|
Designer Karolyn R. Spagnolo discusses paint
colors with Jeff and Lynette Horrel as
photographer Steven Barnhisel tapes them for
an HGTV program. |
Show looks at ‘What You Get’
in the Pittsburgh area
By Bob Karlovits
Tribune-Review
Lynette Horrell says she was trying
to get rid of some “contemporary blandness” in the
look of a house she and her husband, Jeff, bought
two years ago.
Interior designer Karolyn R.
Spagnolo points out her own strategy was trying to
add a “wow factor.”
The work ended up getting the
Horrell home a spot among six area homes being
filmed for HGTV’s “What You Can Get For Your Money,”
which shows how much house you can get for your
money in different places.
Lynette chuckles and seems a little
reluctant about the honor as filming took place
throughout the day Friday at the Richland home.
“It was just so bland,” she says,
motioning toward the kitchen. “Karolyn will tell
you. Everything was the same color. There was just
no life.”
The film crew at the home consisted
only of producer-writer Paul Baldwin from High Noon
Entertainment in Denver and Denver freelance
cameraman Steven Barnhisel.
But it was enough to upset lives for
a time. Dexter, the 10-year-old yellow Lab, often
was banished to the patio to keep the set silent. It
was enough to draw a mournful look as he peered
through the glass.
Playtime for daughters Taylor, 4,
Kaitlyn, 6, and Brienna, 8, was interrupted, or
moved to another room.
But filming consisted basically of
chatting about the house in various rooms and
places. Sometimes, Barnhisel would see a
photographic possibility and have Spagnolo, for
instance, repeat a thought while she illustrated
design elements.
The work at the home didn’t involve
major redesign so much as “merchandising,” says the
head of Spagnolo Design in Shaler.
She goes through the kitchen and
points out window treatments and granite counter
tops as key elements in giving the room some heart.
Baldwin is in the final days of a
six-day stay in Pittsburgh shooting homes and
footage for the show.
He says homes were nominated in
various cities and then chosen by a screening group
at the home-and-garden cable network.
He estimates this section will be
broadcast in three to four months, but says it’s
hard to predict. Footage from homes in various
cities is put together at various price ranges and
fall together as they fit.
The idea, he says, is to show how
far a buck stretches in different places. But he
adds he likes to get pictures of the area and show a
sense of what life is like.
The Horrell home will be in a
$700,000 category while the 1913 Bellevue home of
Theresa Gallick will be in a $200,000 bracket.
Today, Baldwin and Barnhisel are at the 1910
residence of Tom and Lynda Brletic, of Shaler, which
is in a $1.1 million range.
The visit to Pittsburgh also will
include looks at smaller homes in the Strip District
and the South Side, as well as condos at the Angels
Arms on the South Side.
The pieces may not be used together,
Baldwin says. All of them become individual elements
to be matched with other of that kind.
Jeff Horrell, 45, a mortgage banker,
says when they decided to buy a bigger house, which
is only five homes away from their prior one, there
was one catch.
“I wanted everything done when we
moved in,” he says.
That was done. Soft of.
But, he admits, “work on a house is
never done.”
That shows in the basement, where
his bar/family room is a stay of the show. It was
finished only days ago and is a showplace for horns
and trophies of his addition: hunting.
And Lynette, 44, a part-time
accountant, points out an addition is planned to the
4,700 square-foot home that will provide a family
room and enclosed porch.
Jeff Horrell says they have probably
added almost $200,000 to the home in the two years
they have been there.
But they seem pleased with the
result.
“We don’t even have to leave here on
weekend,” Lynette says during the filming.
|
Karolyn Spagnolo, Spagnolo Design (left),
presented honors to Dr. Kesner and Mr.
DeSantis (at podium) |
ASID
Honors top supporters of design ...
(From
the Home Design Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 1, 2006 – page
9)
At a
recent luncheon at the Duquesne Club, the Pennsylvania
West Chapter of the American Society of Interior
Designers (ASID) honored two individuals for their
contributions to our area’s Interior Design Community;
Dr. Christine Wilson Kesner, professor at the University
of Pennsylvania and Mr. John DeSantis, Founder, Director
and President of the Duquesne Light, Pittsburgh Home and
Garden Show.
Dr.
Kesner has taught a variety of interior design courses
with a specialty in exhibit lighting. She has published
and lectured around the country about the subject. Her
influences have enriched the lives and careers of many
local designers.
Mr.
DeSantis has been a facilitator for the design industry
by promoting the public’s access to interior design
through home and garden shows. In doing so, he has
expanded the knowledge and education of interior design
to the public.
 Designer
Showcase
(From
the Home Design Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 2006 – page
25)
Spagnolo Design - “New Traditional Style” showcases the
most comfortable room in the house, the family room. The
LCD TV cleverly hidden behind a hinged mirror, placed in
the perfect spot to enjoy both the fireplace and your
favorite video. The deep-toned paint and specific
lighting adds to the restful mood created by overstuffed
comfortable chaises and serene artwork.
 Building Character
(From the Home Design Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 3, 2006 – page
22)
Be
honest with yourself and everyone else about your true
budge.
The
biggest mistake you can make is not getting real with
yourself about what you can comfortably spend. The
second biggest mistake you can make is not getting real
with the people you intend to hire. While common wisdom
is to keep your true budget close to your breast, your
designer can’t help make the best use of your funds if
he/she doesn’t know what your bottom line budget is.
Worse yet, you may miss out on tremendous design
opportunities that might have been suggested if the
designer knew you “might go just a little higher.”
Contractors and trades people need to know your true
budget also. Professional contractors are not out to
steal your money. If they are indeed professional, they
are fully aware of what they need to charge to complete
their work and make their expected profit. They want to
work for you and they want you to refer them to everyone
you know. They too have the experience to guide you in
making wise decisions, financial and otherwise, to help
you make the most of your project.
Building Character
 (From
the Home Design Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 3, 2006 – page
25)
Construction is exhilarating, life changing, risky,
and terrifying. Expect at least a little of each.
With
the right attitude and the right professionals to guide
you, you can concentrate on the first two and forget the
others. Homeowners are in the difficult position of
traveling down an unfamiliar path along side
professionals who have traveled similar paths many times
before. Experienced builders and remodelers call it the
“construction rollercoaster.”
They
know that for clients, excitement and anticipation are
highest when the dirt begins to fly, and that a
predictable series of highs and lows will follow
throughout the project until it’s completed. Anxiety is
a normal part of the construction process. True
professionals are aware of the emotional strain you may
encounter and are prepared to help you through the
experience. The thought of putting your most valuable
possession into the hands of strangers with the
expectation that they will create or recreate the home
of your dreams is daunting enough to deter many from
pursuing that dream at all.
Don’t
be deterred. Dream. Dream big. Dream of character. Then
hire the professionals who are prepared to help you
achieve it.
This
home was designed start to finish by interior designer
Karolyn Spagnolo, Spagnolo Design. Every
detail was examined during the planning stages, from the
consideration of homework areas for children to the
placement of family photos. “Reviewing and deliberating
over every circumstance of the utilization of every room
and space along with the overall appearance and
placement of architectural details allowed for major
cost saving advantages which helped to expand the
decorating budget.”
 Statements
of Style
(From
the Home Design Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 4, 2006 – page
32)
Glamour
… the strategic display and use of luxurious interior
elements to make one feel as though they are the most
important person in the world. Karolyn Spagnolo,
Spagnolo Design |
