A Purpose-Driven Design Life

– By Robin Jovanovich –

After many years in interior design, ten of them working for Martha Stewart Living Television, and five Emmys, Suzanne McGrath was ready to share her ideas on setting the scene and creating beautiful, livable rooms. Having discovered that lives and careers can be successfully rebuilt and being a proponent of “furniture is forever” — an old family dresser can be stripped and painted to give it a new look, pieces that have outlived their original purpose can be converted — she wanted to write about “rotation”.

She shopped her concept with literary agents. The first step to a book deal is a blog, she was told. Luckily, she knew someone who could help, someone she loved working with — her daughter, Lauren.

Within a few months the mother/daughter team launched www.goodbonesgreatpieces.com, a blog about design and fashion, “and the joy of living with both.”
By day, Lauren, 23, a Rye High School graduate who studied art history at Bowdoin, is an assistant editor at a big Manhattan fashion magazine.

On weekends she helps with the blog and enjoys shopping with her mother, whether at a flea market or Crate and Barrel.

“We’re not huge mainstream store shoppers,” says Suzanne. Lauren adds, “We get jazzed going to antiques shows and estate sales.”
They are proficient home stagers and furniture rearrangers.

Suzanne takes a generational approach to design and learned early that “space is often limited, so we should use our space well.” Lauren is following in some of her mother’s big footsteps, but is more fashion-conscious, more “sophisticated with an edge.” She provides the fashion input for the blog.

Both mother and daughter see the blog as a launch pad, hoping one day soon to have their own store and their own home accessories line.

What the blog gives them is the ability to “reach out to people they don’t know,” says Suzanne. “Our writing includes teaching — periods in design history, where to find bargains, what to look for at estate sales.”

Suzanne loves watching Lauren developing her own design voice. Lauren loves watching her mother in action — at the Brimfield show in Massachusetts, for instance, or creating a design myths to fit the moment.
Good bones, great pieces, both of them.

Their Top Staging Tips

1. Place fresh cut flowers and/or green house plants on any surfaces needing a pop of color (Home Depot or Stop and Shop have inexpensive selections).

2. Touch up walls with a fresh coat of paint and use Mr. Clean wipes to refresh white moldings, door frames, kitchen cabinets and ceilings.

3. Organize kitchen drawers and cabinets. (Invest in drawer organizers from Container Store.)

4. De-clutter and edit toys in playroom. Use this as an opportunity to donate to your local children's charity.

5. Organize ALL closets. Line up the shoes carefully. Purchase inexpensive hangers which are all one color.

6. Clean and edit inside of medicine cabinets. Store excess in sterilite bins in linen closet.

7. Purchase new bathroom/sink accessories that are cohesive: toothbrush holder, soap dispenser, cup, tissue holder. (There are some great ones available at Target and Walmart).

8. Buy crisp white hand and bath towels for all bathrooms. If a new shower curtain is in order, choose a simple one.

9. Purchase and iron crisp new pillow cases for all bedrooms. For kid's rooms, have some fun with colors (Ikea has adorable kid's linens).

10. Add bright, colorful pillows to sofas, chairs and beds for a stylish impact. Pillows are one of the least expensive and most rewarding accessories to buy for your home. And the best part? You can take them with you to your new house!

11. Wash all windows and interior surface-mounted light fixtures. Replace any missing light bulbs.

12. Clean outside light fixtures with Windex.

13. Paint the front door and pick up a clean new welcome mat for the front porch.

14. Purchase subtle scented candles and burn them before lookers arrive (we like Jo Malone brand).