Lynn and Rita Chreist

Lynn and Rita Chreist

Our third featured student is actually two students, a mother and her daughter-in-law, Lynn and Rita Chreist. Here is Lynn's eloquent description of how they got into the redesigning biz:

A mother and her daughter-in-law are bound to have different ideas about interior design. Rita and I are no exception. While I love color, balance and dents-in-the-carpet-where-the-furniture-should-be, Rita is prone to regular rearranging. Her spirit and style inspired me, but not enough to haul my own stuff around the living room. Until, that is, we decided to start our own home staging and redesign business.

Pregnant with her first child, Rita was looking for a job that would mesh with her career as a Realtor, and be less demanding of her weekend hours. I had just wound up a large three-year project as a volunteer docent at the local museum, and wanted a way to continue seeing others express their love of art. If there's anything I learned as a docent, it's that art doesn't have to be something framed and hanging on a wall.

Through the Internet, we found our way to Redesigning Interiors’ “5 day Foundations for Redesign” course. Along with our two instructors, Jane and Kris, and four other students, Rita and I discovered our inner movers! We became proficient at clearing rooms, finding focal points, and adding back owners’ pieces in new and exciting ways. The hardest part of each project, for me, was closing the door on the redesigned home. I wanted to be like the homeowner who, enchanted by the way the new arrangement showcased his art, lingered in his family room for hours, the computer and television silenced for the first time in years.

Rita and I are now in the process of finding a name for our business and completing the steps involved in getting started. Rita suggested “The Redesigning Ladies” as our company name, “since that's what people are going to call us, anyway.” We're still working on it, but it's not a bad beginning for a mother-in-law who wouldn't disturb the dents in the rug.

Carie Baumann

Carie Baumann

Our greatest pleasure is to hear that our students are thriving. Here's a recent email from Carie that says, better than we could, what redesign training has meant to her: "I wish I could harness the excitement and enthusiasm I felt that week and take a "hit" whenever I feel down or uninspired. Thanks for helping to re-affirm things for me. You are an awesome inspiration and example to your profession — both personally and as women in business. I think of you when I'm trying to balance this and my family. You are proof that a woman can work, be successful and still be a great wife and mother. Keep up your great work, and thanks for keeping in touch with me."

Such enthusiasm inspires us and keeps us mindful of that balance as well.

Check out Carie's website at www.freshredesign.com. Also, here's a newspaper ad for Carie's other new and related business in the Phoenix area, The ReStyle Group.

Sheila Evans

Sheila Evans (r) and Jane Douglas of Redesigning Interiors.

Sheila Evans was tired of spending most of her work life helping someone else's dream come true. Sheila had big dreams of her own.

After completing our 5-day training, she reflected, "When I rearranged rooms for family and friends, I thought their positive responses were just to be nice. When I saw the unbelievable reactions and gratitude of the homeowners whose rooms we redesigned during our hands-on training, I realized the value and impact I was making for others."

Sheila recently relocated to the Chicago suburbs from the Seattle area, opening a kitchen for a start up company. Her background was in event planning and gourmet cooking. She first became attracted to interior redesign as part of a floral arranging class she took to enhance her food presentation. As others wanted help from her in their own homes, she began to realize that not everyone had her gift. Through internet searching and HGTV, she discovered this still young industry where she could see herself blooming.

After completing her week of training in the Foundations for Redesign program, Sheila reflected, "The biggest thing I've learned is that not everyone can do what I can with a room. That has a value in today's market place. It's great to be devoting my time to making my own dreams come true."