Redesigners put a new spin on your room

Sometimes you just can't put your finger on what's wrong. Your living room has plenty of seating for small parties, speakers are strategically placed to pipe in the tunes, and all your cool knickknacks are scattered around the room. So why does everyone always gather in the kitchen instead?


		Steve Shelton / Special to the P-I
	Roomspinners Julianna Hind and Barbi Ford rearrange glassware in an antique hutch in the dining room of Liz Rayburn's Puyallup home.

Lots of reasons, but you may need an outside eye to see them. You could hire an interior designer to bring in a whole new look, or, for a fraction of the price, you could hire a "redesigner" to rearrange what you already own.

"We're there to help your vision come through," says Julianna Hind, who with partner Barbi Ford owns Roomspinners Redesign. That means a thorough workup, starting with an examination (yes, your room will be required to get naked). Everything in the room must come out, including pictures on the walls. Hind and Ford then probe and prod, looking for an architectural focal point.

"We decide what we're going to be featuring in the room," Hind says.

If the room feels cramped, for example, the women will look for a way to make it flow. If the room is so stiff and formal that no one in the family uses it, they will add natural elements to relax it.

After the exam, it's time to "go shopping."

"With the owner's permission, we will go scouting about the house," Hind says. They might bring in furniture, artwork or lighting from other rooms to change the room's purpose or comfort level.

In one home, they found a beautifully weathered wooden swan on a back porch behind a door. It became a focal piece in the living room, to the surprise and delight of the homeowners.


		Steve Shelton / Special to the P-I
	BEFORE: Liz Rayburn wanted more space in her living room. After the redesign, she e-mailed the Roomspinners to say "Thank you, thank you for the new house. The monthly payment stayed the same, but both Jeff and I are delighted with the 'additional' square footage, rotated art, less clutter, etc."

"It's always such a treasure hunt," Hind says.

The Roomspinners usually are hired for three or four hours to rework one or two rooms. Prices are $350 for the two of them for up to four hours and $575 for up to eight hours. On rare occasions, they'll go shopping with a client, but usually that's not necessary.

"A lot of people will just keep buying things for their home because they think that will fix their home," Hind says.


		Steve Shelton / Special to the P-I
	AFTER: Roomspinners Barbie Ford and Julianna Hind opened up the entrance area by moving the piano and replacing it with a sideboard from the bedroom, where they could display a bust of Duffy the dog. They also moved a large computer armoire out of the living room and into a bedroom.

Instead, it adds to the too-cluttered look. Hind suggests creating a "prop closet," where you can store most of your knickknacks and bring them out on a rotating basis.

"We don't ever get rid of anything, but we will corral it together and say, 'This is what we have left over.' Most people will say, 'I can let that go.' "

Thinning out clutter is a common theme.

Criss Fournier of Vashon Island uses feng shui in her approach.

"Feng shui is about changing energy so your life works for you," says Fournier, whose 30 years in the fields of interior design and redesign have included corporate, government and residential makeovers.

"People become overwhelmed with what they have. They think that the only way they can change it is to get rid of everything," Fournier says. She finds that thinning it out and organizing what remains works best.

Fournier, who charges $110 an hour for consultations, says that her interior-design training taught her where to put things, but bringing feng shui into her practice helped her put her client's needs first. "I try to get them to come into the room and tell me from a feeling standpoint what works for them and what doesn't. I take them to a point where they're not thinking, but feeling."

Like Fournier, Hind and Ford also spend some time getting to know the homeowner's wants and needs before launching a redesign.

Hind says they're not striving for the pristineness of an "Architectural Digest" spread. "Anytime you take something and do it to a T, it can date it by next year," she says.

One of the Roomspinners' proudest achievements was redesigning a room for Vine Maple Place, a Maple Valley shelter for homeless mothers and their children. Working with an eclectic assortment of donated furniture, Hind and Ford were able to pull together a beach-house look using sunny colors and seascape pictures. The project earned them two awards from the premiere industry organization, Interior Redesign Industry Specialists, the group that issues certifications for redesigners. They were given the award in April at IRIS's annual convention by Lee Snijders, of HGTV's "Design on a Dime."

Not bad for two women who have been partners only since September, although both had been redesigning on their own for several years.

"We both bring different expertise to the business," Ford said. Having a partner also helps when you need an extra pair of biceps to lug heavy furniture from room to room.

And both subscribe to the IRIS mission statement: "You can have a beautiful, comfortable and inviting home that is easy on your wallet and you can have it in just a day."

Best of all, Hind says, you'll be surrounded by all the stuff you love.

DIY REDESIGN

Want to try a redesign on your own? The first step is to identify what's not working in your room. Here are some common problems and solutions:

ROOM IS TOO FORMAL: Bring in texture and natural elements, such as a bowl of seashells in summer or a hurricane glass vase with flowers in fall. If the room is too symmetrical -- like a magazine cover, with both sides of the room mirror images -- it will feel sterile.

ROOM IS TOO CROWDED: Too much furniture blocks the flow and makes a room unappealing. Keep what you need and edit the rest. If your space is trying too hard to multitask, move an activity to another room.

TOO MANY KNICKKNACKS: If your house is full of a lot of "little things" -- knickknacks, trinkets, souvenirs -- you need a "prop closet," where you can set the stage for different times of the year -- seasons, holidays, etc. -- by rotating those things you can't part with.

Source: Roomspinners Redesign

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