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| Design Dr |
Could your home do with some professional health care?
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If your rooms are in desperate need of some TLC and could do with a new look - without going to the expense of buying new furniture - then it's time to get in touch with Pat Lawson-Black, otherwise known as The Design Doctor.
Pat's Background
Pat Lawson-Black is an interior decorator who has been revamping houses, reporting on and writing about interior design for more than 20 years. She uses a technique called Perfect Placement, which she discovered while travelling in the USA. Pat has been using this technique for about a year in Australia.
Perfect Placement
Perfect Placement provides a totally different look for an old or tired room by working with what is already available. The placement technique involves the precise alignment of furniture, art and accessories with the architectural features and dimensions of your home. The rooms should look more spacious, stylish and welcoming, and also feel more comfortable, after the technique has been applied.
This Makeover
The owners added an extension around 14 years ago and the rooms have not been redecorated since. They look tired, and the open-plan arrangement no longer works for the family. The teenagers want to listen to their loud music, and the owners wish to sit and chat without the noise of the radio or television overwhelming their conversation. The furniture is positioned without thought to shape and architecture, and individual pieces are therefore not displayed to their best advantage.
The configuration of the rooms offers little in the way of visual or aural privacy for either the parents or the teenage girls, and Pat believes the house will benefit from a re-think and a complete shake-up in the way the rooms are used. Better placement of furniture and a more creative display of accessories would open the house up, providing greater privacy and giving a more welcoming appearance overall.
The Process
1
All the furnishings, artwork and accessories from the rooms are removed.
2
The architecture of the room is then studied, identifying the distinguishing features and natural focal points, such as the fireplace and window in this case.
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The furniture is then brought back into the room and placed so that it relates to, and complements these features.
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When the larger pieces are in place, the smaller items are brought back in, followed by the artwork, and then the accessories.
The transformation is completed in around four hours.
Design Doctor Tips
1
Use multiples of the same item or ornament to provide cohesive and attractive focus points.
2
Relate your furniture to the paintings and the artwork by keeping them close together.
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Where no furniture is present, hang your artwork low to compensate. This also creates added effect.
4
"Open up" your furniture so that it can be easily walked around, while providing plenty of places to sit.
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Cost
The Design Doctor service costs about $400 (even if the changes affect several rooms). A running sheet is kept during the session and advice is given, if required, on possible further purchases, colours, etc.
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More Info
For further information contact:
Pat Lawson-Black, 2/35 Tintern Avenue, Toorak VIC 3142
Ph: (03) 9826 3983, fax: (03) 9826 3993
Email: plbstyle@melbourne.net
Web Site: http://www.melbourne.net/plbstyle
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Disclaimer
All Fact Sheets and other material on the Our House website are provided as a general information service only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified tradesman. Neither ninemsn nor its licensors (including the Nine Network) assume or accept any responsibility for, and will not be liable for the accuracy or appropriate application of any information whatsoever in any Fact Sheet or other material on the Our House web site. Your use of the Our House web site is governed by this disclaimer and the ninemsn's Terms of Use.
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