Felton resident Michelle Takemoto takes a room or home and completely updates the feel — without buying anything new.
Takemoto’s forte is interior redesign, taking what people own and rearranging the space to create a new ambience.
“I make the homes flow better,” she said. “It’s much cheaper than interior design, because you’re not buying anything new.”
Takemoto, 49, was certified in interior redesign four years ago, but she said she’s been redesigning her friends and family’s homes for much longer.
She turned her talents into Great Room, a self-run business, about seven months ago.
The event planner-turned-designer specializes in de-cluttering, color consulting and redesign. Takemoto also scours the Internet for deals on items like curtains and lamps if a client needs them.
More than anything else, Takemoto said, her redesign efforts focus on the feeling of the home rather than the items in it.
The first step in redesigning a home is a client consultation.
“We talk about what they like and don’t like. We see what works. I really try and see what their vision and feeling is,” she said.
Then she does what she deems “shopping the home.”
“I walk around and see what works where,” she said. “A hutch that’s in the dining room, for example, might work better in the living room.”
She does the actual redesign work when her clients aren’t home, because it can be hard for some to adapt to new changes.
“Many people are attached to the way something looks, so it’s easier if they aren’t there,” she said. “But I’d say that at least 90 percent come back after I’m done and they are so happy.”
The job can take a day to three weeks, depending on what a client wants, Takemoto said.
“One room takes about a day,” she said.
Takemoto’s own home is comfortable and serene — a testament to her ability to create a mood. Far from fancy or untouchable, it looks like a place where it would be easy to lie on the floor or couch and read a magazine or watch television.
“My clients are normal people with normal homes,” she said. “What I do can apply to anyone — bachelors, people that are downsizing, people that just want a different feel to their homes.”
Recently, she did a successful redesign on an 11-year-old girl’s room that was cluttered with old toys.
“She wanted to make her room more grown up and wanted a space to be able to hang with her girlfriends,” Takemoto said.
The before and after photographs showed the same room with a lot of the same things, but with a more mature atmosphere — a space where a bunch of girls could comfortably congregate.
“A lot of times, people have a hard time letting items go when de-cluttering, but once you get rolling, the process gets easier,” Takemoto said.
Allison Titley of Felton had her family’s home redesigned last month.
“Michelle has got a real gift with making a space comfortable and inviting. She totally redid our house, and it’s been so great,” Titley said. “We’ve had a few dinner parties since she came, and people were amazed with the results.”
She said she would happily recommend Takemoto’s services to others.
“She makes a home somewhere you really want to be,” Titley said.
Takemoto has taken many classes on interior design, including some lessons in feng shui, a traditional Chinese approach to arranging spaces.
She said she reads magazines and books to get ideas.
“I’m very visual,” she said. “Interior redesign is also great because it’s pretty green — we use possessions that people already own,” she said.
It amounts, Takemoto explained, to design on a budget.
“You’re able to get a whole new look for less cost,” she said.
The designer, who is married with three children, said she loves seeing the end results, because she puts her heart into what she does.
“I get really involved and passionate,” Takemoto admitted. “I think of it as my own, but it has to match their personality. It’s about what they would like.”
• Contact Great Room by calling 831-334-3714 or www.greatroom-ca.com
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Redesign at a glance
Ready for a new look? Felton-based interior redesigner Michelle Takemoto suggests starting with the following home decorating and design tips:
• Lighting: Set up lighting in a triangle so it lights up the room evenly.
• Bedroom: The bedroom is supposed to be a romantic room, so family portraits should be nixed and placed in a different space. Try to keep computers and televisions out of the bedroom to make it more serene.
• Candles: Wicks should never be brand-new. It looks cozier when they have been burned before.
• Balance: Keep the weight and colors in a room even. Don’t put a bunch of furniture in one corner and not a lot in another. Same goes for colors.
• Pictures: People often hang pictures too high. You should be able to sit down on a couch or chair and still have a good view of art or photos on the wall.
• Paint: Don’t be afraid of color. Cold rooms can be warmed up with light colors, such as olive green.
• Apply feng shui principles: Never have your back to a door when you can help it. Sitting at a desk or in bed when your back is to the door creates an unsafe feeling.
