Features
Creating Designer Rooms
What do interior designers create when they let their imaginations run wild?
BY
Melissa Wood
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mayfair and Oakley Photographed by Greg West and Van Loan photographed by Michael Rixon

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Tea table and set in princess bedroom by Marcy Marceau at Van Loan.Detail of silk draperies in dining room by Inspired Interiors at Mayfair.Living room by Boehm and Graham at Mayfair. Hallway vignette by Simply Home at Oakley Estate.

Showrooms
Kitchens
Dining Rooms
Living Rooms
Bedrooms
Show houses not only benefit worthy causes but also allow designers to put caution aside and show their stuff. On the following pages we present designer rooms—along with the designers' descriptions of the creative process—from three recent show houses: Mayfair in York, Maine, presented by Old York Historical Society; the Van Loan Cancer Benefit in Bedford, N.H.; and the Portland Symphony Orchestra's Oakley Estate in Falmouth, Maine.

Behind these beautiful results are dedication and skill: Designers combine the creative process with the shifting sands of client demands while meeting high professional standards. For example, designers who take the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) test must be able to identify and analyze their clients' needs and goals, develop a design concept, and put everything in writing, producing plans, color palettes, three-dimensional views, drawings, schedules, specifications, and more.

But interior design goes way beyond the mechanics. Designers are artists, and they are psychiatrists, analyzing clients' personalities so they can create spaces that best suit the way they live. Designer Christian Boyér explains, "My job is to make sure that clients are completely satisfied and have a good time in the process," he says. "Interior design is a wonderful field: it's a blessing."

Feeling inspired? Check out these summer design events, listed in our calendar.