My relationship with the VIA's Bucks County Designer House began when I designed my first room for the 25th Anniversary house in 2000.  I was assigned an attic playroom, a small, hidden place that would intrigue, but not invite children.  Perhaps because the angled ceilings made me feel as though I was a giant in the room, I immediately envisioned a dwarf's cottage.  I could see the trompe l'oeil fireplace on the real chimney and that ceiling became the perfect thatched roof.  I completed the look with tiny children's furniture that I refinished, and added hand painted birds as hooks for the dress-up area.  One viewer said that she expected Snow White to pop through the window at any moment!  Thus began my decade long relationship with this wonderful organization and event.  Since then, I have done everything from stairwells to bathrooms to bedrooms.

In most participating years, I have designed the entire room but I have also assisted designers with just faux finishing the walls in their rooms.  In addition to the VIA Houses, I have also participated with a fellow designer in the Holy Redeemer Health System Designer Showhouse, in Bryn Athyn. 

My most recent designer house was in Peddler's Village's Foxbriar where I designed a Sailor's Loft boy's bedroom.  I guess I have become known for rooms with crazy ceilings and unusual shapes, but I am energized by the challenge.  I had furniture custom built to get the most use of the space from a young boy's point of view, and I hand painted the nautical chart mural on the ceiling, as well as the curtains, and fully accessorized the space.  This room garnered enough praise to be included in two books: Designer Faux Finishing: Ideas and Inspiration for Sophisticated Surfaces by Victor DeMasi and, the yet to be published, Decorator Showhouses II. 

I can only hope my entry in the upcoming 35th VIA Bucks County Designer House will be met with as much interest.  I look forward to seeing you there!