CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/24236
Decadent Dining | Baker’s own dining room features multiple coordinated patterns and extravangant extras atop a beautiful oval dining table. anything metallic, in any shade. Whether it’s a touch here, a mirror there or a metallic tone on an accent wall, the shiny hues will be popping up everywhere. While she likes to give clients what they want, Baker said that since they are paying her for her expertise, sometimes she has to gently guide them and weigh in on their decisions. It’s her job to make sure the finished room is attractive and sometimes, she said, that means steering clients away from what they say they want. During the initial visit, Baker asks the prospective client several questions about their favorite colors and their likes and dislikes. She then creates a design based on the client’s tastes and what she learned about them during the conversation. For some clients she may opt for a tailored look and for others her design could include ruffles or appear more staid and traditional. Generally, Baker said, it takes about eight weeks from start to finish for rooms undergoing complete changes but the timelines can vary according to how much business the four workrooms can handle and if the furniture needs to be ordered. Behind the scenes, CJ Designs is more than just Baker herself. She has a team of workers — seamstresses, wallpaper hangers, tile installers and other contractors — who help pull her visions together. “I always feel so strongly that I am doing the design work to please the client and I like making other people happy in this business,” Baker said. “I love the creativity piece of pulling a house together.” How much is that doggie in the window… Whether she is perched on Baker’s lap, or curled up under her desk, Baker’s adopted five-year-old dog Scooter is always fashionably dressed for the season. Scooter has already made a home in the new studio and is loved by all the staff and contractors. It is plain to see that the two are inseparable. CV 30 | Feb/March • 2011 Where it comes from Inspirations: Pretty fabrics and textures. “I’m a touchy, feely, person and I like to have the fabric in hand.” Baker said she likes going to the beach, working in the yard and traveling. “I get my batteries recharged when I go to the beach. I’ve decorated my beach house more contemporary and have used cheerful bright color tones like blues, reds and school bus yellow.” “There are no hard and fast rules. Rules are made to be broken in this industry. Sometimes they say in a small room never use over-sized furniture, but sometimes it works.”