Couples consult experts

The Berkshire Eagle presents the second in a series of five stories that are a home makeover show in print. "Changing Places" is following two Berkshire County couples as they meet, plan, work and surprise each other with the unveiling of their final designs.

North Adams Transcript

  For the past two weeks, our "Changing Places" couples have been busy planning, shopping, sewing and constructing for the master bedrooms they are making over for each other this weekend.

   But they are not without help. Under the experienced guidance of two area designers -- Lyn Petricca of Lanesboro and Jackie Flynn of Williamstown -- the couples are getting more than advice on how to make a room both beautiful and functional: They also are learning some lessons in budgeting and bargain shopping.

Gillian Jones/North Adams Transcript Staff
Interior designer Lyn Petricca, left, and Kathy Morawiec had a successful first shopping spree at The Interior Alternative in Adams. Kathy and her husband Tom are handling the redesign of Mark Badorini and Shannon Briggs's bedroom while Mark and Shannon work with designer Jackie Flynn redecorating the Morawiecs's home.

  Jackie, who is working with Mark Badorini and Shannon Briggs to make over Tom and Kathy Morawiecs' bedroom in Lee, started her company, Flynn Decorating and Design, nearly four years ago.

   Like Jackie, Lyn works out of her home. An art major in college, Lyn ran her own finishing school for 11 years while her children were young. She resurrected her art career by working for Lenox Design for another 11 years, then struck out on her own two years ago with Petricca Designs.

   As the designer assisting Kathy and Tom with the redesign of Mark and Shannon's Cheshire bedroom, Lyn decided to honor Shannon's desire for a shabby-chic theme to dress up the basic white room.

Jackie Flynn

The rug

   Lyn and Kathy's first purchase -- an area rug at The Interior Alternative in Adams -- turned out to be an important one.

  "Once I knew the concept and the direction we were going, there had to be a key piece in that room," Lyn said. "The rug was clearly it."

  Although the room already features rose-colored wall-to-wall carpeting, Shannon said she would one day like to replace it with a wood floor.

  "This is the perfect solution to that problem because we found a Portuguese needlepoint, which is beautiful. It has all of the colors that work within the home," Lyn said. " ... It works fine on top of the existing carpeting. Yet, it will stand on its own on a wood floor."

  The next problem was to find a reading light for Shannon and a headboard for the bed.

  "Kathy, who has a lot of talent, did some research on how to create headboards and different materials," said Lyn. One article Kathy read was on how to convert a panel door into a headboard. "She and Tom, who is an electrician, decided they could do this. It was electrified, so that they could put some sort of lighting underneath the molding of the door." The headboard's design will allow Shannon to read without disturbing Mark.

Space solutions

  Jackie started her room design by dealing with the issue of space.<p>
"We decided that because the room is so small we're going to have as few things in there as possible. But, what is in there has to be completely functional," said Jackie.

  After spending several hours measuring and brainstorming, she and Mark drew up some plans for his and her built-in units for the Morawiecs' clothes.

  "The bed takes up so much space, it's going to be very simple," Jackie explained. "We don't want to draw a lot of attention to the bed." In addition to choosing the right color for the comforter, they will make some structural changes to the frame holding the Morawiecs' waterbed. Because the headboard and footboard take up visual space, they will be removed.

  Both dressers will be moved out, and a ceiling fan will be replaced.

  "They want to keep a fan in there, but the fan that they have is black," said Jackie. "So when you walk in, you just see this big, black fan. Whereas, if it's a white one, then it tends to blend in with the ceiling more."

  Molding will be added to all of the baseboards and up around the doors "just to jazz that up a little because it's very plain," Jackie said. After a visit last Saturday to the Lee bedroom, Jackie, Mark and Shannon took the closet's bi-fold doors. "We're going to try to upholster the fronts of them," said Jackie.

  "We took measurements and we took all our fabrics and samples and paint chips with us," Shannon said. "We closed the door and we were in their room for about an hour and a half."

Money matters

  For Shannon, the biggest challenge has been to stay in budget -- mostly because the wood for the built-in closets cost more than expected.

  A few days ago, all but about $300 of the $1,500 allotted was spent, and she still needed to buy paint and some fabric for the closet treatment. But their budget got a break after Amy Bryan, owner of The Cottage in Williamstown, donated a tiered, beaded lighting fixture to hang over the head of the bed. And, a friend of Jackie's, Star Schmaler of Hancock, volunteered to sew the window treatments.

  In total, Kathy paid $150 for a desk and two chairs at Almost New Furniture in Pittsfield, where Lyn often shops. Originally $200 for the three pieces, Lyn got $50 knocked off the price after she offered to pay cash.

  "The rug was really a good bargain," said Lyn. "We just happened to be there when they were marking the rugs down even more. We ended up getting a rug that had been marked 20 percent off for 50 percent off." Kathy has been busy sewing a variety of projects for the room, and she is re-upholstering one of the chairs.

"She's really busy just putting all these fabrics together," said Lyn. "She e-mailed me a picture of everything together, with the rug, and I think she's found some beautiful old plates that are going to be put on the wall to tie the whole scheme together and really complete that shabby-chic look."

  "I'm going to be tired before I get there," Mark said Wednesday night, over the sound of sawing in the background. The amount of planning and preparation for the project, he said, was more than he had anticipated.

  "It's amazing. People don't realize the planning is tremendous," said Mark. "You watch the TV show and you think it's just two days. There's a lot of pre-work."

  That night, Shannon's father, David Wellspeak of Dalton, was helping Mark with two built-in units he is making for the Morawiecs.

  "Mark's a hard worker," said Shannon. "He's been staying up until 11:30 or so every night and working on them after work. There's a lot of time involved. I still have things to sew."

  Meanwhile, Tom was busy doing some sawing of his own as he worked to create Shannon and Mark's headboard. It is his biggest project for the makeover. The night before found him in Home Depot in Pittsfield as he searched for just the right molding and shelving materials to embellish the project with.

  The three lights Tom is installing in the headboard will "give it a real nice glow," he said.

  But the project almost did not happen as the Morawiecs initially had trouble finding the right double-paneled door. When they located just the right one at High Lawn Farm in Lee, the owners gave it to them for free.

  Kathy expects much of their time this weekend will be spent painting.

  "We're painting all the molding and stuff like that," she said, because the wood is dark "it'll have to be primed, and I think we'll have to go back and give them two coats of paint."

  "I knew there was going to be a lot to it. The biggest thing is getting a good timeline," said Tom.

  Mark agreed, saying he has a priority list of what to do once he gets to Lee. He hopes all the work he and Shannon have put in before the weekend makeover will pay off, "So when we do go there, it'll go pretty smooth," he said.