Interior design seminar goes from bad to better

"Crowded." "Chaotic." "Confusing."

Those were some of the words used to describe the room that interior decorator Jill Chrusciel designed in the 2005 Designer ShowHouse of Ideas. However, Chrusciel was planning on that reaction.

The response came from an audience of about 25 attending Chrusciel's lecture, "Nurturing your Environment." The Sunday talk was one of a series given during "Bare Bones Weekend," in which the showhouse was presented as-is, before the designers had a chance to carry out their visions.

Chrusciel had intentionally -- and temporarily -- designed a downstairs room poorly. She scattered chairs facing every which way and hung fluorescent pieces of posterboard on the walls to represent "bad" art. With the audience's help, she turned the room into a "functional space."

"Our environments speak to us and our environments speak for us," explained Chrusciel, who graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in interior design. "They nurture us or hinder us. A lot of people have a dysfunctional space but don't know what makes it that way."

Arrangement, balance, color

Chrusciel explained the importance of furniture arrangement, balance and color to make a room more inviting. Many who attended the brief seminar, including Gail Crader of Perryville, Mo., walked away with ideas of their own.

"I'm going to go home and look at my living room and bedroom, maybe try to do some rearranging. I'll look for nurturing colors."

Chrusciel will be designing a real room in the showhouse, which will undoubtedly be better received than her lecture example. "The showhouse is a good opportunity for people to get ideas for their own home, but it is also a good way for people to make connections between their quality of life and well-being."

The designer's philosophy stands out not only in her lecture but in her work. "I try to bring my clients an environment that inspires them," Chrusciel explains, "It's not about my own style."

About 700 people visited the showhouse during the Bare Bones Weekend, and will return with their tickets to see the completed house in October. Money raised through ticket sales will be dedicated to the purchase of a patient simulator for Southeast Missouri Hospital and the university's College of Nursing Health and Sciences to use.

"We are delighted and appreciative with the community's response," said Marge Sullivan, director of volunteer services at Southeast Missouri Hospital. "This has been a huge project."

She said, "The whole idea is for people to come get ideas they can use for their own homes."