When Denise and Harvey Schonwald hired David Reiersen to help with their new home, the newlyweds got more than an interior designer. For nine months, he was their architectural consultant, therapist, handyman, personal shopper, marriage counselor (choosing furniture can put stress on a relationship), florist, mediator with trades people and general fixer.
He spray-painted lamps bought at thrift shops and worked out flaws in the floor plans. He found them an architect, Stan Ryder Jr., and a builder, Mark Koski, to create the home of their dreams -- people he had worked with successfully on other projects.
Reiersen, 48, is one of a new breed of designers who get involved in the total process of building a home long before the first shovelful of dirt is turned. Don't even bother with the word "interior." Designers are helping select everything from roofing materials to outdoor plants.
"Today's home buyers are more sophisticated, and they're demanding it," says Michelle Snyder of the American Society of Interior Designers, based in Washington, D.C. "When a designer is part of the creative team from the beginning, it can help with the space planning and avoid costly mistakes."
Reiersen learned about construction growing up in Baltimore. His father was an electrical wireman with General Electric and built his own home. His brother is an engineer and has built a couple of his homes as a hobby.
"I know what goes into construction," says the designer. "I can make physical decisions as well as esthetic ones."
Some interior designers work for an hourly fee. Others make their money on furnishings they buy wholesale or labor, marking them up 100 percent or more. Or they do a combination of both. Reiersen, who works alone and out of his Perry Hall home, has an unusual arrangement with his clients: He charges a monthly retainer of $3,000, a hefty sum to most of us; but nothing he buys -- from plumbing fixtures to armoires -- is marked up. The Schonwalds estimate he saved them $100,000.
Smoothing conflicts
Perhaps even more important, the couple say, is the fact that there was very little aggravation involved in the process. Their stone-and-brick Worthington Valley home with five bedrooms, five baths and two half baths was completed two months ahead of schedule.
"The only conflict came between my husband and me," says Denise, 38, who favors traditional while her husband likes contemporary.
When Denise wanted to keep an old-fashioned chair inherited from her grandfather, her husband protested. "That ugly blue thing isn't coming into the house."
Reiersen stepped in. "The chair means a lot to her, Harvey. We'll upholster it." Harvey, 53, was the one who picked the fabric (a multicolored but subdued abstract pattern) from several samples Reiersen suggested. The result is a stunner.
"We got married and a month later started building. And we're still married," Denise says with a smile. The couple knew what they wanted in a new home. They just didn't know how to make it happen. They knew what they liked when they saw it. They just didn't want to spend the time tracking it down.
They talked to interior designers, who brought portfolios and charged $50 an hour to be interviewed. But no one clicked.
Finally, someone recommended David Reiersen, a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art.
"They told us, 'He's a little on the flamboyant side and he likes bright colors,'" says Harvey. "But that didn't bother us as long as he did what we wanted. He didn't bring a portfolio, he just came and talked to us. We just hit it off."
The Schonwalds didn't realize how much they would need to hit it off. For almost a year, Reiersen would be with them more than some of their closest friends were.
"It's important to watch everything about a family," he says.
Starting out
He started by spending time with the couple in the Sykesville home they were renting and with each of Denise's three children by a former marriage. He found out what they liked, what their hobbies were, how they used their living spaces, and what they wanted in their new rooms.
"David said, 'Why don't you consider letting the kids do their rooms themselves?' But I almost reneged when Lauren [their 9-year-old] insisted on bright green and yellow," Denise says. Kevin, 6, loves bugs and wanted a room decorated with insect motifs and animals. Traci, 11, asked for clowns.
Reiersen suggested they use paint and inexpensive furnishings from Ikea and thrift shops, things they wouldn't mind getting rid of in a few years when the children's tastes changed. But for the more permanent elements of the house's interior -- tiles, countertops and cabinets, wall-to-wall carpets -- he urged them to choose neutral colors and classic styles, giving the house a broader appeal if they decide to sell later. At the same time, there are no "safe" off-white walls. Denise doesn't like them. The overall color scheme includes soft grays, taupes and bronzes.
