Creative Juices

Kerry Wanamaker | Feb. 1, 2022

When I was a child, I would rearrange my family's living room furniture when my parents would go out for dinner. When they would return from a relaxing night out, the living room would be transformed into a showroom. I would pull all the furniture from paneled walls creating cozy conversation areas. I would hide all the newspapers, mail, and shoes. I would create little vignettes with items among the coffee and side tables. The Hummels (knick-knacks) were taken down, cleaned in the hot, soapy water of the kitchen sink, dried off, and carefully repositioned. The glass tables were shined up and the living room rug had perfect vacuum lines running though it like a well-manicured lawn. However, my parents preferred things to be familiar and the same so, everything would go back "to normal" the very next day. They got a kick out of me! As I matured, this designing infatuation continued and I am still decorating and redecorating my own home today. In fact, I love design and decorating and spend the majority of my free time pouring through magazines and Pinterest boards.

Recently, I staged my sister's home to get it ready to sell. Granted, she had a gorgeous home but I had so much fun organizing, planning, playing with color, details, and placement of various items. At first, I didn't have much faith in myself but my sister believed in me.

So, I loaded up my SUV with baskets of decor: throw pillows, candleholders, vases, baskets, and more and headed to her home. I began in the living room and moved my way throughout her home. Some rooms needed more attention than others. We added color, texture, and warmth! We even made a quick trip to the local HomeGoods for a few needed items. The transformation was AMAZING and just what she needed. Two days later the realtor arrived to check on my sister's progress and she was impressed with the transformation and asked if she had the house professionally staged. During this scenario, I myself was in the throes of renovation (an addition to my house for my mom and a new kitchen). We renovated our 2-car garage into an in-law suite and renovated our circa 1997 kitchen to accommodate my family of 6 plus my mom.

In realizing a need for a creative outlet in my work life, I'm excited to begin a new journey along with running Frannie & Mary offering decorating, design advice, as well as staging services. Please contact me at frannieandmarylove@gmail.com with any questions. No job is too small! I will be happy to help and can offer more details about my services. Enjoy some photos of my recent staging work.

Please check back on the blog soon!

Kind Regards,

Kerry