Most people would never consider taking out their own appendix or acting as their own lawyer in a court of law. Yet how many stuff a room with all kinds of furniture and call it home without seeking the help and advice of an interior decorator?
Probably most.Let's face it, having a "House and Garden" front room is not high on the priority list of most families.
It takes lots of money to hire an interior designer, and then it takes more money to purchase the furnishings the designer recommends. (Research shows that the annual minimum income of those households hiring interior designers is $70,000. Only four percent of the entire population of the United States has an income over $70,000 per household.) Then there's always the concern that after investing all that time and money on the project one will wind up with a "showroom" home that doesn't represent one's personality or taste.
Not to worry.
Pace & Stocking Architecture Interior Design & Planning in Salt Lake City has come up with a homeowner-friendly, inexpensive way to utilize the skills of a professional interior designer: It's called the "Room Lift."
"Traditionally our company has done, and continues to do, a lot of commercial and residential work," says Deanne Uriona, principal interior designer for Pace. "But the work can have occasional dry spots. We wanted to fill up those spots."
For this reason Uriona and her design partner at Pace, Michelle Rigby - both graduates of interior environment at Brigham Young University - considered branching out. "We thought a lot about it," says Rigby, "and found that through the years we'd been doing interior design for friends and family, helping them out, just not officially."
And so the idea of the "Room Lift" was born. Uriona and Rigby begin a project by meeting with the client to assess the needs and life-styles of the family, and to inventory their existing furnishings. "Usually the next day we will come back with a creative approach to the room and roll up our sleeves and start the transformation," says Uriona.
A "Room Lift" involves re-arranging furniture, utilizing furniture from other rooms and pulling family treasures from cupboards and storage boxes to accessorize the room.
On one project they found a large piece of glass in the homeowner's basement. Uriona and Rigby brought it up and put it over a table, creating a new look.
"The process isn't intimidating," says Rigby, "because our emphasis is on using their things, their treasures. We involve them in the process."
"Everybody's taste is different," adds Uriona, "and there's no right or wrong taste. Every taste can be good if used the right way." It's this philosophy that endears Uriona and Rigby to their clients.
On another project the designers talked with the family and did a quick walk-through of their home. This was on a Friday, and it took about an hour. The family decided they wanted to do a "room lift" on the entry hall, living room, dining room and a bedroom.
When the designers returned on Monday, they discussed the design options with the family and then spent time moving furniture. They even managed to save about two hours to go shopping with the homeowners for lamps for the dining room.
"The clients not only get instant gratification when they see their new look, but they also get a simple master plan which will direct them in their future purchases," says Rigby.
"Because there is a set fee ($250 a room) and we encourage the use of existing furniture and personal family treasures, the clients are able to realistically afford professional help," says Uriona.
Uriona and Rigby find great joy in helping families discover new avenues of design for their homes; they are masters at teaching the principles of design - proportion, scale, balance, rhythm, emphasis and harmony. And they do this "without making you feel stupid," say Scott and Cheryl Pierce.
Pierce, the TV critic at the Deseret News, and his wife Cheryl were looking for someone to help them fix up a room, utilize the space more effectively and create an atmosphere more in keeping with the country motif of their home. However, they didn't feel like they could bring in an interior designer. When the Pierces heard of the "Room Lift" they decided to give it a try. (See sidebar for results of the Pierces' new room.)
Some clients are occassionaly unhappy or disagree with what Uriona and Rigby want to change. "But it's just on little things," Rigby says. `One time we took down a photograph of an old truck because it didn't work with the rest of the room. The man of the house said the photograph had to stay because it was a picture of one of his business trucks and he liked it."
The designers are quick to agree and sympathize with homeowners' desires, yet clever enough to show them what would be good or better or right for the room. "It's just where ever they are now, we try to make it the best it can be," says Uriona. "And then we give them a master plan, directions, into what they need to do next. Maybe painting or pulling up carpets.
"Have you ever noticed," she adds, "that if you don't like the looks of a room when it's clean you don't bother cleaning it as much? But when you like the looks of a room you keep it clean?"
"Room Lift" offers homeowners who want a better look to their home a cost-effective option.