L Turner Interiors Love Where You Live – Interior Design, Redesign & Professional Home Staging
Introducing L (Elle) Turner, a local interior designer and professional home stager with 12+ years of experience. Her vision for each client blends a fresh mix of design elements with personal emotional touch points to bring every space to life. L is a master creative marketer who spent her first career working in the entertainment industry overseeing the print, packaging and on-air advertising for CBS, ABC, Disney Home Entertainment and finally Universal Studios Home Entertainment. I spoke with L to learn more about her approach to both interior design and home staging. We have also conducted a special post interview in which L goes into more depth about her process and approach to the work she does.
L, thanks so much for doing this interview with me today and welcome to LocalsGuide.
Thanks so much for this opportunity. This is a great way to introduce myself to my neighbors and share how I may be able to help them love where they live.
L, I know you have a wealth of knowledge and information to share so let’s jump right into it. You are an Interior Design and Home Staging Professional here in the Rogue Valley. However, your first experience in business was creative marketing and you have extensive experience doing this. Will you please tell us about yourself and your professional background?
My first career started at a small television station in Lexington, Kentucky where I went to college (Go UK Wildcats!), and ended 25 years later in Los Angeles where I was the Senior Vice President of Creative Marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment. My job was to oversee the creation of packaging, posters, outdoor, print ads as well as trailers and television ads promoting TV shows, networks, DVDs, etc. Then one day, it was time to be my own boss.
Spending so many years working with nationally recognized art directors, graphic designers, editors, etc., gave me a deep and extensive background into what makes good design. I was soon able to put that experience to work, first as a home stager and then as an interior designer.
L, you describe creative marketing as “Design with Purpose.” What exactly do you mean and how do you use your marketing experience to address your client’s staging and/or design needs?
It was such a natural progression to transfer my creative marketing experience to being a professional home stager. Staging IS design with purpose. Staging is a key part of marketing your property for sale. Buyers are not interested in buying a house that looks like a museum of the lives of the previous owners. They want to buy a home that allows their imaginations to fill with the possibilities and experiences they wish to have in their new space.
L, I think it’s important for you to tell us about your tag line, “Love Where You Live.” Why did you choose this and what exactly does it mean?
Most people are (or wish they were) emotionally attached to their dwellings. Meaning, when they get home, they want to feel “HOME.” When I first work with clients, I ask them to gather together all of the items in their home they LOVE. And the love is not based on cost, but the emotional pull the item has for the owner. Sadly, they often find these love items in drawers and closets or scattered randomly throughout the space. By putting them all together, the owner can truly appreciate them, then the fun begins. Love items should be celebrated in the rooms used most.
To illustrate, many pieces of art on the walls have been kept there, well, because they have always been there. Imagine if all the art came down off every wall and was rehung based on love of each piece and a desire to enjoy it as much as possible. Then accessories (pillows, throws, small table objects) in the room can pull color or texture notes that complement the love pieces. All of this is on top of the layout and style that celebrates how the owners enjoy living, and the room comes alive, with love.
I really like this and think it is important to not just feel but to embody through the physical claiming of each space.
Design with purpose is not just for staging. Each room has a purpose – a place to gather, work, relax, entertain, etc. Therefore, the design and layout of that space should support that use. I have been in so many homes where the owner actually tells me that they “hate” one room or another, or that they don’t feel comfortable spending time in a particular space. Let me assure you, it’s not the room’s fault. Oftentimes, how you wish to use or experience a space has not been expressed or defined. Once identified, a new design can and will bring that purpose to life.
Many living rooms are simply pass-throughs to get to the rest of the house. That is likely because there are no places to sit comfortably and talk easily with friends or family. Furniture is pushed up against the walls, ignoring features like fireplaces or view windows, and chairs are placed randomly and too far apart. You can’t have good conversations if people can’t gather together. This can usually be solved with some furniture sliders to move things around and an hour or two to bring in love items from other rooms and rehang artwork (that often appears random). Don’t forget lamps! They can warm up a space by adding soft light at human height, not just from the ceiling.
L, you said something that struck me as very important, and that was your approach to working with negative attributes of a house. You do not try to hide these qualities. Please say more.
No home is perfect and there will always be odd corners or places that seem to defy usefulness. Define, distract or give purpose to that space and it will feel odd no more. It may actually become one of your new favorite spots!
Another potential negative attribute is a space on the smaller size. Making a room feel larger is a common goal, but with mixed results. One apartment sized sectional can be better than a small sofa and a chair, for instance. The more floor space you can see, the larger the room will appear – so get things OFF the floor. Hang shelving, wine bottles just about anything UP on the walls to eliminate any furniture that doesn’t have to be there. More floor space feels like breathing room.
