From Cold & Empty to Warm & Cozy

The basement in the Parade house posed a little problem. One being it was long and narrow. Then as functional and wonderful as it is, it has a tile floor, which only added to the long and narrowness before we decorated. To bring in the long feel I had the two end walls painted a shade darker to make the room feel a little cozier. This is just a little trick with out taking your focus away from the decor. Then we broke the room up into 3 different play stations, so to speak. There is the pool table area, TV for video games and then a board game table at the other end. It now feels like it has a purpose and you want to be there to play or just take in the view in a warm and cozy space.

Parade Home Before and After

The Parade Home I did for Sunwest Development was not your normal Parade Home situation. It was a spec house that was built over 2 years ago and hasn't sold. It's a great house. It just had a paint issue that didn't do the home justice. We changed the paint and the carpet and now it has a warm homey feel that is sure to appeal to many.

Client Testimonials

Tonie has an amazing eye, for decorating. Before I found her, I was embarrassed to show my house. I just didn't know how/where to put things. All I knew is that I wanted my house to look good. Tonie helped me do just that. Now friends come over and say, "what a beautiful house" "I love how you've decorated...."

Emily Ford

Tonie is a magician! She turns the ordinary into extraordinary! I was so pleased with her ability to listen, communicate, and innovate. She was great to work with and I would refer her to anyone who wants to transform their environment.

Geoff Steurer, Alliant Counseling and Education

"Tonie has a knack for creating an environment that people want to be in, which is not only stylish and pleasing to look at, but physically and emotionally comfortable. Her ability to make things just right carries her work to as close as it gets to perfection"

Jeff Ford

Tonie did such a good job decorating my home. I just love it! She made my home feel like home. For months, I was so frustrated with how things looked. I kept moving things around and just couldn’t make it work. In the first fifteen minutes of entering my home, Tonie had tons of wonderful ideas with the furnishings I already had. Then I gave her a budget of what I could afford which wasn’t much. I was so surprised with all the great things Tonie got for my home. It has been almost six months now and I haven’t moved a thing. My home feels so peaceful and comfortable. My only regret is that I didn’t do this sooner. I could have saved so much time and money.

Sally Thiriot

Office Designs

Below are some photos of an office I decorated in August 2009. The pictures really don't do it justice, but if you are in there it has such a tranquil feel to it. It's actually a therapy office and the therapists have clients that tell them how peaceful and safe they feel when they're there.

Little Changes

Little changes like you see below can make such a difference in how a room feels. As you can see in the "before" picture that the things on the wall were hung too high (a very common mistake). Pictures should be hung at eye level. I know that some of us are a lot shorter or a lot taller than others. If this is the case just make the slight adjustment.

The other problem was the placement of the couch. It left the biggest wall empty giving the room a feeling of being unfinished. It also was placed in the walk way into the room which caused a traffic flow problem.

We just added a few other pieces from other rooms and with out spending a lot of money made this room feel put together. This particular client was so happy because she thought there was no way we would be able to use her mixed matched furniture and that she would need to buy all new. She was very relieved and happy with the results.

Redesign's Beginnings

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to decorate or try to make things beautiful. When I played with Barbies it was all about setting up their house more than the play. I can remember when I was in second grade we added an addition on to our house for my room and I thought I had my own little house. I set up my play kitchen and cradle for my babies etc. I was in heaven!

I put up wallpaper for the first time when I was 16 and even talked my boyfriend into "remodeling" his bedroom around that same time. I was on a roll. :)

When I went to college my roommate and I made sure our bedding and accessories coordinated. Again it was all about setting it up, but we had the best looking apartment at Raintree.

About two years ago I started helping friends stage their homes for sale and now I get paid for doing something I'm passionate about and for me that is truly the American Dream!