Be sure to visit my Photo Gallery and Public Places to view pictures of my work including those described in the stories below.

Simple, small but smart on a tight budget

Mrs. Boyle made the decision not to return to work after the birth of her second child. This put a real dent into her options and budget for decorating her new home. When Mrs. Boyle called me, she explained her situation and asked if there was any way I could help her. I cautioned that she would need to compromise some of her expectations but I could also teach her how to do several nice faux finishes and how to stencil. So she hired me, not to do the work, but to teach and advise her how to do the work. I designed stencils and laid out the designs for her daughter's room. I also purchased for her all the correct paint colors, tools and materials. As I prepared samples of the faux finishes she wanted to apply to her foyer and and dining room, she watched and learned how to do it.  

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Mrs. Bailey had a plan. She was going to wallpaper her hallway and kitchen. She picked an expensive paper. She knew it needed expert installation. When she called for a price quote, I explained I would need to measure the rooms so she could order the correct amount of paper, not too much or too little.

Often money is wasted on purchasing too much paper and the opposite, too little. Too little paper requires you to live with an unfinished project for a couple of weeks, requires an extra trip for the installer, but more importantly, the paper you get the second time around most likely will come from a different manufacturing run and the colors may be slightly off, not matching the original wallpaper you purchased.

Whether I work with the client directly or with an interior designer, I always do a client visit to measure and assess the rooms or the surfaces to be papered.

Want to replicate something?

Mrs. Alcott toured a kitchen showroom and saw the kitchen of her dreams. She wanted her cabinets to look just like those she saw in the showroom catalog. She shared the catalog photos with me.

To make sure I would replicate it to her satisfaction, Mrs. Alcott allowed me to take a cabinet door. I then created an exact sample onto the actual cabinet for her approval before beginning the project. I then reinstalled the cabinet door so Mrs. Alcott could live with it for a few weeks until she was certain that was the look she wanted. From that sample, I also made wall samples and designed a painted border from a tile sample she found at the showroom. Although the process took several steps, Mrs. Alcott got what she wanted and she is very pleased with her kitchen.

Wallpaper or decorative paint?

Mrs. Smith was leafing through a Country Living magazine and spotted THE bedroom for her daughter. But finding the same wallpaper was a problem. After some researching, I located the manufacturer and tracked down the pattern.

After contacting the manufacturer, I learned that the paper had been discontinued. Mrs. Smith was disappointed. I did point out that she could have the same look and feel of the paper if she was willing to go with decorative paint. Or, she could search for more wallpaper. She thought about it for a few days. She then called and asked me to produce a decorative paint sample of the same design, pattern and colors as the wallpaper she saw in the magazine. The average cost of a decorative paint sample is about $100 and my turnaround time is about a week.

Although she originally wanted wallpaper, getting the design and pattern she wanted mattered most. Mrs. Smith went ahead with the decorative paint project. She has had me back to install wallpaper in her master bath and to decorative paint a border in her son's room.

Looking for original work?

Mr. Valary always wanted a map room and he always wanted a library room. He finally got the right house. Now he needed the right decoration. He couldn't find any wallpaper that worked. He called to ask if there was anything I could do for him.

After doing some research, I gave him my recommendation: transform the library ceiling into a 17th century map of the world. After creating the design and layout, I sketched drawings so Mr. Valary could envision the end product. Multiple decorative paint finishes were used for both the walls and ceiling. All finishes were hand drawn, painted or gilded. It was a great project to work on and Mr. Valary's dream came true. To see a picture, visit my Photo Gallery.

Stuck in the middle of a project?

Mrs.  McCarty called in a panic. The Chinese mural she had purchased at $600 a panel was proving to be way too difficult to hang for her paperhanger. The ink washed off three of the panels before she realized there was a big problem. My experience of 35 years allowed me to help her.

Solving wallpaper installation problems has always been part of my job. Over the years, I have literally learned all the tricks of the trade and invented a few myself. For the more delicate and intricate papers, there are methods and materials that work best but you only learn that through experience. I frequently get called in to advise or to correct projects that are halfway completed.

Need a creative solution?

Ms. Garity wanted to do something fun in her pool house, something different that would catch people's attention. After visiting her and hearing her preferences in art and color, I made a bold suggestion... Ms. Garity is a big Beatles fan. So, I suggested using the motif of a Beatles album cover. She picked the Yellow Submarine album. It was certainly something different and always gets people talking. I worked with her to layout a design and then decoratively painted the bathroom as a submarine! To see a picture, visit my Photo Gallery.

Decorating an historic home?

When the Kellers bought their historic Victorian home they wanted to restore it as authentically as possible. Victorian homes call for lots of wallpaper and selecting the historically correct paper was important to them. When they first called, we talked about the history of the house, what renovations were being done, what decorating could be saved and what needed to be replaced.  They did have a budget for the decorative work throughout the house. We talked about how to phase the work over time to meet their budgetary constraints. From our phone conversation, the Kellers determined what rooms they wanted me to measure for wallpaper to get the project started. They also asked that I do some research to verify that the Victorian paper they wanted to install was appropriate for each room. Working within their budget and time frame, the house was decoratively restored over a three year period. The Kellers feel very satisfied with the restoration of their historic home. The house is now on the annual garden tour sponsored by their town. To see some of their rooms, visit my Photo Gallery

Timing is everything

Mrs. Paulson wanted to surprise her daughter with a newly decorated baby room. But she didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl! Mrs. Paulson took digital photos of the baby's room and gave me those photos and the room's dimensions. After discussing her daughter's preferences for colors, designs, etc., I suggested a Winnie the Pooh motif. It works for either gender. Mrs. Paulson opted for a hand painted wall mural based on the sketches from the original book. In addition to the wall mural, I hand painted Winnie the Pooh scenes onto the crib and dresser and stenciled a ceiling border around the room.  The amazing part, though, was keeping it a surprise. I made a promise to Mrs. Paulson that I would be "on call" for her. That is, once her daughter went into labor and left for the hospital, I would arrive as soon as possible and begin work. I had no more than a day to make it happen. We had the plan, I had all the necessary materials, we had to hope the baby would cooperate. "She" did and we really surprised the new mother who fell in love with the Winnie the Pooh designs.