Kathy Koressel

Raised by an artistic mother and inventive father, Kathy has been surrounded by home improvement activity since she was five and had her right middle fingertip nearly sliced off in an unfortunate accident involving a doorknob opening, a very sharp chisel, and unbridled curiosity.

For over 10 years, she has worked on projects ranging from faux finishing to kitchen design, with an alarming amount of time spent on ladders and in fabric stores.  Her home is her studio, and she will proudly show off the tented ceiling and chandelier in the laundry room as well as the bedrooms that are connected via a secret passage in the closet.

She calls it “sourcing”, not “shopping”, and she is already mentally redesigning your space before you even start talking.  She walks the aisles of stores like HomeGoods and fantasizes about the rooms she could create around beautifully designed lamps and lavishly decorated pillows. But watch out: you’re likely to be body-blocked if you try to buy that $15 vase she saw first, and you will hear an evil laugh as dashes out to her car, treasures in hand.  She is a home improvement geek who owns a compound miter saw, knows how to sew lined silk drapes, and is into cheap decorating thrills. And she can make your home look like it belongs in a magazine.

What is your favorite room?

Whichever one George Clooney is in.

What is the biggest design mistake you ever made?

I truly regret the purple kitchen wall of ‘98.  I was going through my grape phase.

What’s your fantasy item for your home?

A heated driveway and sidewalks. My snow shoveling skills are awful.

Best design tip?

Paint your ceilings. A white ceiling makes a room look unfinished. It’s the equivalent of getting beautifully dressed and made up and then not combing your hair.

Where do you get inspiration?

Magazines, TV and movie sets, model homes, and sometimes inanimate objects. I once designed a custom border in a kitchen based on a pair of pajamas.

What decorating item could you never be without?

Goo-Gone. I don’t know what’s in that stuff, but it’s amazing.

Any bad habits?

I always drop my pencil just when I’ve reached the top of the ladder, prompting me to say some genuinely bad words.

Any other hobbies?

Sewing, painting, and playing piano. And I am an amateur ballroom dancer. I also enjoy creating dance costumes, although there’s nothing like converting your velvet Christmas tree skirt into a dance dress by running it through your sewing machine to make you reach for the Extra Strength Tylenol.