You Can Now Get Designers' Most Iconic Looks in Your Own Home
Kathryn M. Ireland's working on her biggest project to date. So big, in fact, that it's been 15 years in the making-and could completely change the way you decorate your house. That's not hyperbole; that's the scope of her vision.
For years, she's seen her phone ring off the hook after her interiors appeared in magazines, as readers called to ask where to buy every feature in the room, from the curtains to a vase that's barely peeking out from the edge of a photo. Compound that with the Great recession, where people scaled back and held off on big decorating projects-and the rise of sites like 1st Dibs and Net-a-Porter, proving luxury goods could sell online-and Kathryn had all the proof she needed that the design industry was ripe for a digital revolution.
Now, she's ready to unveil the project that's been on her mind since before "greige" was a color: The Perfect Room. It's a website that features some of Kathryn's most famous rooms, as well as interiors from four of her famous friends: Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Jeffrey Bilhuber, Rachel Ashwell, and Jeffrey Alan Marks. Each room you click on is entirely shoppable, as Kathryn's team has worked closely with each pro to source both items visible in the photos and things that would complement the room's aesthetic. This isn't "get the look for less"-it's how to get the room as-is, or as close to as-is as possible, featuring items you typically could only get if you were working with an interior designer.
"There's no one out there that's giving you to-the-trade items to a retail consumer," Kathryn explained. She's opening the gates, making high-end design accessible to everyone, and in a sense, she's opening up her world to more clients than a single person could typically take on.
Using ThePerfectRoom.com, you can search by designer, or by the room you're decorating and your style-bohemian, coastal or traditional-buying items featured a la carte, or in one fell swoop. The latter option, which allows you to buy the entire room (sofa to sconces!), can easily set you back five figures. Kathryn argues, though, that there's a discount when you buy a larger volume, so if you want everything but that one table lamp, you're better off buying it all and reselling-or regifting-the single lamp.
"Maybe it's a good fit for your mother, or your friend, or another room in your house," she suggested. "We're not trying to dumb down or give you the inexpensive version of the room. That's not what we're about. We may get a price that's a little cheaper than the designer originally got it for, because methods and options have evolved over time."
Arguably the best perk of the service is its delivery options. The company has seven major warehouses dotting the United States, so when you place an order, everything can get shipped to your closest hub, where it's compiled and delivered on the same day. So you don't have to spend random days over the course of weeks working from home, or staying tethered to your house, getting each piece in, bit by bit.
The Perfect Room evolved from design boot camps Kathryn hosted during the recession, helping people hone their sense of style. An element of that remains in the website's current iteration, where you can also pay for a design package-ranging from $299 to $999-getting everything from a custom floor plan to full-blown design consultations.
"It's part Pinterest-it's inspirational-and we offer to have a field designer come and help you install, so there's a Homepolish element, and we're educating people," she said.
Over time, Kathryn plans on expanding the number of designers she works with, offering a larger selection of rooms and styles to choose from. For now, she's shared five key rooms-all featured in the pages of House Beautiful over the years-to give you a taste of what the site offers.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard's New Romantic Bedroom
"What really makes this little attic bedroom is the toile everywhere, the pop of the pink, the green," Kathryn said. "We're taking some artistic license, imagining that on the wall [that you can't see in the photo], there's an armoire. We're filling it out for you."
Shop the entire room here.
Kathryn M. Ireland's Effortlessly Chic Dining Room
Behold, the home that started it all. It was while decorating this Cape Cod cottage that Kathryn first came up with the idea for The Perfect Room. "This home is incredibly unpretentious; I tried to design it in a way that'd honor the original architecture," she said.
Shop the entire room here.
Jeffrey Alan Marks's Modern Malibu Living Room
"There's a lot going on in this room, and for some people, they may not be able to fit everything in there at the same scale that Jeffrey used. On our site, you can order certain pieces in custom sizes," Kathryn said.
Shop the entire room here.
Kathryn M. Ireland's Cottage Living Room
Renowned as Jackie Kennedy's former vacation spot, this Cape Cod cottage has the sort of understated charm that complements-rather than competes with-its garden and beachfront views.
Shop the entire room here.
Jeffrey Bilhuber's Cool, Colorful Living Room
Jeffrey's a master at crafting rooms that burst with color and personality. Kathryn's team worked closely with the designer to source products that echoed that style and joie de vivre.
Shop the entire room here.
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