Karen Renee Interior Design, Inc.

Located in Odenton, Maryland, the Woodlands in Two Rivers are an enclave of homes boasting wooded views, a variety of resort-style amenities, and close proximity to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore for commuters. It is here that designer Stephanie Simmons completed a recent project – a modern take on a beautiful design for a client transitioning to a new chapter in her life. The new construction offered a wonderfully blank slate and, in the living room pictured here, Stephanie incorporated neutral tones throughout using the window treatments, area rug, and pillows, for a light, airy feel. Pops of color were implemented using meaningful pieces of art created by the homeowner herself. The paint used in the living room was Benjamin Moore’s Cumulus Cloud, with the accented tray ceiling in Benjamin Moore’s Balboa Mist helping to emphasize the architectural features of the beams. The outcome was a wonderful place to relax and read while having a glass of wine or entertain family and friends with its ample seating.

We won and celebrated 1920's style at What's Up? Magazine's Best of Party!  We are so pleased to have been voted the winner for “Best Of Interior Design Services” by our supporters in What’s Up? Magazine’s Best of Annapolis & Best of West County. Thanks to everyone who voted!  We couldn’t do this without our wonderful clients.

If you ask friends and family which room they spend the most amount of time in, they’ll most likely say the kitchen. A place of necessity, but also a place for gathering and comfort, it’s no wonder the kitchen is the place to be… and we’ve compiled a list of currently popular styles and applications to consider:

• Cabinet colors, especially dark or colored cabinets with lots of blues
• Quartz countertops and farmhouse-style sinks are both still prevalent
• Retro appliances with pops of color or using contrasting colors in upper and lower cabinets
• Backsplashes, using larger slabs of tile, tiles with texture and patterns, tall backsplashes
• Open shelving and butcher block countertops
• Hardwood flooring or tile that looks like wood
• Natural materials that evoke a sense of nature: i.e., wood, stone, shiplap, jute, also shiplap and wood beams on ceiling
• Digital technology incorporated into kitchens for ease and convenience

Lisa Smith comes to Karen Renee Interior Design with 15 years’ experience in Interior Design and credits her success to passion, determination, and education. Lisa has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Towson University, an Associate’s Degree in Interior Design from AACC, and has completed Master Classes from George Washington University. Her focus over the years has been model home merchandising and also has extensive experience in residential interiors and commercial spaces.  

With a natural eye for color, patterns, and textures, Lisa is known for her ability to combine various fabrics, often presenting the unexpected. It’s these unanticipated delights that propels Lisa to get engrossed in creativity!  Her work greatly depends on the lifestyle and habits while taking into consideration who will be using the rooms, ensuring an appealing space and a high level of functionality.  

Being from the state of Maryland, Lisa wears several different design-style “hats” and excels in each of them: whether waterfront or urban city living, mountains or the small towns of the eastern shore, or a general nature aesthetic, no project feels uncomfortable.

Lisa was drawing houses and creating floor plans as a child, completely enamored with her mother’s fabrics and sewing box. Her sister’s doll house was nothing more than a Designer Show house, where carpet and wallpaper were installed and reinstalled. Furniture was built and painted regularly and lighting was fashioned and installed. Now as a practicing interior designer, Lisa has a young daughter herself that she hopes will develop her own love of color and design.

In 1973, supporters of the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club in New York City sought a way to raise money for local children in after-school and enrichment programs. Enter the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse. Done annually, interior designers take a Manhattan Georgian mansion home and thoughtfully reinvent its rooms, displaying a cornucopia of inspiring artwork, furnishings, and technology. Favorites from our visit? A wall treatment and staircase mural done by Richard Rabel as well as an invitingly tranquil living room, by Robert Passal and Danial Kahan, inspired by Parisian salons and incorporating hidden speakers within its ceilings, so as not to indicate where the music was coming from. 

We’re excited to announce Karen Renee Interior Design won the distinction of two awards in outstanding merchandising at the MBIA’s MAX Awards!  Our projects, Woodlands at Plum Creek, in Crownsville, and Oxford Apartments, in Oxon Hill, were recognized for exemplary interior merchandising.  We couldn’t be more thrilled for the distinction in this category and industry. 

An eclectic showcase of local personalities presented their take on May Day on the historic streets of Annapolis!  This year’s beautiful bouquets represented the city in diverse samplings – each felt like an extension of an already unique and beautiful locale and only worked to further enhance the special nature of a stroll through the streets of downtown Annapolis.  Didn’t make it this year?  There’s always next year!

Creative and highly motivated Senior Interior Designer sought by Karen Renee Interior Design, a highly established and award winning interior design firm. A minimum of five years residential experience and a degree in Interior Design are required. This is an incredible opportunity for someone seeking a rewarding career and an environment that includes wonderful natural light to work in, a cooperative team mentality, support staff, a full sample library and direct furniture manufacturer accounts.  Model Home Merchandising and Commercial experience is a plus.

Annapolis Home Magazine’s hosted their Builder & Fine Design Awards launch party on January 24, where we celebrated our designer Stephanie Simmons. Stephanie won first place in Design Excellence for her project, “Eastern Shore Retreat.” It’s always a good time when we’re together, especially when celebrating such an occasion!  Pictured Left to Right:  Cathy Lindquist, Stephanie Simmons and Karen Osborne at the Awards Dinner at the Gibson Island Club on November 1st.

Looking to spice up your powder room’s blank walls with a clever spin on a gallery display? Take frames in a variety of sizes and profiles, paint them a beautiful contrasting color to offset the tone of your walls, and make your own masterpiece. We implemented this look in the guest bathroom of a recent project, “Woodlands at Plum Creek,” using Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint in Farmhouse White on frames found in an antique store. The frames were hung in an interesting pattern to give a visual effect without being too busy. For an added touch, you could add an antique mirror to the middle or embellish with chicken wire as we did with this project.