THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 28, 1996 TAG: 9606260162
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 01E EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 74 lines
Most interior decorators have a favorite kind of room - a specialty, so to speak.
For interior decorator Michael J. Crow, that room is the children's room.
``It's become what I'm known for,'' said Crow, a lifelong Chesapeake resident.
To please his young clients (and their parents) Crow designs functional and stylish bedroom furniture, plows through book after book of fabric samples and of course, interviews the children to find out their likes and dislikes.
``Boys tend to go with the typical sports and dinosaur themes. But some of the girls have ideas of their own,'' he said.
When decorating a child's room, Crow emphasizes the importance of getting the child involved in the project.
``When I was working on one little girl's room, she admired a very colorful vase when her mother and I were shopping for furniture. I bought the vase and had it made into a lamp for her nightstand,'' said Crow.
Crow's current project is to design furniture for the bedroom of an 8-year old.
``I've decided to go with a 1950s retro look with aqua and pink colors,'' said Crow. ``I'll design the furniture and one of my contractors will actually build it. I try to design furniture that will grow with the child.''
To find the perfect accent piece or painting, Crow spends weekends at various art shows, such as the Seawall Art Show in Portsmouth and the Boardwalk Arts Show in Virginia Beach. He has also been known to pick up more than a few items for his clients while traveling or browsing small antique and specialty stores.
Crow fell into the interior decorating business by accident - literally.
``I started off as a builder, but I had a serious accident on one of my projects,'' he said. ``It made me think about what I really should do with my career.''
Crow found encouragement in the advice of family members and colleagues.
``I used to decorate the homes I built,'' he said. ``One Realtor in particular told me I was missing my calling.''
Soon after the accident, Crow enrolled in the Tidewater Design Course at Tidewater Community College.
Now his business, Distinguished Crow Interiors, is in full swing. With the help of his staff and his mother, Judi, Crow will dress a home, condo, townhouse, apartment or office from floor to ceiling.
Some of his projects are long-term, sometimes taking months or years to complete.
``My very first client and I still call each other and talk about what we want to do next to her house. In this business, you really have to have a good relationship with the clients. I'm good friends with many of them,'' he said.
But Crow said he'll work with clients on small projects as well.
What he won't do, however, is accept a project that he doesn't think he's suited for.
``I like to work in most styles, but I'm not a fan of the Southwest trend, and I have referred clients wanting that to other designers,'' he said.
Crow said he has a special empathy for clients who are improving an older home or completely remodeling a home.
``I completely gutted my present house and remodeled it,'' he said. ``So I know exactly what it feels like to remodel. It's stressful.''
Despite the temptation to expand his business to other areas, Crow said he's decided to concentrate on the Chesapeake market.
``I'm thinking about working some on the Outer Banks, but I want to keep most of my business here. There's more than enough to keep me busy here, and I prefer to contract work out to other Chesapeake businesses,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
Interior decorator Michael J. Crow teams with his mother Judi Crow
in his decorating business. The Crows decorated the dining room of
this home located in the Woodards Mill section of Chesapeake.
Michael J. Crow designs functional and stylish bedroom furniture and
interviews children to find out their likes and dislikes when
decorating their rooms. by CNB