Imagine this: You order a design redo of your living room, spend the day at the beach and return after dinner to a whole new look.

That’s pretty much what Lanikai resident Kathy Fay experienced when she hired Jean Wall and Joan Robinson-Whitaker of Designer for a Day to redecorate her townhome living room. Fay departed at 8 a.m. to hang out with a friend and returned in the evening.

"I came back and the place was pretty much transformed," said Fay. "It was a big wow when I walked in the door."

The idea for Designer for a Day came from the brainstorming of two experienced designers — Wall and Robinson-Whitaker — in response to a slowing economy.

The team’s aim is to show people that interior decorating can be done on a modest budget. A year after the business’s launch, the majority of the team’s jobs are with first-time interior design clients.

Designer for a Day offers half-day services for $750 and a full day for $1,200, using most of the existing furniture already in the home. Two-hour consultations cost $400.

For full-day service the transformation takes place within 24 hours, sort of like what you might see on a design makeover show on HGTV.

The one-day turnaround appeals to a broader clientele, according to Robinson-Whitaker, while also creating a challenge the designers say they enjoy. It can mean they hit 12 stores in one day searching for new accessories and furniture (for an additional fee).

The duo’s philosophy is to use most of the client’s existing items, "shopping" for accessories and accents in other parts of the home.

Robinson-Whitaker and partner Wall both have more than 50 years of interior design experience, ranging from large resort hotels to retail spaces and condos. Besides the redesign, a consultation includes advice on window treatments or paint colors. If needed, they have a network of referrals to tackle those jobs.

The reward, says the team, is to see the reaction on the client’s face when they see the "after" in a redesign.

For Fay, the living room was creatively transformed from a "blah" layout to a comfortable, inviting space that matched her desire for "island contemporary" decor.

After consulting with Fay, the design team went to work. They kept the existing sofa, bookcase, coffee and end tables, but also purchased two new sofa chairs, a larger rug, an art piece for the wall and some lamps.

Her contemporary, cream-colored ScanDesign sofa, which previously blocked part of a tall bookcase, was moved across the room and placed at an angle against the wall. The television traveled to a more remote corner because Fay does not watch it much.

The living room, said Fay, was mostly a collection of odds and ends, including furnishings and pieces she had inherited. She said she had tried different configurations for the furniture without finding the right fit.

Placing the sofa at a slight angle along the right wall was an idea Fay never considered.

"I thought, ‘This is perfect,’" said Fay. "Why didn’t I ever think of this?"

The new accessories in blues and greens also brighten up the room, she said, creating a calm oasis.

Fay says she worked with others designers who wanted to wipe the slate clean and redo her entire living space. She liked Designer for a Day’s approach.

"What appealed to me was that Jean and Joan use what you have, which worked for me from a functional point," she said. "I also had things that I really liked."

Fay had some sentimental items she wanted to keep, such as a portrait of her grandparents, as well as a lovely wood box her father had made for her mother. These, indeed, remained in the space.

She said she would not have been able to accomplish the same results on her own.

"Basically, I don’t enjoy figuring out interior decorating," said Fay, vice president of operations at Hawaii Dental Service. "I was procrastinating. I’m a very analytical person, and not creative as far as design goes."

LIVING ROOM MAKEOVER

Here’s what Jean Wall and Joan Robinson-Whitaker of Designer for a Day did to transform Kathy Fay’s Lanikai living room in one day:

(1) The sofa moved across the room to the right side of the space and was placed at a slight angle to better showcase it. The television stand in the corner was moved to where the sofa used to be. From the home’s entrance, the TV is out of view.

(2) A larger rug replaced one that was too small in proportion to the space.

(3) Likewise, a larger painting fills out more of the blank space on the wall behind the sofa.

(4) A bulky, green, sofa chair was replaced with two new floral-print chairs facing the sofa, creating a conversation area.

(5) To improve lighting, the designers brought in two lamps with green bases to replace one old lamp.

(6) For color, the pair added pillows in hues of blues and greens in varying patterns. They kept an existing live fern but added some silk plants.

(7) For accessories the pair collected items from other rooms, including a lovely wood box, framed photos and a collection of seashells that were placed in a basket as a coffee tabletop accessory.

DO-IT-YOURSELF REDESIGN

(1) A great first step is to determine "the good, the bad and the ugly." Remove what does not enhance the space; re-purpose items, if possible; and take away the ugly, the clutter and unfit pieces.

(2) A good furniture layout is important. Seating pieces should be close enough to each other to allow people to converse easily without having to yell across the room. Create one main conversation area, with possibly a secondary area still within easy speaking distance.

(3) To tie a conversation area together, rugs should be large enough to be placed slightly under or in front of the legs of a sofa and the other side of the coffee table. Measure before you shop.

(4) Color can make the room pop. A great color scheme can be created by coordinating throw pillows, rug and artwork.

(5) General or overhead lighting can be enhanced dramatically and warmth added to the space by purchasing a couple of table lamps and a floor lamp.

(6) Artwork needs to be in proportion to the wall area. Too small and it gets lost; too large and it simply doesn’t work. Consider moving your artwork around the house.

(7) Plants are great "softeners" and provide life to a space. If you do not have a green thumb, consider lifelike artificial plants.

(8) Collections can be shown off to the best advantage if together in one area. However, too many can overwhelm a room or showcase. Consider changing them seasonally.

(9) Create some drama in your room by utilizing something oversize, say a 9-foot-tall tree, a large painting or brightly painted accent wall.

(10) "Shop" in other areas of your home. Art may be hanging in the hallway that could better work in the living room or vice versa. You may have treasures hiding in your closet.

Source: Designer for a Day