Redecorating a home doesn’t necessarily mean out with the old and in with the new.
A new look is possible using existing furnishings, experts say.
Riverview resident Janet Hartman hired local designer Jimmy Adams to redesign the interior of her home after inheriting antique furnishings from her late mother’s estate. The additional furnishings had overcrowded the home, she said.
“The first thing I do when going into a client’s home is to edit what’s there,” Adams said. “I edit rooms and take things away. I simplify.”
Adams also shuffles furnishings from room to room. In the Hartman home, he exchanged sofas in the sunroom and living room.
“It gave more space to each room and added more comfort,” he said. “You have to experiment with moving things around.”
Adams understands that people may have an emotional connection with furnishings, but sometimes they have to let it go, he said.
“I had a client with a bedroom set that belonged to her grandparents. It had no value, and their kids didn’t want it,” Adams said. “It was cheap to begin with and was falling apart. I told them that it had to go.”
The beauty of the Hartman home is that there’s lots of open space, he said.
“I didn’t want the furniture, lamps or accessories to block the views from one room to the next,” he said. “So instead of purchasing more stuff, we edited down and rearranged.
“We clustered candleholders together that had been placed around the room, and we cleared off tables and shelves. I put smaller lamps where bigger lamps were and made things simple on the mantel. It gave the rooms an entirely different look.”
In many homes today, it has become customary to place a TV screen above the mantel, he said.
“It’s a trend I’ve never liked,” Adams said. “While I used to be a total snob about seeing a TV in any room – I thought it needed to be hidden – I have changed my mind. The TV offers us information and has become an intricate part of our lives.
“But TVs should not be placed over a mantel or high on a wall. People are experiencing neck problems from looking up at the TV.”
While the Hartmans’ goal was to redecorate using furnishings they already had, the couple did invest in the reupholstering of a sofa, loveseat and chair.
“I loved the fabric on the sofa, but it didn’t work well in the living room,” Hartman said. It was a 1960s-era blue and gold stripe.”
“The fabric was awful,” Adams said. “There was nothing cute about it, and it did not work in her house.”
Adams and Hartman agreed on a beige denim fabric for the reupholstery job.
“It cost a lot less than buying a new sofa, and it goes well with the room’s new look,” Hartman said.
“Don’t be shy about rearranging,” Adams said. “Just keep it simple.”
Jimmy Adams’ do-it-yourself redecorating tips
1. Edit flat surfaces. Tables and shelves shouldn’t be cluttered. Less clutter offers clean spaces.
2. Group similar items together. For instance, use candlesticks on one table and framed photos on another.
3. Don’t block the view. The shades of tall lamps can impede sight lines from one room to the next. Shorter lamps make smaller spaces appear larger.
4. Re-cover dated sofas and chairs. Choose a neutral fabric, and add colorful pillows. The investment in upholstery is less than the cost of replacing furniture.
5. Remove inside shutters or blinds. They tend to close up a room and make it dark.
6. Choose interesting art or objects to hang on walls. “I’d rather see nothing on a wall than for someone to go buy something just to fill a space,” Adams said.
7. Splurge on a bathroom redo. “My mantra about a bathroom is why can’t it be like the best hotel you’ve ever been in? What was it about that bathroom that makes you feel good? You can always make modifications.”
8. Drape the windows. “You don’t have to have 50 yards of fabric, but you’ve got to soften the edges of the windows. I frame the window with the drapes without hiding the window. Also, the fabric absorbs sound. Without it, you will hear echoes.”
About the designer
Jimmy Adams, a graduate of East Ridge High School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, moved to Los Angeles to be an actor but ended up designing TV and film sets for 13 years before starting his own design business. His celebrity clients have included Renee Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon and Paul Haggis. He came back to Chattanooga to raise his two daughters.