Julie Kay Design Studio + Storefront
From a Pinterest board to a custom home build – hiring an interior designer is having someone in your corner with your best interests in mind. They can help you make decisions that are correct for the style of your home as well as employ their team of vetted professionals to make your dreams a reality. Quality and durability are paramount in investing in your home – and a good designer can help you source those things.
“Your home is a canvas that tells your story,” says Julie Riggin, Principal Designer at Julie Kay Design Studio + Storefront. “My homeowners want bright, warm, and inviting spaces that are also family friendly; your space should fit your life, not the other way around.”
She goes on to explain that because of her background in architecture and design, as well as the years in the business, she is oftentimes able to hear pain points and solve problems for her clients in ways they haven’t thought of.
Interior designers are sometimes seen as a luxury purchase, and indeed they can be depending on the scale of the project. Riggin has worked on entire homes for some clients, but she is also passionate about finding those perfect, high-quality pieces for the walk-in customers at her storefront.
“Colorado Springs has limited options for shopping home décor, and even more limited options for custom, high-quality pieces,” Riggin explains.
The items in her storefront are all available for purchase – if you like the lamp, you can take it home with you today. Is that accent chair just what you were looking for in the corner of your home office? Ring it up, Riggin.
The genuinely spectacular piece hidden right in the large print here, is that Colorado Springs consumers have a tried-and-tested designer available to them on any given Tuesday afternoon. Bring in a picture of the new couch and maybe a fabric swatch and have a professional walk you through choosing new throw pillows or sourcing a rug that would round out the room. And if, within that conversation, you find that your kitchen island no longer matches your new couch, Riggin can help you there, too.
Website: https://www.juliekaydesignstudio.com/
Rich Schell Interiors
Your home is an investment. Everything one chooses to spend money on is, in effect, an investment. Sometimes when it comes to an investment, “how much does it cost” is not always the right question. And, more importantly, how does one know if it's within the budget unless they ask?
Why would one not choose to fill it with items that are fine, structured and refined?
“Whether the homeowner’s style is for a lot or a little, I want every piece to count,” says Rich Schell, Principal Designer of Rich Schell Interiors. “You should surround yourself in things that make you happy.”
Schell is a proponent of investing in art. If that piece ignites something in the viewer, whether it is the color, the memory, or emotion that it evokes, his advice is to consider the investment.
“You can always paint a wall,” he says. “Buy for the long haul and then decorate around that.”
He follows up with thinking of decorating a home in terms of curating a wardrobe. He explains that pants are pants. They are a staple, a grounded base. It is important to have pants, and a wardrobe is not complete without them – but they rarely make the outfit pop. A tailored shirt with a pattern or in a complementary color, on the other hand, is going to draw the eye and be a focal point around which the remainder of the pieces flow. Perhaps the investment is in a blazer to add structure and polish. Then choosing accessories that complement the blazer that can then be changed out seasonally.
Unlike curating a wardrobe, the journey to choose an interior designer that is right for you could be a process. Schell explains that it is a highly personal process.
“I want to investigate their heart,” he says, going on to describe his role as an artist, designer, psychologist and moderator. “I want them to send me things they love as well as things they dislike – and then tell me why.”
This process, he says, is imperative to define the causality and incorporate that into the overall design.
Website: https://www.richschellinteriors.com/
Turk Interiors
Tricia Turk, Owner and lead Design Storyteller at Turk Interiors, expands on that relationship. “We are approachable, she says, “and we need to be in order to do our job well.” Hiring an interior designer should not be a stuffy experience. Investing in your home is investing in your story.
Turk is well-traveled and her adventures have deepened her design aesthetic as referenced in her diverse portfolio. Her role as a storyteller is taken quite seriously and she has mastered being a design ghostwriter for her clients.
This is attributed to her power of observation.
“There is always a why,” she says of those who approach her about their projects, “my job is to uncover the whole why by using cues or instinct; to listen and observe in order to put together a cohesive picture of the project – not just the one I’m presented with.”
There is a joy in working with a client living in their existing home as her goal is to make that home a clear reflection of them at the end of the journey.
And it is a journey. Because after the why is the how.
Upon entering into this process, the homeowners and Turk Interiors become a team with a common goal. Turk explains that in her role, she is trusted to be honest with the client. Sometimes that means peeling back the trends to get to the heart of what is trying to be accomplished. Other times, it is to assess materials, scale, and clearances to ensure that the window is perfectly placed or that the flow of the house is not impacted in an attempt to solve a separate issue.
“You can always find someone willing to install tile for you, or to knock down a wall,” she states, “but are they looking to create cohesion within the overall look? I am.”
How a client lives in their home is just as important as why they are interested in changing something. And the foundation of the work is always to stick to the client story – the story is what is going to speak to them long after the designer has finished the project.
Website: https://www.turkinteriors.com/
