Mary Claire E – Oakland Township Interior Design

After moving to Oakland Township Mary Claire wanted to find an interior designer to help decorate her new home. She was put in touch with Darlene, one of our long time interior designers. Here she talks about her experience working with us and Darlene:

Q. What made you seek out an interior designer to help with your home?
I found Darlene and the Home Interior Warehouse through our realtor. I needed to find someone I could trust after working with a designer who, I felt took advantage of my decorating inexperience.

I needed help decorating my new home, but I needed to work with someone who had my best interest in mind: unique style, comfort, budget and kid-friendly.

I had ideas of how I wanted to decorate my home, but I had no idea how to execute my ideas. Darlene, with her kind, comforting and hard-working personality, along with her team at HIW helped all my design and decorating dreams come true.

The great thing about Darlene and the HIW is when she presented design ideas and options she was upfront about price and how long it would take to transform each room into what we envisioned. She also listened to my likes and dislikes and was ready with more options if we needed to change things up. She developed a sense of my taste and crafted her ideas around them.

Q. What were the main reasons you decided to hire Home Interior Warehouse to do your interior design?
I felt very comfortable with Darlene after our initial meeting at their Walled Lake showroom. My husband and I and our two girls went to meet Darlene and the staff and check out some of the floor designs to get a feel for the company and what they had to offer. We enjoyed our experience. We loved what we saw in the showroom and we began our adventure together.

Q. How has having an interior designer affected your design hopes and dreams?
Honestly, Darlene has turned our house into a home. Around every corner is something unique that describes our family, our beliefs, our personalities. Her work has made our home a cozy retreat where family and friends love to gather and spend time. We literally move from room to room enjoying what each one has to offer.

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t turn a corner and think how lucky I am to live in this beautiful home and how Darlene took so many family stories and traditions and weaved them into the design of where we get to live and play every day. She is a blessing to our family and any home owner would be lucky to work with her and her team.

Q. How would you describe the style of your home? Contemporary/Modern? Rustic? Classic? Something else?
We have quite the variety in our home but I think we fall in the middle of modern and classic. We have some glam and we have some rustic style too and it all falls together nicely. Did I mention I like color and variety? HIW definitely helped me find color and variety for sure.

Q. Did you know this was your style before or did the interior designer help you discover that?
I knew after my first experience I loved color and variety with a unique and classic twist. But I didn’t know I could have so much input on the design experience. With Darlene and the HIW I felt I had more of a leadership role in our design adventure.

I wanted rooms that sparkled and were like nothing I had ever seen before. But I also wanted home décor that would stand the test of time and Darlene guided me in the right direction with her knowledge and great skills.

Q. Was having an interior designer the experience you expected?
Working with Darlene and the HIW was a better than expected experience. They took care of everything: contractors, painters, window treatment and wallpaper contractors. They handled all the calls and all the paperwork and were there to check on things while work was being completed. I felt we all became a family.

When something didn’t go right, when furniture arrived with a flaw, HIW took care of exchanging items with no hassle and have been great on any repairs and upkeep of furniture and all décor.

Q. What was your favorite part of having a HIW interior designer working in your home?
My favorite part was how comfortable I felt working with Darlene. She never made me feel like I didn’t know what I was talking about. She never made me feel like she knew better and I trusted her. She was more than kind to my two girls. She respected me and treated me like a friend and a valued client.

My second favorite part is that I have the most beautiful home. I get compliments from visitors and my home is great for entertaining and so cozy and comfortable when it’s just us.

Q. How would you describe the way the interior designer listened and interpreted your design hopes and dreams?
Darlene was a great listener and always had my ideas and hopes in mind when pulling together samples and ideas. She knew my style and never disappointed in finding what made our home special.

Q. Do you have a favorite piece or pieces that were added to your home? Why is it/are they your favorite?
There are so many “favorite things” that Darlene brought into my home. There are a couple pieces of art that I just love.

One is a large hillside view of homes in Paris at the top of the stairs that everyone sees when they enter through the front door.

The other is a set of three pieces of glass with black and white pictures etched into them of sights in Paris, including the Eiffel Tower. My husband and I got engaged at the Eiffel Tower, so that is a special place in my heart.

Darlene listened to my stories and found ways of weaving memories of those special times throughout our home. She is blessing to my family and would be a wonderful addition to anyone’s home design experience.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Darlene and the HIW team.