There is a lot that goes into remodeling a room and transforming it into a space that fits your personal style. Says Kristen Pollack, owner and interior designer at KP Designs/Decorating Den Interiors, 8003 Vine Crest Ave. She spends a lot of time getting to know her clients before starting a project.
“There’s actually a lot we want to know,” she said. “We ask a lot of questions (and) do the house tours.”
During these tours, Pawlak reveals customers’ likes and dislikes, discusses their inspiration, and outlines what, if any, their current furniture and accessories are.
“We (also) talk a lot about the function of space,” she added. “We get to know them. … not just (that) colors and patterns (that they like) and things like that, but if (there are) certain places they travel to, like, or care about, or care about. … It’s a little bit of Those kinds of personal notes that will fuel the design.”
He has owned Pawlak Decorating Den since 2009, and since then, he’s designed endless spaces. Here are a few that offer three distinct living room looks.
elegant sophistication
Pawlak describes the homeowner of this new building as contemporary and elegant in her tastes. She loves the white and gray that are accented with black and gold accents.
“She wanted a nice, clean look… shiny, white,” said Pollack. “Even the lighting has to be LEDs in daylight – no soft white lights…or cream, or white, or anything.”
To keep that clean, seamless look throughout the room, Pawlak used the same upholstery for the chairs and sofa.
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“It’s the fabric of performance, which we pretty much do 99% of the time,” she said. “They are great for everyday life. (The homeowner) has dogs and she is very particular about the cleanliness of her home. That’s the nice thing about these fabrics. They clean super easily; they’re great for kids, pets, etc. That was kind of neat – though It () is really pure white, you can’t seem to touch or use it.”
A cluster of matching bright white boxes surrounds the fireplace, which is wrapped in a geometric wallcovering. All the white in the room is a little broken down by a wood-coated geode coffee table and black lacquer accents.
Ideal for industry
The design of the living room in the apartment does not require as much customer discovery as other projects, as the space belongs to the son of Pawlak.
“It’s in a compound that used to be an old warehouse,” she said. “It’s one of those great stories that’s repurposed from warehouse into living space. You’re talking about 20-foot ceilings, exposed ductwork, exposed concrete.”
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With cement floors and concrete walls with chipped paint in mind, Pawlak says the tendency to have an industrial look is the natural way to go. She incorporated touches of rustic wood and iron, simple gray, and mercury glass into the room.
She said, “(I also added) a shaggy area rug, and I like, like, like, the pops of orange-red we put on.”
Really traditional
When Pawlak started working on this gorgeous rustic/traditional room, she remembers the homeowner who described the fireplace as a major pain point.
“She couldn’t figure out how to make it work and what to do (with it),” she said. “They had (all these) different colours; the heater had just pissed them off.”
Rather than alter what appears to be the space’s biggest problem, Pawlak used it as inspiration.
“(I) brought the colors from the fireplace into the room,” she explained. The same tones of stones can now be seen in the rug as well as in the fabrics for pillows, chairs and ottomans.
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“It was such a big pain point for the homeowner,” she said, “but there was nothing wrong with that.” “She was beautiful – (the problem) was what was around her.”
Pawlak also incorporated the same colors into new artwork that hangs above the homeowners’ antique console.
“We just toned down the look,” she said. “(We) brought in all those outside colors and turned on the heater. It’s one of my family’s favorite rooms.”
Do you know a house that would be a great home for this week? Email writer Lenny Omalza at aloha@lennieomalza.com or lifestyle editor Catherine Gregory at kgregory@gannett.com.
Bolts and nuts
elegant elegance
residenceThis is a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 2-storey traditional/craftsman-influenced home in the Shake’s Creek subdivision in East Louisville that was built in 2019.
Featured Items: Hardwood and tile floors. Dome-shaped granite ceiling countertops.
clap! clap! KP Designs / Interior den decorating.
ideal industrial
residenceThis is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit of 900 square feet in the Bradford Mills Apartment Building in Germantown. The building is a renovated textile factory converted into multi-unit condominiums circa 2016.
Featured Items: exposed bricks; concrete floors; exposed ductwork and beams/trusses; Freight elevators.
clap! clap! KP Designs / Interior den decorating.
Really traditional
residenceThis is a 5,300-square-foot, 5-bed, 3-bath, traditional home in Shelbyville, built in 2010.
Featured Items: Stone Fireplace Solid Wood Flooring Granite Countertops Vaulted Ceiling Sun Balcony.
clap! clap! KP Designs / Interior den decorating.
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: Interior Design Tips to Help You Remodel Your Living Room