The designer took favorite quilts and artwork like the Red Lady print in the dining room home with him "to live with for a while," using their colors and patterns to design the rooms the objects would end up in.
While the couple was still just thinking about building a new home, they had come up with a floor plan on their computer. Harvey Schonwald, a Towson physician, couldn't seem to make the area between the kitchen and the dining room -- a pantry and powder room -- flow properly. "David said, 'Let me play with it.' He rotated this 180 degrees and changed that, and it's great," Harvey says.
Reiersen took Denise Schon-wald on "field trips," like one to the Expo Design Center in Fair-fax, Va., long before they were ready to buy anything.
"I wanted to see what she was drawn to, but I didn't want to go to stores in Baltimore and 'shop' them without buying anything," he says.
Getting more involved
When the deck builder came in with what seemed like an outrageously high bid, Denise went straight to her designer. He found someone to do the same job for less than half the amount.
Some architects and builders might resent this kind of hands-on involvement by an interior designer.
But these days, clients demand such personalized spaces that it can be very helpful to have a design team.
"We're seeing much more [involvement of interior designers] in the last one or two years," says builder Mark Koski. "Especially with our higher-end clients. Three or four of our recent clients were interviewing designers while they were interviewing builders."
On their first floor, the Schonwalds wanted an open floor plan and no central staircase. Reiersen suggested a stone fireplace and chimney to separate the family room area from the entrance and to serve as a support wall.
The living room area is half the size of the family room and a third of the size of the kitchen. But Harvey likes to entertain, so the living room had to be elegant and inviting.
"At the same time, I wanted the children to be able to use the living room. That was the curve David had to balance," says Denise.
Reiersen suggested separating the postage-stamp-size space from the granite-tiled entrance with a beautiful hardwood floor, deep purple walls and sophisticated window treatments. Instead of a sofa or loveseat, he arranged four contemporary swivel chairs in purple Ultrasuede, which looks great, is durable and can be cleaned easily.
"The children and I come here to read," says Denise. "We swivel and they talk."
Artistic touches
One benefit of having a designer on a monthly retainer in- stead of being paid hourly, the Schonwalds say, was that they weren't constantly looking at their watches.
Reiersen also had no stake in their buying new or expensive furnishings, as he would if he depended on a markup for his compensation. Because he likes hands-on work, he faux-finished the walls of their powder room himself, stenciled one of the kids' bathrooms, painted clouds on a ceiling, and built the headboard for the master bedroom bed. (He repainted it five times until everyone agreed on the finish.)
He designed the walk-in closets himself for a significant savings and bought the family's towels at Linens 'n Things. He made the accent pillows on the Schonwalds' bed from an old mink coat. (Reiersen got his fascination with fabrics from his mother. She also taught him to sew.)
Denise Schonwald asked for a "mud room" off the kitchen -- a place where the kids could dump their things when they came in.
"David," she said, "put something in that will attract them."
He added hooks and painted bright stars and their names on the wall beside them. The children love the room -- and use it.
While it's nice to have someone who can take care of the details, with a new home the most important thing is that there be few surprises, says the Schonwalds' architect, Stan Ryder Jr.
"One of the problems working with clients can be interpreting drawings," he says. "That's where David helped a lot. It's a combination of everyone working together that makes things go more smoothly. The best thing you can say about a project like this is that everyone's still friends when it ends."
Finding a designer
If you're interested in finding a designer who will work with you in planning and building a new home, start with the American Society of Interior Designers Web page www.interiors.org. The ASID referral service will match you with a designer in your area who will fit your needs. None of your information will go to any of the designers; it will be up to you to get in contact with them.
If you can afford it, interview several designers to see whose personality works best with yours.
Ask about his or her education and training. Take a look at other homes the designer has worked on if possible. If not, ask to see his or her portfolio.
Find out what services the designer can give you besides selecting fabrics and furnishings.
Make sure he or she is available to finish the project in your time frame.
Ask if the designer has worked with other builders and architects as a design team. If so, you may want to interview them as well.
Talk about fees up front.
David Reiersen can be reached at David Reiersen Interiors, 410-256-5834.