house
by Bob Waite
Cindy Brody has been an interior designer for 35 years, fifteen which have been in Skippack running her successful design business, Le Blue Goose. Whenever her phone rings you can hear the goose that symbolizes her business, a business she loves, especially the details that most of the uninitiated don’t even think about when buying furniture or setting up a room on their own. “I love fabrics and I get excited when see new fabrics.” She also loves meeting people and getting to know about them through her specialty. “Design is very personal. We have to learn a lot about people to help them create the living space that fits their needs and desires.’
Le Blue Goose has three full time designers, Cindy Brody, Amber Verazin and Monica Magalhaes. Both Amber and Monica also love interior design. Amber, an art major in college, sees interior design as similar to painting, which she also does in her spare time. “Space is like a canvas,” she says. “When a room is finished I say, ‘Wow! Look what we just created.’”
Monica also loves the creative process. She says, “I started out being an interior designer when I was a young girl and I would always be changing things in my mother’s house. I like making my space feel right for me and giving back to others by making people feel good and comfortable.”
The design philosophy of Le Blue Goose is simple. The designers at Le Blue Goose design for their customers wants and needs. Cindy explains, “We are not trying to push styles. We have to find what they like to create the space.” This involves spending some quality time with a prospective customer finding out what they need, what colors they like and kinds and styles of furniture they enjoy. Amber admits, “They may not know what style they like, but we find out by looking at what they like in their space now and showing them different styles and fabrics.”
Time spent with the client involves an appointment, an on-site appointment and lots of preliminary questions to help the designers make their suggestions on wall color, furniture, rugs, accessories, fabrics and, of course, function. They sometimes are able to show a client something that the client never would have thought of liking. Amber tells of a client who said she didn’t like stripes but when she was shown a room with a certain kind of stripes, was dazzled and embraced it. The point is getting what best serves the customer, rather than having any kind of agenda.
Le Blue Goose does design anywhere. Cindy says, “We have clients in Philadelphia, Montgomery County, the Poconos, the Lehigh Valley, the shore and even further. Le Blue Goose’s designers are willing to travel.
The house that we are showing in this article is a large estate in Skippack. It is in process, and only some of the rooms are done, but the family is happily living there and enjoying the changes made to their living space.
Le blue Goose is located at 4013 Skippack Pike, Skippack, PA. To make an appointment or inquiry, call 610-584-9800. For more information, visit www.lebluegoose.com.