Classic Design

10/15/2026

What a quick decorating fix before the holidays? Here is one example of that.

10/14/2026

Do you know the difference between a room that is bland and one that is beautiful? Just watch this short video.

09/26/2026

Are you redecorating a room in your home?
Here are some tips.

09/24/2026

A room is like a puzzle where all the pieces need to fit together. Watch this video.

09/19/2026

Amazing ideas to reuse older structures.

This courtyard was built for deliveries.

Now it could organize an entire family home.

Small creameries and dairies needed practical spaces where milk and other goods could move quickly between vehicles, processing rooms and storage areas. That often meant large working openings, raised loading platforms and several rooms grouped around a service yard.

Those industrial features are exactly what make this conversion interesting.

The former loading bays become large recessed glass openings, bringing daylight into the new kitchen and living spaces without erasing the original brick frames.

The raised delivery platform stays too.

Instead of moving crates and equipment, it becomes a covered gallery connecting the different wings of the house — almost like an outdoor hallway protected by the existing structure.

Former workrooms around the courtyard can then become bedrooms and quieter family spaces, each with permanent residential windows and proper access.

And the courtyard itself changes the most without actually moving.

What was once the hardest, most utilitarian part of the property becomes the place everything faces:

breakfast outside,
children moving between rooms,
evening meals,
a garden,
a place for the whole family to meet.

That’s the part I like about this kind of reuse.

You don’t have to erase the industrial layout.

Sometimes the layout becomes the reason the house feels different from anything newly built.

Would you want your home organized around a courtyard like this — or would you prefer a more conventional layout?

08/31/2026

A goodbye to summer.

08/23/2026

08/23/2026

This is my pretty sister Rosemary and little Tina.

04/07/2026

Costly mistakes. I've seen many. This video is to help you avoid some of these.

12/28/2025

The focus this year for interior design is a nod to the past. We've had 10 years of neutrals on walls, floors and cabinets. We lived with many "shades of Gray" and contemporary style in homes. Finally, this year we've all had enough! Antiques are making a comeback and appreciated again.
I've always felt pieces from the past, not only have a story, but were hand crafted of quality woods such as cherry, mahogany, and tight grained wood such as ash. They were not veneered, not plastic to mimic wood. Adding a piece or two purchased recently or handed down from your family, makes a nice, unique item, bringing character to your home's interior.
No more cookie cutter rooms, all the same from house to house. Instead, an antique is a conversation piece, sitting proudly next to some contemporary furnishings you already own.