news-record.com

Title and company: President of June DeLugas Interiors in Clemmons

Years in business: 28

Design style: Casual French Elegance and Classic Traditional

Fee range: $l00 an hour

• Describe a major project you’ve worked on.

“A well-known builder from the area called and asked if I could meet with him for advice on a 7,000-square-foot house (in Farmington) on 25 acres of land backing up to a reservoir. Once I saw the property I was hooked. This started a year of working on another of my classic favorites: French and a mix of Italian.”

About the layout:

“The bulk of the living space was on the first floor. There was a media and recreation room on the second floor with balconies overlooking the swimming pool and lake. The architectural landscaping involved trees planted from the main road to the house along the lengthy driveway.”

Design highlights:

“I ordered Italian tile for 2,200 square feet of living space, which included the kitchen, family and living room. The earth tones of blues, greens and terra-cotta were our inspiration for the colors of this house. We painted a mural on the completed dining room walls. We also painted the dining room furniture, table and china cabinet a cream with wooden tops. The chairs were covered in a chenille damask fabric to complement the mural that replicated an ancient Italian painting. We faux-painted the remaining walls a heavy texture in the kitchen, halls and living room. The rough-hewn beams of the l6-foot ceiling were hand brushed with a light brown glaze over a cream. As my husband still reminds me today, because of the schedule we were on, he also hand-textured the entire ceiling in the living room above the beams with a 4-inch brush.

“The home truly reflected my favorite decor, Casual French Elegance and a flair of Italian.”

• What’s your advice for people building new homes?

“Building a new home is like running a business. You start with a good plan, do your homework and make notes. I suggest my clients make a spreadsheet for each room, documenting likes and dislikes. Also, go on as many home tours and visit as many parade of homes events as possible to see colors and take photos.

“Find out what you like as far as color and style. Most of the time, you know the feeling when you walk into a home. Magazine articles are also good places to research colors and furniture styles. All of these ideas will help you identify what your style is. A great designer can look at your collection of ideas and put the whole concept into perspective for you.”

• What are your “must-have” guidelines?

“True color continuity and flow are critical when building a new home. If this is the only place you have funds for a designer, I would suggest hiring someone to help. I can’t count the number of times I have looked at blueprints and identified flow, lighting, doorway and wasted space errors. You will eliminate very costly mistakes. Choosing the right paint colors is a talent in itself.”

For more information about June DeLugas, call 778-1030, e-mail info@junedelugasinteriors.com or visit www.junedelugasinteriors.com.

Designer Profile is a monthly question-and-answer feature highlighting area interior design professionals. To participate, contact Heather L. Modlin at 373-7144 or heather.modlin@news-record.com.