2010 ASID Heartland Design Awards

A client she’d worked with in the past presented a challenge to Arlene Ladegaard, owner and principal designer of Design Connection Inc.

“This couple had a very light bedroom with French Country furniture,” she says. “But they wanted something deep, dark and womb-ish. It was the total opposite of what they already had.”

So Ladegaard got down to work, replacing shutters with black Roman shades, investigating wall colors and searching for fabrics.

“We started with the carpet and found this wonderful rich brown with some gold in it,” Ladegaard says. “Then the search for furniture began. Black furniture is hard to find these days, and I knew it would be a challenge.”

Black tends to be very modern, and the couple did not want a contemporary bedroom, but Ladegaard was able to find transitional pieces.

“Transitional describes this room because it’s a little bit of everything,” she says. “There’s texture, style, color. It just feels very rich and glamorous.”

The updated, fun zebra fabric was found in a local showroom and is beautifully offset by the bronze silk fabric on the bedspread and drapes. Wool mohair on the chairs shimmers with a life of its own and looks different from every area of the room. Three layers of dark paint make the walls feel like leather.

“Because it’s such a dark room, I wanted the ceiling to lighten it up,” Ladegaard says. “So it’s painted a khaki shade with gold. It looks like platinum when light is shining on it. This is a great effect for a dark room.”

Where to begin when remodeling a home that hasn’t been touched in 50 years? That was the challenge Susan Provines faced when a client she’d worked with in the past called and said she was moving back into her childhood home to care for her special-needs brother.

“This house had horrible carpet, but there were beautiful hardwoods underneath,” Provines recalls. “There was dark paneling, which we pulled off, and the fireplace was pretty bland.”

Provines’ approach was to take it one step at a time, hiring a contractor and listening closely to what her client wanted. “She plans to live in this home for the rest of her life, which is perfect since my specialty is aging-in-place homes,” she says. “I designed it so she could stay here forever.”

A built-in bookcase that was original to the home but was not functional was tossed. Throwing out the paneling brightened up the room considerably, even with a deeper color on the walls. The original red brick was kept on the fireplace, along with the arch.

“She wanted a French Country look because she knew this is the room where she and her brother would be spending most of their time,” Provines notes. “So we made the fireplace a focal point.”

Decorating was as easy as a trip to the basement — Provines discovered an old steamer trunk her client’s mother got when she married, so that became the cocktail table. A child’s chair, also found in the basement, became a decorative object near the fireplace.

“My client was so excited about finding these things and being able to use them in her home,” Provines adds.

A client who is also an artist hired Kathleen Ramsey to create a home that would showcase his artwork.

“He asked for seating arrangements so that art could be seen from different views in the same room,” Ramsey says. “He wanted the entire house to complement his art.”

Ramsey likes to use punches of color in her design, but that avenue was closed to her because the artwork provided that color. Instead, she opted for shiny fabrics and mirrored furniture to catch the eye. The result: an elegant, contemporary design that is a juxtaposition of modern and classic.

“Everything in the living room is pewter, gold or silver,” Ramsey describes. “He had a black psychiatrist couch he wanted to use, so we decided on a pair of gray sofas with graceful lines. I added texture with faux iguana skin on the pillows, with two metal squares used as cocktail tables.”

Area rugs define certain conversation spaces, and lamps became very important because there was no overhead lighting. In the family room, a rectangular space anchored by a fireplace, the focus is drawn to two large sculptures at the opposite end by grouping furniture there and scattering area rugs. A wow-factor was created in the entryway with two-story drapery panels striped in shiny gold and silver.

“I was concerned that every room would look the same because the tones were so similar, so I looked for fabrics with different textures,” Ramsey notes. “The sofa in the family room is woven and similar to linen with a bit of shine, and the living room sofas have a stripe. This home shows a great symmetry between contemporary and refined, with a touch of shine. And the client just loves it.”

How to create a warm, inviting kitchen area with a cold tile floor? Suzann Thompson Lynch’s client had a quarry tile floor that she couldn’t part with, even though the warm kitchen demanded a wood floor. After some investigating, Lynch found her solution.

“There’s a new porcelain tile that looks just like wood,” she says. “It comes in planks and is butted right up against the terra cotta quarry tile, so I was able to achieve the look my client wanted and the warmth I wanted with this product. Using a higher-grade grout also makes clean-up easy.”

Lynch was tasked with creating a large area that could accommodate two people who love to cook, as well as their kids and grandkids. In order to use the space she had available, Lynch eliminated a doorway near the staircase, giving her an extra eight feet for cabinets. She also created customized areas in the cabinetry, like the china hutch, a beverage center and an iPod docking station.

“I also wanted them to be ahead of the game so nothing would be out of date in a couple of years,” Lynch says. “I did two different backsplash tiles and warmed up the room by using metallic copper on the ceiling to mimic the floor. Multiple finishes won’t look dated.”

Lynch calls the look “French Country-inspired but also transitional, with a traditional base.” No matter what it’s called, her clients are thrilled. “This is totally them,” she says. “This is who they are.”

Facing a great challenge always provides Becky Berg with the inspiration she needs. And his project was very challenging.

“This is a commercial building in a classic contemporary style,” Berg says. “The client had a very nice collection of antiques they wanted to use in this space. I have an eye for mixing styles, that’s my specialty. But it was a challenge to get it just right.”

And she did. The background of limestone walls and parquet floor helped with the old feel of limestone and the warmth of wood. The reception desk, in a bamboo effect with a dark granite countertop, is the focal point as customers walk through the door. Antique tables, chests, figurines and statues were carefully placed around the edges. The seating space is transitional, with clean lines that will mix with any style. Items in the center of the room were all newly purchased to blend in with the antiques.

“The background was neutral, so I added energy through shots of color, mainly persimmon,” Berg explains. “There are black accents, and it all pulled together really well. This was truly an enjoyable project as well as a challenge, but that’s the fun part for me. I use challenge as my inspiration.”

A tight budget to create a space that would appeal to both toddlers and their moms was presented to Amy Nichols, and she responded with a bright, cheerful space that has elements of sustainability. The Children’s Play and Discover Center in Lake Station, Ind., is beautifully balanced in meeting the needs of families as well as the environment.

“Since I’m LEED accredited, I’m used to working with sustainable standards,” Nichols says. “We spent a lot of time making sure we had proper lighting, studying sun patterns and putting lower windows in some places so light could penetrate.”

Her client wanted bright, primary colors throughout, and the palette had to be more complex so moms would feel good there, too. Color research information was presented, as was the understanding that designing for the market is important.

“You can go overboard with bright colors, but we balanced them with warmer colors,” Nichols adds. “We also made sure everything was safe for children, using rounded corners, and soft and non-toxic materials.”

There are child-size sinks and toilets in this play center/museum that targets kids age seven and under. The center includes craft, cooking and make-believe areas, as well as a cafe where parents can socialize. The project is owned by a parks department so the budget was tight but not unworkable.

“The client made in-house cabinetry and also took care of the construction management, so that saved a lot,” Nichols notes. “We prioritized where we wanted to spend our money, and they are very happy with the result.”