COURTESY OF OSTRANDER CHU
This is the result of Patty Kincaid's design. Her client
wanted a tropical look for the home.

Designer’s touch

An isle retailer adds personalized
flair in designing plans to transform
plain spaces into classy places

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By Ruby Mata-Viti
rmataviti@starbulletin.com

COAX a couple of muscular guys into your living room, open your door to Patty Kincaid, and let her have free reign.

Now get your mind out of the gutter.

After 2 1/2 hours, you may not even recognize your place, but you'll be pleased with the results of Place Lift, an in-home interior consulting service powered by Kincaid with co-owner Daphne Chu, a graphic designer.

COURTESY OF OSTRANDER CHU
Patty Kincaid's client wanted a tropical makeover for
the home shown

"It usually takes about 2 1/2 hours. Most people like what they already have, know their living space needs something extra, but they just can't put their finger on it," said Kincaid, who considers herself and Place Lift a bridge between the customer's design problems and aesthetic solutions for the home. For $75 an hour, the first hour free, she'll walk into your home and help fill in the gaps, telling you what she thinks it needs for that extra oomph.

With the holidays around the corner, her user-friendly advice could help give your place a fresh look without breaking your Christmas budget. Place Lift could also come to the rescue of do-it-yourselfers drowning in a whirlpool of fabric swatches, paint samples and interior style magazines.

What you get within that time depends on what you want to accomplish. Kincaid said usually people have limited resources, so she suggests little things that would help tie available pieces together. Sometimes all it takes to brighten a home is a few new throw pillows in a particular fabric or color.

"Some people haven't changed a thing in their home for 10 years," Kincaid said. "You aren't the same person you were 10 years ago, and your home should be a reflection of who you are."

Other times, all it takes to update a space is to move the furniture around. Once, Kincaid suggested a client position a couch diagonally, and this one adjustment opened up the whole room.

She doesn't move furniture herself, however, so this is where your muscular friends might come in handy for immediate results.

COURTESY OF OSTRANDER CHU
Some of the furniture was replaced, the walls were redone with
textured wallpaper and new artwork..

Kincaid once walked into a home and noticed that the client had a beautiful collection of framed Japanese swords scattered about the house. She suggested putting them all on one wall for impact and the client loved the idea.

"I'm more approachable for my customers," said Kincaid, who with partner Chu owns Vagabond House, a home lifestyle store at Ward Centre that offers eclectic items with an island feel, something she calls "Ralph Lauren meets Martha Stewart goes to Hawaii."

"I'm less intimidating than an interior designer. Homes don't have to be perfect. they are an expression of who you are, and people aren't perfect."

She'll usually make a follow-up call to ask if any of her advice was taken and, if so, how it is working. She also can offer a list of contacts or a referral list of contractors or upholsterers if the situation merits.

Kincaid said she works intuitively, and has an eye for knowing what works and what doesn't.

"I've been this way my whole life," she said, recalling her teenage struggles with her mother. Even then, Kincaid had her own ideas about how their home should be arranged. She was a buyer for the Hyatt properties, and accessorized the suites and regency club rooms for the Grand Hyatt in Waikoloa in the late '80s.

Vagabond House, which opened at Ward Centre in 1996, started offering the consulting service in February after years of listening to customers -- at times desperate to the point of bringing in pictures of their bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens -- ask for decorating advice. Kincaid finally surrendered.

COURTESY OF OSTRANDER CHU
To give this bedroom an island feel, Patty Kincaid replaced
curtains with bamboo blinds. The walls were painted and dull
prints were replaced with bright tropical colored bed coverings.

She says she's not trying to discourage people from using interior decorators, whose services can cost as much as $125 to $250 an hour. "If you're going to renovate your whole place, then an interior decorator can guide you through the process," she said.

But most people can get the effect they want from updating a couch, though left to their own devices they often end up buying the wrong type of fabric, she says. Once they've done that, they know something's not quite right, so they end up changing the coffee table. "It snowballs and sometimes it can be overwhelming," said Kincaid. She believes she can help prevent people from making such costly mistakes.

Don't expect big miracles. Remember, if you're working with the couch handed down from grandmother, when you're done you'll still have the same couch, but a Place Lift may give your rooms just a little more of that magazine-worthy decorator's edge. 

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