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Making a House a Home

When planning and conceptualizing their homes' interior design possibilities, the majority of homeowners need direction with color, texture, accessories, art and window treatments.

"You have to look at your home as a piece of canvas, said Tara Gruber, owner of Interiors by TGI in Itasca since 2005. "But, a blank canvas has no interest and appears cold; it's when you start to paint the canvas with colors and texture that it starts to come to life — and the end result is beautiful."

Homeowners must look at their interior spaces with this concept in mind.

"Your home is your retreat," said Gruber, "and you should be proud of it, feel comfortable in it, truly enjoy it and make the most of what you have. What I tell my clients is, you can have the most beautiful furniture in the world.....but it's not enough. It's all the other details that pull it all together and complete the space." TGI Interiors specializes in residential and estate design, model home merchandising, staging and holiday decorating.

The details, she noted, lie in making sure you first have the correct scale and layout of furniture for the space; scale plays a crucial part in designing your home, room or space. Colors and textures must also be carefully incorporated.

"Having the right amount of texture in the room and playing with color adds interest and pop to a room," said Gruber. "Follow through with art, accessories, lighting, and window treatments." These important details help to pull the room together as a whole and ultimately "bring the room to life."

TGI-Tara Gruber Interiors will open a retail store and showroom this September, at 109 W. Orchard St. Homeowners will find all kinds of accessories and other design accouterments: silk trees, area rugs, seasonal home decor, lighting, artwork, custom window treatments, furniture, custom bedding, wall decor, and most of all: design ideas.

A competent, professional designer works with any style or theme. "Design is my passion," Gruber said emphatically. "Listening to a client's ideas and wants, find what visuals are stimulating to them, and translating their vision to a tangible design, is incredibly exciting and rewarding. . . . and it is vitally important that the client participate so he or she can express their needs — and their dreams — throughout the entire design project."

Gruber said that the essential key to success is to give clients' homes continuity, function, and beauty so that they love where they live. "The designer helps make their dreams a reality, and their home come to life."