Sisters Colleen Laughlin and Kathleen Boyd are putting their design skills to work, offering original ideas to those looking to update their homes. Calling their company Shoestring Design to highlight how much can be achieved on a “shoestring” budget, these women are using their creative ideas to help local homeowners spruce up their décor.
“We both enjoy coming up with original designs, maybe something the client hadn’t even previously considered,” says Colleen. “I enjoy finding ways of using what the client already has. This may entail painting current furniture, bringing in pieces from other areas of the house or even unconventional uses for conventional items.”
Kathleen echoes this approach, saying, “We love to work with what people already have and turn it into to something ‘new.’ That could be walls, fabric, furniture…..you name it.”
Colleen also likes visiting thrift stores and garage sales in search of furniture that can be restored. The sisters agree some businesses appear to give a “Geist price.” “We both noticed how expensive interior decorating appeared to be and realized we could do – and had been doing – the same for less money,” says Colleen.
Their favorite projects to date are children’s rooms. Kathleen enjoyed redoing her friend’s daughter’s room. “First we painted the room a pale yellow and then painted 16″ stripes 6″ apart, three quarters of the way up the wall,” she says. “Then we put a chair rail at the top of the stripes. Above the chair rail, we attached silver butterflies to the wall to make it look like they are chasing each other around the room.”
Colleen updated her 12 year old daughter’s room, spending only $28 on furniture. “The walls are periwinkle blue with crisp white trim,” she says. “All of the furniture I painted white and put a chocolate glaze on to give it an antiqued look. I found beautiful fabric online for window treatments and for upholstering a chair and the headboard of the bed. I had enough left over to make coordinating pillows, too.”
Now they are looking to take their idea out of their own homes and those of their friends, and into the homes of those looking for a home transformation. They will meet with potential clients for consultation, offering their ideas as well as a price, up front. “We feel people want their homes to look nice and inviting without having to spend a lot of money, and we have proven we can do that,” says Colleen.
To contact Colleen Laughlin and Kathleen Boyd of Shoestring Design, call (317) 691-7494.
