Patch Blog: Talking Shop at Brown's Classic Interiors

Over the years I've watched . With a central location at 64 W. Sierra Madre Boulevard, I'm always passing by the business with it's ever changing front windows displaying seasonal groupings  and the walls of shelves chock a block full of fabric samples, wall paper samples, upholstery samples.  

There are tiered shelves of vases, decorative accents, paintings, photographs. There's an eclectic collection of antiques and new furniture. It has an aura of functional respectability and authority. it's a business which communicates to you that it knows how to do it's job. There is a lot going on in there and it's inviting to enter  and peruse the wares and speak with owner Dee Walker. I first met Dee when she graciously began exhibiting some of my art as a gesture of support for the Arts community in town.  

Artist Star Higgins offered to take some of my pieces in to the shop and I was really pleased when a painting sold within a couple of months. Thus began a cordial relationship with Dee which has continued. As I took paintings and photographs in and out from time to time, I couldn't help but notice that Dee was always busy. It made me curious that in an economy where businesses on the street have come and gone over the last few years Dee's business has continued to thrive so I decided to find out more.  

Dee has been working in town for 21 years. Through her parents friendship with Eileen, she began working for Eileen's Touch, formerly Brown's furniture. She began working with Eileen, learning from her while raising three kids who are now 31, 30 and 26. When Eileen retired 16 years ago she bought the business from her.  

I asked her how she has achieved such a stable business.

She has very good clients and a variety of them; high end, middle class, small and big. She runs a full service operation and her goal is to work with the client's taste, and not impose hers. She has all the resources, from paint, to upholstery, to appliances, cabinets, counters, bathrooms, wall treatments, furniture. She has craftsmen and workers she has known and worked with for decades. She can do everything, or simply be a consultant.

One of her most reliable services that keeps her very busy are "Look See" consultations. Currently, she is offering them for $75 dollars. She will come out to your house and look at what you have and find out what you want to keep and get and idea of what you are hoping for. She can help you choose to re-apholster, or window treatment, or simply paint. She can help you keep "the bones" and get rid of what is holding the room back, decide how to bring it back to life....and keep your budget trim.  She says she has no taste of her own, but strives to make the client's house belong to them. In a time when we all want to spruce up our houses and not spend a lot of money, this is an incredible offer.

Another popular service she offers with the help of her colleague and right hand person Tina, is furniture rearranging.  She and Tina will come in and take a room and completely rearrange it.  For a $100 an hour she and Tina will rearrange your rooms, move your paintings around, change it up!,  and if you don't like it they'll put it back the way they found it.  But she is confident that she can please you.  They work non-invasively and with what you have.  

You are actually saving money by having a decorator come out and give you ideas. Then she refers out to her contractors who will come up to your house and give you a bid. Dee offers a lot of service, and there are no charges for referrals.  She says there are so many small ways you can really bring a house back to life without spending a fortune. 

Most importantly, she will help you make the right decisions.  Picking the right colors is a skill that most of us haven't acquired. And the right color of paint is absolutely instrumental in bringing the house together. She can save you 20-30% on your job by helping you make the right choices in the first place.  As well she is one of the few decorators who still works with wallpaper and has an extensive collection of it.

So don't wait any more. Take advantage of an incredible asset we have down on Sierra Madre Blvd. After speaking with Dee, I see how she has thrived and will continue.  Her customers are first and her greatest pleasure is helping you achieve the house of your dreams.