced the large octagonal mirror and florals on the mantel with a right-sized rectangular picture that formerly hung on the wall and a collection of metal vases the owner liked but didn’t have a place for. “Unifying collections gives them greater impact,” Smith says. Greenery, such as the large plant on the hearth, adds texture and softness. “To work, plants have to be big enough to make a statement,” she explains. Smith also tweaked the lighting by adding a fourth lamp beside one of the easy chairs. “Overhead lights are usually not sufficient to make a room feel warm, cozy and inviting,” she says. “There are now enough lamps to banish any dark spots as well as provide task lighting.”
Cynthia B. Smith | Remarkable Rooms | 412-1289 | www.remarkablerooms.com
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