Complementary services

There is a familiar quote, "Home is where the heart is," and that statement is especially true today as people are spending more time at home. Furniture, wall coverings, flooring and accessories are all important aspects to creating an environment that is both inviting and comforting for interior living spaces.

The selection of these elements, and getting them to coordinate with each other, can be a challenge. That's where the expertise of an interior designer come in.

While the services of interior designers are not part of many people's budget, several furniture stores in the Las Vegas Valley offer design services to complement the products they offer.

"I wanted to show people what is possible and to buy things that work for their home. I helped first with selecting wallpaper, paint and flooring and then I began to help with the whole project," said LaRayn Sorenson of Nest Featherings in Las Vegas. "I have been a designer for over 30 years and this was an important part of the business."

Sorenson started the company in 1980 in her garage with a 1,000-square-foot shop. Now located on West Sahara Avenue, Nest Featherings has a 40,000-square-foot showroom and several designers on staff.

She said she wanted to offer design services with the traditional furnishings she featured "because that was the fun part for me."

The store's designers go to their customers' homes to consult with them about what they want and their budgets. The services are extensive and include help in choosing wall coverings, lighting, flooring, furnishings, window treatments and accessories such as lamps, mirrors, etc. There is an additional cost for the design services, but the company orders everything and the designers make certain it comes together the way the customer envisions it.

Design Within Reach, which offers fully licensed classic mid-20th century pieces by designers such as Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames and Harry Bertoia, encourages customers to come to the store, which recently moved to Town Square Las Vegas, to see many of the pieces and how they can be paired together in a setting.

Additionally, the designers on staff can look over architectural plans or go to a new commercial structure or home and work with clients about how to incorporate classic pieces or redesign the entire project. The designers can create the complete classic look including flooring, wall coverings, lighting and accessories.

No fee is charged for design services.

If a person only wants to freshen up his or her home without the total midcentury classic-look makeover, Louise Marie Portal, studio proprietor, said, "We have a blog about design on our Web site, and we now offer a new division that is called Tools for Living that I like to call design things. They are on the Web site and you can order accessories for kitchen, bath and so forth."

Many might think of La-Z-Boy as just a place to get recliners and sofas and the company did begin as a small furniture manufacturer in a garage in Monroe, Mich., in 1927. But it was in Las Vegas in 1990 that the idea of offering complimentary design services began and helped the company evolve into La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries.

"I had never worked in retail before La-Z-Boy, but in my mind I could see a customer's vision of that room and I want to help create the room of their dreams," said Nancy Conway, director of design.

"Nancy thought it was the best way to help a client and assist them in completing their rooms and not just sell them a sofa," said Carrie Summers, master design consultant. "Nancy is a designer, taught at design school and would benefit a customer. She realized that people would buy everything somewhere and Nancy wanted to help them put that room together efficiently and lead, guide and direct the clients for the best use and design of that room."

Design services are now offered nationally by the company, including the three locations in the Las Vegas Valley, with most of the designers certified by the Council for Qualification of Residential Interior Designers. The services offered are complimentary and include in-home consultations about color and furniture selection.

Those seeking a cutting-edge "young-living furniture" can find both furnishings and design advice at EQ3.

"Our consumer is influenced by global trends including fashion, music and the arts. They are emotionally connected to these influences and enjoy making them a part of their everyday living through the clothes they wear, the vehicles they drive and the music they listen to. What was missing for this fashion-sensitive group was a way to bring modern home furnishings at affordable prices into their own homes," said Peter Tielmann, who established the company in 2001 after moving to Canada from Europe.

The store's designers are available to reinvent any home with this cutting-edge look. There is a $100 deposit for a consultation by one of the designers, but that fee is applied toward a purchase.

"EQ3 offers design with space planning, colors, accessorizing, furnishings, anything to do with design with our unique style," said Amy Smith, manager of EQ3 at Town Square, which opened a year ago.