THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410130186
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY KRYS STEFANSKY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 155 lines
SO, GOING TO HOMEARAMA makes you want to change the wallpaper in the dining room.
What if money was no object? What if your significant other and your pocketbook were both wide open?
What if you had the free advice of, say, Pat Danielson?
She's the interior designer who outfitted The Jamie Leigh, one of Church Point's 17 newest addresses. She worked from floor to cathedral ceiling using furniture and accessories on loan from Ethan Allen Home Interiors.
The house has room to play. Homearama's entry No. 10 is a 4,200-square-foot two-story transitional with 11 rooms, a second-floor balcony and backyard patio.
So, pretend you have, say $108,180.50 - that's what it would cost to make the inside of your house look like this one.
Danielson, who also calls herself a ``space merchandiser,'' owns Danielson and Associates Inc., a Virginia Beach interior design firm. Laying aside her usual hourly consulting fee of $100, she offered up decorating rule No. 1 - use red.
``Every room should have a touch of red,'' said Danielson. ``It's an impact color. It's excitement. It doesn't take much. Just one red sponge, one red towel in the bathroom - it's just that punch that brings a room to life.''
But there's much, much more to it than that.
So step inside the tiled foyer, careful not to poke an elbow into the $2,349 cherry clock, and take notes.
Six months ago, when the house was still at the blueprint stage, Danielson began working with builder Chip Iuliano, the owner of Area Builders Inc., on his Homearama entry. The two have paired up three times previously, winning People's Choice and Critic's Choice awards at the home show in the past. This year, with Iuliano's transitional house designed by architect Kenneth M. Sedlacko, they snagged first place for Best Special Feature for wrought iron work and second place in several categories including Best in Show and Best Interior merchandising.
``When she gets finished, it's a home,'' said Iuliano.
He trusts Danielson's insider tips on current design trends.
According to her, eclectic is in, the '50s are back, colors are deeper and it's OK to mix classic with contemporary. White kitchen cabinets will never go away, carpets are nubby or patterned, and big TVs - even though decorators hate them - are facts of life.
And don't confuse trends with fads, she said, referring to the current deluge of sun, moon and stars on everything from fabrics to curtain rod finials, or this summer's sudden profusion of sunflowers.
``Use them,'' she said of faddish themes, ``but sparingly, so people can't say, oh, she did that room in 1994.''
To furnish and decorate this house, Danielson went to Ethan Allen for all but a handful of pieces. The store made available one of its newest lines, the Radius Group. It mixes nickel-plated steel with blond maple.
``It's a more sophisticated contemporary with a lot of influences by Frank Lloyd Wright,'' said Bert Crawford, co-owner of three area Ethan Allen stores.
Danielson said she loves the look.
``When you think of Ethan Allen, you think of 18th century, very traditional,'' Danielson said, standing in the master bedroom. ``But this is reminiscent of the '50s. It has a sort of Dick Van Dyke - Richard and Laura Petrie - look with thin lines and mixed materials.'' She used furniture from the group in the bedroom - including the $1,799 four poster queen bed. A small round table and chairs were the focus of the room's sitting area, another popular trend in master bedrooms.
Danielson sprinkled French armchairs in various rooms, saying their lines went well with the sleek, '50s look, and satisfied the current eclectic trend in decorating.
That eclecticism also applies to wall-hung art.
``Color and balance are more important. Frames do not all have to match. It's OK to mix metal frames with wood,'' Danielson said. She often creates a gallery look, hanging pictures over pictures, very low and very high up on walls.
She also used a lot of glass. A beveled slab tops the rectangular neoclassic table in the dining room, where she ``spent'' about $9,000. There, Danielson also used two curio/china cabinets in the company's Medallion Collection. The line's European elements and strong black accents work in a home with contemporary features.
More glass appears on the pedestal table in the breakfast room. It is surrounded by spiral-backed, nickel-plated steel chairs. The table sells for $949, the chairs for $449 each and can be upgraded with leather seats. Glass-topped occasional tables are scattered in various rooms, many with metal legs.
Throughout the house Danielson played off pale tones, making the look richer with deeper hues.
``Soft pastels will never go away, but people are leaning toward deeper colors in walls, fabrics and upholstery,'' she said.
Crawford said his stores are carrying plenty of verdigris green, bronze and fabrics and upholstery materials in jewel tones.
One rich look can be found above the garage in the family room, where Danielson commissioned a wall mural to hide an angled wall. The tan leather Chesterfield-style sofa there retails for $3,399.
This room also features a four-drawer bombe chest covered in dark brown, gold-embossed leather. It sells for $2,099.
Danielson dipped deeply into Ethan Allen's cache of accessories. The house is brimming with more than $45,000 worth of them, a rich, eclectic mix of pictures, rugs, bowls, busts, crystal and brass on shelves, on dresser tops, scattered across coffee and end tables.
``Accessories bring a room to life,'' Danielson said. ``And they don't have to be expensive.'' She advises clients to look for colors they love, or items with strong shapes.
Crawford said, ``Accessories are the things that really personalize or give a home its individual style and taste. They highlight colors and give rooms feeling and mood.''
One accessory in the master bedroom isn't for the faint of heart, the slender of purse or for anyone with daredevil children. Danielson very carefully placed a large plate, retailing for $499, in a choice spot. It was expensive, she said, conceding she threw out her own advice, but the colors on it were perfect. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
[Color Photo]
IT'S WHAT'S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS
Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Pat Danielson, a $100-an-hour ``space merchandiser,'' offers up
decorating rule No. 1: Use red - a touch in every room.
Pat Danielson used more than $45,000 worth of an eclectic mix of
pictures, rugs, bowls, busts and other accessories.
Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Interior designer Pat Danielson had a lot of room to work with in
Homearama's entry No. 10 - The Jamie Leigh - a 4,200-square-foot,
two-story transitional by builder Chip Iuliano.
Pat Danielson primarily used Ethan Allen's new Radius Group
merchandise, including a $1,799 four-poster queen-size bed.
ADDING IT UP
The Jamie Leigh was furnished by Ethan Allen Home Interiors for
$108,180.50. Of that, $62,710 was spent on case goods - all major
wood or metal items such as tables, chests, chairs - and upholstered
furniture. And $45,470.50 more went toward accessories.
Major pieces in individual rooms came to (not including the cost
of accessories and smaller pieces):
Living room - $5,831
Dining room - $7,277
Family room - $8,898
Breakfast room - $2,745
Entertainment room - $10,745
Master bedroom - $6,305
Other bedroom - $4,255
Youth bedroom - $4,892
KEYWORDS: HOMEARAMA by CNB