1 of 4
The living room was furnished with new pieces from Ruth & Ollie to fit the smaller scale of the space. (Photo by Sarah Walor)
2 of 4
Maryann Kaminsky first hired decorator Gayatri Choudhary to help her choose fabric to re-cover an accent chair. It led to redecorating the guest bedroom with new drapery panels and accessories. (Photo by Sarah Walor)
3 of 4
Choudhary helped Kaminski pare down and freshen up her home office, where she meets with speech therapy clients. (Photo by Sarah Walor)
4 of 4
Choudhary worked with Kaminsky’s existing furniture in the dining room, adding Romo wallpaper for a modern touch. (Photo by Sarah Walor)
Seeing With Fresh Eyes
The danger of downsizing, says Gayatri Choudhary, principal of GC Modern Interiors, lies not in what is left behind but in what is done with what remains.
“Nobody wants to replace all their stuff [when they move],” Choudhary says, “but it’s easy to throw things together that don’t really work. A professional can help everything look purposeful.”
Choudhary began working with speech therapist Maryann Kaminsky five years after Kaminsky moved from her 5,500-square-foot house to a 2,200-square-foot townhouse in Short Pump. Kaminsky had already purged, but mentioned to Choudhary the difficulty she was having in choosing fabric to re-cover two old chairs.
“I brought home dozens of fabrics over weeks,” Kaminsky says. “[Choudhary] came with five fabrics. One was perfect.”
“Yes, you need things, but not all of them. It’s about thoughtfully having what means a lot to you.” —Gayatri Choudhary
The two then turned their attention to other areas, with Choudhary eventually recommending satin sheen drapes and an additional nightstand in the guest room (repurposed from the master), to make a more welcoming space. She also helped Kaminsky freshen her first-floor office with new carpet and wallpaper. And she convinced Kaminsky to eliminate even more books to create some empty space.
“Yes, you need things, but not all of them,” Choudhary says. “It’s about thoughtfully having what means a lot to you.”
Kaminsky says she was happy to have a professional help her make better use of what she already had. “She’s got a good eye, and she doesn’t impose her opinion,” Kaminsky says of Choudhary, who shares that an outsider’s view can be useful.
“We [designers] can see items in a new way,” Choudhary says. “It’s hard for people to have perspective in their own home, but people pay others for advice all the time. I don’t have any preconceived notions — that’s the difference.” —Paula Peters Chambers
1 of 4
Kathryn Snyder’s small office does double duty as a guest room with a sleeper sofa. It also has to look good on camera, as she frequently works with clients via video conference. (Photo by Gordon Gregory)
2 of 4
Decorator Lesley Glotzl reframed a collection of watercolors by Walter Wohlschlegel for a uniform look. (Photo by Gordon Gregory)
3 of 4
Though she is renting, Snyder added punchy wallpaper by Wallquest to her master bath. (Photo by Gordon Gregory)
4 of 4
The light-filled living room checks all the boxes of Snyder’s design directive to Glotzl: Create an apartment that is funky, edgy, colorful, cozy, comfortable, playful and silly. (Photo by Gordon Gregory)
Starting From Scratch
When Kathryn Snyder moved to her Scott’s Addition apartment, she wanted to start over. She decided that in addition to downsizing — she left a 2,000-square-foot condo in Rocketts Landing for a residence with less than half the space — she wanted a fresh, new look.
She moved in August with about 40 boxes and minimal furniture: just a mattress on the floor, a chair from Target and an ottoman. When she invited guests over, she instructed them to bring their own chairs.
She searched online for an interior decorator and liked what she saw on Lesley Glotzl’s website. Never having worked with a decorator before, Snyder wanted to meet Glotzl for coffee to make sure they meshed. Within minutes, they bonded over their mutual tendency toward salty language, and Snyder hired her on the spot. Snyder’s directive to Glotzl came in a follow-up text with a list of adjectives describing how she wanted the apartment to look: funky, edgy, colorful, cozy/comfortable, playful/silly.
“Living in a small space is like being on a boat. Everything has to be functional.” —Lesley Glotzl
Snyder says that bringing in a professional allowed her to concentrate on her own career as a leadership and life coach with Attune Coaching Group. “I would rather pay money for expertise so that I don’t have to spend 90 hours looking for a pillow,” she says.
Glotzl embraced the challenge of furnishing the small space and says her job was made easier by not having to retrofit any existing furniture. “Scale is super important in a small space,” she says. “I could shop for things that were just the right size.”
Since Snyder is renting, Glotzl avoided custom pieces. With the permission of the building’s landlord, she changed standard-issue light fixtures for more dramatic options and wallpapered the powder room in a large-scale print. The landlord liked the changes so much he asked to take photos of the apartment to use on his website.
“Living in a small space is like being on a boat,” Glotzl says. “Everything has to be functional.”
Snyder has been so inspired by living in a small space that she recently started working with Minima organizing to pare down further. “I want to only have stuff I love in my place, that I use, that I can get to and that looks pretty,” she says. —Jessica Ronky Haddad
1 of 4
Nan McVey, who had redecorated Bogese’s previous home, repurposed and re-covered her existing furniture in a new palette for a fresh look. (Photo by Barry Fitzgerald)
2 of 4
A custom dining set by Burton Ching features hand-embroidered seat cushions. (Photo by Barry Fitzgerald)
3 of 4
Even the elevator in Susan Stevens Bogese’s three-floor condo is elegant, papered in Phillip Jeffries metallic grasscloth. (Photo by Barry Fitzgerald)
4 of 4
An antique game table anchors a corner of the main living area. The chairs were re-covered in a Brunschwig & Fils check. (Photo by Barry Fitzgerald)
What’s Old Is New Again
Susan Stevens Bogese was ready for a fresh start — one filled with all her old favorites.
Transitioning from a nearly 12,000-square-foot residence to a 3,000-square-foot townhome in the near West End, Bogese turned to Nan McVey and Margaret Valentine, of McVey∙Valentine Interior Design, to help her think carefully about which items should move with her. Some decisions were easy: inherited pieces such as a table and secretary from her grandmother, and a mirror and engravings from her mother. Others required a little more thought, including a set of loved but worn chairs and two large mirrors.
McVey, who had helped Bogese decorate her previous home, and Valentine prioritized keeping the items that meant the most to Bogese as they sought to create a fresh and exciting look. A set of chairs was re-covered and divided, with two used in the living room and two in the master bedroom. Matching mirrors face one another across the dining room table to make the space look larger. New sofas and coffee tables offer a modern aesthetic and fit the home’s smaller dimensions.
“[Downsizing] can be an opportunity to rethink scale and use great new fabrics.” —Margaret Valentine
Valentine and McVey also helped Bogese embrace a bright new color scheme anchored by shades of gold. “This gave her the chance to be more vibrant,” McVey says. “It’s a whole different feel.”
The designers say it’s important to accept the emotional struggle involved in downsizing. “You can’t downsize without eliminating things,” McVey says. “It’s mathematically impossible.” Also, they say, those who are downsizing should embrace the adventure. “[Downsizing] can be an opportunity to rethink scale and use great new fabrics,” Valentine says, adding, “We tell our clients to trust us; it’s going to be OK.”
While the process was initially overwhelming, Bogese says, she is thrilled with her new home. “[McVey] really listened to me, and I listened to her,” she says. “They had a vision, so I trusted them.” —PPC
