Why a small Snohomish design firm thrives

Published: Monday, July 1, 2013, 12:01 a.m.

By M.L. Dehm, The Herald Business Journal

The Designer of the Year Awards recognize outstanding achievement in residential interior design among Interior Design Society members across the nation. Barnecut has also been honored by the Central Washington Home Builders Tour of Homes and was a Reader's Choice award Best of the Northwest Silver Winner last year.

The project that won an award from the Interior Design Society was a speculative remodel for a Seattle firm that flips homes in the $500,000 to $1 million range. The project house was a dated 1950s-era home that had been trashed by the previous occupants.

"The existing floor plan presented fundamental challenges and was in much need of an up-to-date final design," she said.

Barnecut was chosen for the job based on her reputation as an interior designer and her willingness to get the job done quickly. She completed all of the layout drawings, color palettes and plans for the finishes within two weeks.

Barnecut really enjoyed this finished kitchen, she explained, because, although it was in a high-end home, it had elements that people could do in their own homes on a tighter budget. The old kitchen was gutted and a wall removed to offer a more open feeling. The original hardwood flooring was salvaged, but the cabinets had to be replaced and a kitchen island was added.

The finished kitchen caters to today's lifestyle with a much more modern feel, Barnecut said. She offers pictures of the completed work, along with other before-and-after photos, on her Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/tannabydesigninteriors, and website, http://www.tannabydesign.com.

Barnecut has been an interior designer for more than 20 years, although her business is officially just reaching its seventh year. She has been interested in interior design all her life but was advised against it as a career due to financial considerations. Instead, she earned a business degree and spent 20 years working as division director of marketing for a staffing agency and dabbling in interior design on the side.

"That was back at a time when Microsoft was hitting and there was a lot of 'young money' with condos downtown. All of a sudden it had turned into lucrative moonlighting and I didn't have time for anything else," Barnecut said.

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Why a small Snohomish design firm thrives