Design Details

More information about projects described in our October magazine article.

By Pat Mertz Esswein, Associate Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

September 2006

In our October magazine story Space Lifts, we featured four low-cost home-makeover projects -- a foyer, bathroom, basement family room and kitchen -- designed to delight, inspire and provide a lot of bang for the buck. Below we provide additional information: our project designers' contact information and professional affiliations, more details about the products they recommended, how and what they would have charged for their time on these projects, and their estimates for the cost of installation.

Visit the Web sites of the organizations to which the designers belong to search for members working in your local area.

$500 Foyer, Westchester County, N.Y.

Designer: Lisa Skelley, LJS Interior Redesigns in Avon, Conn. (860-306-2766; ljskelley@snet.net; www.ljsinteriors.com

Professional affiliations:
Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (866-388-5208); Benjamin Moore Paints (color consultant).

Detailed plan for this project: Paint: $111. (includes two coats of Benjamin Moore Regal Matte Washable Flat Finish in Monroe Bisque; for $35 more, the paint could be run up the stairwell for continuity.
Table: $179 (on sale). Parker Demilune console table from Bombay Company.
Mirror: $99 (on sale). Medallion mirror from Bombay.
Rug: $99, plus shipping. 3-foot by 5-foot Sultanabad oval area rug from HomeDecorators.com.

Design fee: Lisa Skelley charges $95 per hour, but she will quote a flat rate for a whole-house project. Skelley's initial consultation with the client is one hour. Skelley and the client develop a decorating plan, identifying items elsewhere in the home that might be used or those that need to be purchased. If Skelley shops for the client, she charges for another hour.

Labor and installation: Skelley says the foyer assignment was so simple that most homeowners would be able to complete the project themselves after the initial consultation. If not, she would schedule a final hour to hang artwork, place furniture and rugs, and finish with any accessorizing. In this case, the homeowners expected to do the painting themselves.

$1,000 Bathroom, Washington, D.C.

Designer: Jessica Cannon, project designer for Expo Design Center in Fairfax, Va.; 703-460-4788; JESSICA_CANNON@homedepot.com

Professional affiliations: National Kitchen and Bath Association (soon to become affiliated); American Society of Interior Designers (student member).

Detailed plan for this project: Vanity ensemble: $400. Pegasus 30-inch, circular vanity, which includes vanity, drop-in sink, two attached side towel bars, mirror and shelf.
Storage unit: $170. MasterBath Shaker-style maple storage unit.
Lighting: $110. Progress lighting Lockwood two-light wall bracket.
Curved shower rod: $50. The Crescent Rod.
Towel bar: $50. Pegasus 3500 Series 24-inch.
Toilet tissue holder: $25. Pegasus 3500 Series

Design fee: Expo Design charges clients a $750 retainer, paid up front to "hold" the project designer's service for 90 days. The fee is refunded if the client purchases at least $5,000 of products. The fee for this project would have been $750.

Labor and installation: Expo Design clients can hire their own contractor, or they can use Expo Design/Home Depot contractors who are fully licensed, have been prescreened by Home Depot, and whose work will be warranted for a year by the company. In that case, the project designer and contractor will team up to manage the project.

On the D.C. bathroom project, Cannon estimates that the cost for the "little demolition" necessary to remove the old vanity, plumbing and light fixtures and to install the new features would be $1,800.

$2,500 Family room, State College, Pa.

Designer: Lynn M. Staab-Fischer, Organized Spaces in Pittsburgh, Pa.; 412-613-2009; LMStaab@msn.com

Professional affiliations: American Society of Interior Designers; National Association of Professional Organizers.

Detailed plan for this project:
Paint: $175. PPG, Pier Perform One, in Almond Cream, Kodiak and Pizza Pie, eggshell
Tile: $500. Florida Tile, premium blend.
Home office: $544. Horizon work center (Target, $119); two wall shelves (Target On-Line, $100); laminate work surface (Lowe's, $75); lateral file (Staples, $250).
Storage: $100. Sterilite, four bins and 12 baskets, from Wal-Mart.
Other furniture and accessories: $1,190. Includes two Modern Iron table lamps (Lamps Plus, $180); two Nordmyra chairs for the play area (Ikea, $70); a four-panel privacy screen ($100) and two silk trees ($200, all from Home Decorators Collection); two wood blinds (Smith+Noble, $140); fabric panels and rod (Pier One, $250); three picture-ledge shelves (Target On-Line, $50); assorted candles and holders (Pier One, $200).

Designer's fee: Staab-Fischer charges $60 per hour for organizing and design services. Clients reimburse her for purchases she makes for them. The State College family room took about 24 hours, so the design fee would have been about $1,500, excluding revisions, ordering products and materials, and coordinating installation.

Labor and installation: Staab-Fischer notes that in order to save money, most of her clients do as much of the work as possible for themselves .

$5,000 Kitchen, Carmel, Ind., outside Indianapolis

Designer: Jessica C. Radloff, kitchen designer, Lowe's (#1525) in Carmel, Ind.; 317-908-8221; Jessica.C.Radloff@store.lowes.com.

Professional affiliations: None.

Detailed plan for this project:
Phase 1
Paint: $132; American Tradition Interior Satin (in Vanilla Bean and Olive) and Brilliant Metallic accent (in Open Plain and Sparkling Stone), plus island items (Zinser Stain Cover Primer, American Tradition Interior Satin in Du Jour, and tintable glaze in Spiced Wine).
Island supplies: $463. Kraftmaid bookshelf with beadboard back in unfinished maple, pine beadboard paneling for back and sides of island, pine base molding, and four posts to be cut to height of existing cabinet.
Countertops for island and desk: $2,512. Zodiaq (Group D) in Caroli Red.
Appliances: $1,165. Jenn-Air 30-inch gas cooktop with downdraft ($988); Igloo 19 3/4-inch undercounter refrigerator ($177).
Cabinet hardware: $297. Shenandoah crystal knobs.
Lighting: $200. Luminaire 10-inch flush-mount crystal fixture with pendant.
Faucet: $218. Moen one-handle kitchen faucet with high-arc spout

Phase 2
Countertops: $3,802. LG HI-MACS acrylic solid-surface countertops with integral sink and beveled edges (Group E) in Fresh.
Appliances: $6,813. KitchenAid stainless steel 27-inch wall oven and microwave combination ($2,918); refrigerator with stainless front and sides ($2,698) and dishwasher ($1,197)

Design fee: Lowe's doesn't charge a design fee. Clients provide measurements of their space, which the designer inputs into a design program. The designer offers ideas and works out a plan with the client.

Labor and installation: Radliff estimates that the labor to remodel the kitchen island would be about $730, and says that the cost of the countertop for the island and desk includes installation. Lowe's, in Carmel, doesn't install gas appliances, so the clients would have to hire a plumber. Lowe's also doesn't provide painting.

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