By Marilynn Marter
INQUIRER FOOD WRITER
If you can't figure out what to do with that assortment of whatever it is that you love collecting...
If your grandmother's antique table looks out of place no matter where you put it...
If the furniture you and your mate each bring to the marriage is not as compatible as the couple it serves...
Have a talk with Herb Tapper. Ask Hal Selditch's advice. Or sign up for the soon-to-be-launched American Society of Interior Designers' (ASID) Designer Consulting Service. In other words, seek the help of a pro.
Experienced designers here typically charge $75 to $150 an hour for consultations. And, often as not, a single hour is enough for recommendations on a stylish makeover with furnishings at hand.
If more than rearranging is involved, the client can opt to do the job himself, hire subcontractors, or have the designer handle it.
(When buying home furnishings, take advantage of complimentary design services offered at some stores. But be aware that some may be more eager to sell than satisfy.)
Although many designers do occasional consultations on referral or as courtesy to clients, most view the work as entry-level experience or as an entree to new customers.
But some, like Tapper, enjoy the adrenaline rush and the satisfaction that come from a quick and noticeable room makeover.
That action-high and a partner, Merryl Weinroth, in tune with his style led him to start Tapper Talks out of his Philadelphia office last year, offering advice by the hour as an adjunct to his full-service firm, H.H.Tapper & Associates.
Taking a new marketing tack, he suggest giving newlyweds and new homeowners gift certificates for design time.
The husband-wife team of Hal Selditch and Marlene Bendyna have been doing home design consultations together since starting their own firm 16 years ago. Selditch estimates that consultations are one-fourth of their business.
"People have to understand they are not paying to learn decorating; they are paying for 20 years of experience and the designer's eye for scale and color," said Selditch, who has a Montgomery County office.
Every job is different, but for clients with a lot of furnishings from which to pick and choose, Selditch figures a whole house could be restyled in three hours.
He and others, of course, also make recommendations for adding new items or making major changes if that is desired.
What can be done in one hour? Let's follow Herb Tapper on a job. It is 10:45 a.m. when he enters the Hurley home in Cherry Hill for, we are told, the first time.
His challenge is to unite the furniture and tastes Dan and Rita each brought to their marriage in 1991.
She likes modern. Dan likes wood and antiques. A contractor, he built the mountain-style ranch house.
As a real estate agent, she has given gift certificates to her customers for Tapper's service. Now, it's time to get some advice herself.
She has come to appreciate about integrating the two looks.
First, a roundup
On a quick tour of the house, Tapper singles out items for possible use, including a small nightstand with gold ormulu trim (from and old bedroom set) and a covered stool needlepointed by Rita's grandmother. Both end up in the living room.
"It's interesting that Dan got Rita thinking of antiques, and all of a sudden, all these things started turning up from her family." said Tapper, mindful that beautiful items can e lost in clutter.
A massive French oak armoire-as-entertainment center dominates the living room. To balance it, Tapper draws attention to other areas.
By 10:55, he has moved a chair to make room for Granny's table at the front window, facing out.
The burled walnut and rosewood "table," it turns out, is an English drop-leaf desk. In its new spot, with a single chair, the writing desk is functional and attractive.
A crystal lamp - transformed from a family heirloom vase - is moved from the bedroom to a show-it-off spot on the desk.
Weinroth also gathers family pictures, a bowl and (from the bath) a pretty bottle as accents. Over the next half-hour, those and other small items are repositioned and relocated a dozen times as each new area comes into focus.
"I never used [the table as a desk]," Rita Hurley says. "And I never would have thought to put it there or that direction." |
A chair is repositioned by (from left) Merryl Weinroth, Herb Tapper and Rita Hurley at Hurley's Cherry Hill home. Tapper and Weinroth created a mix of antiques and contemporary furnishings.
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BEFORE
AFTER
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In the living room, the mirrored armoire door had to go, Tapper (on left) said, relocating it to the guest room. He also moved in an antique trunk from a back hall and hung a rendering (bottom left) of Cape May above it. The trunk's weight and wood tones balance the armoire and desk.
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Large pillows (dark blue) scavenged from the guest room become soft "seats" against the bare slate wall of the fireplace. Fire irons are moved and a basket added to hold once neatly stacked kindling.
Told that the design on the needlepoint pillow reflects Rita Hurley's fondness for faces, Tapper groups it with other personal favorites, such as the Lladro porcelain bridal couple from the couple's wedding cake.
But where to display them?
In moments, Dan Hurley's antique trunk is moved from the back hall to serve as a side table. Its weight and wood tones balance the armoire and desk. A quick tap or two, and the rendering of Cape May, N.J., the couple's honeymoon haven, hangs just above.
Striking a balance
Suddenly, and surprisingly, the balance of heights and woods, complemented by Cape May's pastels, ties the cushy, mint-green leather chair to the group and the room.
Tapper suggest leaving the door off the armoire. Open for television viewing most of the time anyway, the mirrored door will function better in the looted guest room.
A bronze statue brings height to the low and heavy cocktail table.
Moving the desk and side chairs clears the back wall and walkway enough to move the hefty sectional sofa back a few inches, effectively enlarging the room.
More colored pillows (this time maroon) perk up the pale pink-and-green-streaked sofa covering.
It's 11:42 a.m., and there's still time to fuss over finishing touches.
Greenery is placed atop the armoire, drawing the eye from the pink stone that soars to the chimney top, visible through the skylight in the cathedral ceiling.
With a final plumping of the pillows, the makeover is complete. |
