karen paul interiors

Karen is an amazing and inventive designer. She not only searches and will find wonderful pieces but also is able to adapt when you change course. She has stuck with me for almost a year now on several different areas of my home and I can't possibly explain in words how gratifying this experience has been for me as well as many others. She has taught so many of us different aspects of the design process and I will be eternally grateful to have met her.

Karen is a witty artisitic soul who truly and passionately loves what she does, this shows in her ability to apply design concepts while simultaneously adjusting them to her client's particular tastes. She helped me organize my thoughts and my plan as I was painting parts of my home/color and also lighting. Not afraid to think outside the box, Karen will lead you as far as you're comfortably willing to go with Design, and then suggest some "more." She spends time and effort to make sure you're happy with what you're getting as you're the person having to live with it day to day!

After my parents died, I stored mom and dad's furniture in my one bedroom condo in Newport. Their belongings were hard to part with. During this time I was watching as Karen Paul of Karen Paul Interiors transformed our condominium building lobby from a dark, drab, cave into a sunny, Newport landing, the perfect entrance to our building. Light grey walls and floor tile, sturdy, “less is more” furniture, colorful accessories. One night Karen took a peek at my troubled home and said, “I can help you.” I asked her only to pick the furniture that needed to be removed. She said, “All of it…or practically all of it.” Eight months later I am living a dream. My small space looks gargantuan. Restricting the number of pieces of furniture, removing all the doo-dads, lightening the floor tile color (porcelain tile wood finish blanc) and slightly darkening the walls to give a rosy grey cast,(a color which Karen mixed herself) consolidating 5 bulging bookcases into one recessed built-in, and whitening all trim and shutters, took Karen a scant 2 months. “We might as well do the kitchen,” she sighed, which hadn’t been changed since 1980. A luscious date colored counter top accented by a mosaic look splash took care of that. I had two pieces of furniture that I could not part with: my piano, and a large, bulky walnut desk which had belonged to Dad and was in our home from my birth. The desk was the elephant in the room. Karen had an ingenious scheme: move the living room into the dining room, set the dining room table in front of the built in bookcase and “float” the desk in front of the stark white shutters, giving it a space of its own and extending the library look. Only three new pieces of furniture to buy: a couch, chair and dining set. All remaining doo dads went into new cabinets she had built in what had been the kitchen bar area. Crowning the room were the lights she designed. I have a northwest exposure, very thin sun. She had lights installed to illuminate, but also added spotlights over the couch, dining area, piano, and of course, Dad’s desk! I still miss my parents. Just enough of their things are still in my home. Their memories are in my heart . Karen showed me how important it is to clear away, lighten, and then add back slowly and tastefully those things that need to be in my life. Helen F. McClure Here are some pictures of the results. For more pictures, take a look at my Ideabook.

I worked with Karen for several years and have learned so much about the design process. She designed my dining room chairs from scratch and redesigned my sofa and love seat to accommodate built in ottomans that are tucked under the love seat when not in use.. Her eye for both color and overall design transformed my living room/dining room. She enhanced my art work by changing the wall color and the shutters. My kitchen is equally striking as she modernized my kitchen with gorgeous countrr tops, floors and cabinets. She transformed a dining nook by surrounding it with mirrors to bring in my wonderful ocean views. My bedrooms are warm and soothing with gorgeous linens and accessories. Karen works so wonderfully with her clients, gently encouraging them and nudging them to look at things in a different light. A fantastic designer and a wonderful human being!

Karen kindly helped me finish the design in my living room and her advice was perfect.