KDSDesign @Women's Survival Guide!
A BRIEF HISTORY
Years ago, I had my own interior design business called, not very imaginatively, KDSDesign (Kim Druker Stockwell Design). I worked for eight years doing large and small projects around the Boston area. I even did commercial jobs! Then 2008 happened and my business dried up and I had three little girls that I thought I’d pay more attention to.
These days I am an empty nester living in a house that was decorated nearly twenty years ago and was “well (over) loved” during COVID. It needs some attention! So, I am back to interior design by necessity for myself but I am happy to say I am open for business for you!
If you would like some help with your midlife-redo please drop me a line! KDSD@mac.com (Or DM me on Substack!)
How I decorate:
Layers.
That is how I see a well decorated space. A room can be fully furnished and yet feel unfinished. Why? Because what makes a room not only comfortable, but interesting, surprising, and memorable are the decorative layers.
The trim on a pillow, curtain or bedskirt
An unexpected wall treatment or color
An interesting collection, creatively displayed, edited
A painted floor? A layered carpet, a reveal between carpet and wall
A mix of modern and antique
Let’s start by looking at the first photo in the grid of my powder room.
Nothing is original in the photo except for the window. A powder room is a BIG opportunity to go crazy. Think of it as the Met Ball of your home. It’s small so you can use more expensive materials! Don’t forget the ceiling! You can paint it, wall paper it!
What I did was influenced by my grandma’s home. She had the same wall paper you see above, by Clarence House, but in a metallic. I wanted to be slightly more low key, but I wanted a ballgown of a ballon shade with insane fringe, as well! Check. The coral/orange silk taffeta is also Clarence House. You can see a peep of the bird painted sink that came from my mom’s house. The counter top is the same I used in the kitchen and the floor tile, from Waterworks, is in the same stone as the countertop. I still LOVE this room!
So, the counter and floor tile, done in “Lagos Azul” stone, so they tell me, was definitely “in” in 2008 when this house was decorated. As a decorator, it is easy to see what the colors of the year are by what’s new in the decorator show rooms. Many times, we can tell what year a home was done because everything was from the “new” category. Always a mistake. “New” ages. “Classic” does not. The best decorating combines the two and then adds the owner’s own “stuff” to make it homey.
Let’s look at the big entry hall next. Is that a paper lantern? Yup. A giant big pink paper lantern from China Town in Boston. It’s not a fancy architectural light fixture, but isn’t it cool? Did I paint the walls pink? I did. But the first time they were painted I did Dove White…or White Dove…I can never remember, by Benjamin Moore. I did the whole house in that warm, creamy white to get a sense of the spaces and how our stuff looked in it. The bar and kitchen are still that color but nothing else is anymore. They have been layered-up!
Back to the photo, the little settee was my grandmother’s (yes, yes, she had a big influence on me…and a fair amount of good stuff) that I eventually had to recover when her sweet floral chintz fell apart. That’s a Pierre Frey wool fabric. The two black chairs came from a flee market in Connecticut a few houses ago. They are banged up but work. I like pieces that show people have used them. But I also like things to be in good shape, like the woodwork. The carpet is nothing special but it is wool. The mirror and table are, you guessed it, from my grandmother.
I have seen at least three photos of her different homes where she has this exact set up. Do you have things that belonged to your loved ones? Try to use them. They are free. You can paint anything!
Stay tuned, I’ll keep writing about the photos above and my influences in interior design.