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You have now worked on more than 150 projects. Please tell us about them.
Every property is so different, and so are the owners that live in them. My passion for design, combined with listening to the wishes of my clients and then bringing life to their spaces, gives me great joy. One of my favorite projects was transforming a large, dated property from the 1990s into a fresh, warm family home for a young family. I also love staging difficult-to-sell houses into properties that move faster than expected. Working with many “flippers” has honed my skills at identifying how to get the most bang for your renovation/remodel dollars. Every project has increased my reservoir of ideas for the next client’s challenges.
L, are you hired directly by individual homeowners, realtors, or both?
I have four primary offerings for my clients: interior design, redesign with existing elements, moving/downsizing design for buyers, and professional home staging. I will and do work with whomever asks. No project is too large or small. Many homeowners call because their home has gotten stale and boring, and they want a refresh. Or they’d like to do some remodeling and updating but don’t know what will bring a higher return on investment when they do sell down the road. Home buyers call because they don’t know how much or which pieces they already have will work in their new homes. Sellers reach out to me to prep a home for sale, or I work with listing agents to assist in putting a home in the most desirable light for buyers.
L, in regards to costs I imagine these are often covered by the work you do alone, and in fact your work has the potential to bring even more value to the equation.
I have a simple business model: you pay me for my time and expertise. Whatever may need to be purchased from a store or vendor, is paid for by the client with no markup and no additional fees. And if I get a discount from a store, my clients get the discount too.
What if I stage my home myself?
It can be a stressful and emotional process to look around your own home and see past how you have lived there and picture how a buyer might want to visualize their life there.
Many people simply cannot see their home through a stranger’s eyes. It’s not just stripping out anything that references your personal story. It’s knowing what to keep, what to add, and where best to put things to create a positive flow through the home for potential buyers—not just in person but online as well. 98% of people won’t come to your house to see it in person unless they liked what they saw online. A fresh coat of paint and simple handyman repairs or updates can also have a big impact. The living room, kitchen, and primary bedrooms get the most attention from buyers so they need the most attention from you.
Is there any harm in asking you about a home if it is already on the market?
If I can be of service, I am happy to help. A number of sellers have hired me before or without hiring an agent. Agents and/or home sellers have brought me in as part of the listing process or if the listing is not getting enough positive feedback from potential buyers as currently shown. The longer a property is on the market, the lower the sale price. Faster sale for the most money possible is what staging is all about.
L, you also offered a very popular class at OLLI. Please tell us more about it.
Hopefully everyone knows that OLLI is a learning opportunity program for people 50 and older. Members can sign up for a range of classes that vary from term to term. The classes are taught by volunteers who want to share their knowledge and experience. My ‘Love Where You Live’ class was targeted to people who wanted to refresh the spaces in their existing homes. Each session was full of before and after photos as well as color theory for rooms, arranging bookshelves, furniture placement tips, tricks, and more.
Can you please share some recent customer testimonials with us?
From Nancy in Beverly Hills, ”I have worked with many designers over the years, but only L has proven an innate ability to ‘just know’ how to bring a room to life in the best possible way. Brava!”
From Karin in the Applegate, ”L has been amazing to work with! I highly recommend her. She listened to my ideas, likes/dislikes, and really transformed my space from what I imagined to so much more.
Thanks so much for being so easy to work with and making my home beautiful!”
Bonnie in Los Angeles, ”L really helped me understand what I wanted from my home and then was able to deliver that feeling and style well beyond my expectations. I love where I live.”
Will you also share a brief success story with us?
I was hired to stage a home that had 28 years of memories for the sellers. They had received a prospective sale price before staging. Working closely with the sellers, we put together a to-do list of simple updates plus staging that took 2 weeks. The agent then revised the home sale price up by $30,000. They received multiple offers and sold significantly above asking in the first four days. From there, I went on to design their new home, and they paid to have both of their grown children’s homes designed by me as well. What fun.
L, what do you love most about what you do and what do you love about Ashland?
Design has the power to add joy, peace, and all kinds of positives to people’s lives. Creating change in personal spaces is deeply rewarding, as is working with homeowners, buyers, sellers, and agents. It’s such a pleasure to live and work in the Ashland/Rogue Valley area and meet the wonderful people who have also made this area their home.
Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today. What is the best way for readers to reach out and learn more about your services?
Thank you. Please call, text or email if you have any questions or comments. My phone number is 818.749.7354 and my email is L@Lturnerinteriors.com. Plus, please visit my website at Lturnerinteriors.com
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