Designer likes to help the do-it-yourselfer > Back To Resources Main

Melissa McGillivray Johnson - Special to The Plain Dealer

For a time, Joanne Dimeff thought she'd try her hand at writing about interior designers.

Then she found out it was more fun to be in the game than to sit on the sidelines.

Although she has a journalism degree, being a designer just felt like home.

"I just fell in love with it," she said. "I never even tried to write about it."

Starting her own design business in 1998, Joanne Dimeff Interior Design in Shaker Heights, became a form of self-expression.

"I really am energized by working with people one-on-one," she said. "Sometimes you're working with clients for a year, so you really get involved in their lives."

Working mostly with the stately older homes of Shaker Heights, Dimeff focuses only on residential work and zeroes in on a certain style.

"I work with a traditional, transitional style," she said. "I just kind of have my niche, and the style really suits these homes."

Having grown up in an old home in an old neighborhood, she explains, "I do the style I do well and that I understand."

In the last year, though, Dimeff has found the direction of her design firm changing to suit the needs of more clients.

"More and more, I'm doing a use what you have' type design," she said. "I'll eliminate things and provide recommendations of other items."

It works for people who normally couldn't afford a designer, she said.

Some clients are even willing to attempt home decorating projects of their own, thanks to the abundance of TV shows like "Trading Spaces."

"I'm more accommodating to do-it-yourselfers," she said. "They're willing to do the legwork. Because of the different design TV shows, it's really igniting an interest with people who didn't think about design before."

And if you're going to be a designer, it doesn't hurt to have an innate love for finding just the right accessory.

"I love to shop. It's really relaxing for me," she said. "I go up and down Larchmere a couple times a week. You really have to work hard to find the right things."

Dimeff finds she does some of her best treasure hunting at the Ohio Design Centre in Beachwood, and at some of the local antiques shops in Shaker Heights and Cleveland, such as Elegant Extras. She also shops at The Source, a high-end consignment store on Larchmere in Cleveland, and at Paysage in Cleveland Heights.

She also travels extensively to pick up antiques in different areas of the country.

Antiques add a little personality to a space, she explains.

"I've seen rooms that have no soul, no spirit," she said, because all the items in them were modern.

"Spend a fun day at an antique store and look for things that really speak to you," she advises. "Then you'll find a space for them in your home."

Her love of art and good design is now being passed along to her daughters, ages 16 and 13.

"They kind of grew up being dragged around to museums," she said. "One of them now wants to go into interior design."

That brings up a side benefit of her business, she said.

"What I really like is having my children see that a woman can make a contribution," Dimeff said. "It will give them the confidence to do something they like."

In her case, doing something she enjoys means giving clients the guidance they need to improve their living spaces.

"It's always good to have another pair of eyes," she said. "Hopefully it means more people will have beautiful homes."

Johnson is a free-lance writer in Fairport Harbor.

She may be reached at: homes@plaind.com.