Nesting in Telluride Replacing a Sofa, Furnishing a Home. By Elizabeth Covington "People are spending more on their interiors. They are nesting and not traveling as much, so they are investing in their environment," says Shawna Hartley about the trend she has noticed among local homeowners. Hartley is an interior designer and the proprietor of Hartley Vaughn, an interior design store and center of Hartley's design business. Homeowners are finishing their unfinished rooms and replacing the temporary sofa that's been in the living room for ten years, she says. People want traditional, quality pieces of furniture, Hartley says "but they want something with a twist. An unexpected accent, like an Asian influence, a bright color, or a faux fur throw," could be just the thing. To illustrate Hartley points to two large faux mink bolsters backing a cascade of other luxurious pillows on an antiqued metal bed in the corner of her store. Hartley points to a "sexy Victorian lamp" on the bedside table. With its beaded fringe and tapestry lampshade, the lamp is an elaborate, seductive twist on bedroom lighting. "We can work in any style," Hartley adds. Whether a client is interested in western, modern or mountain elegant she has the know-how and resources to work with that person. The goods in her store display an eclectic taste. From the weathered wooden signs behind the bed, the leather and brass tack-trimmed mirror, the faux antelope fur covered wooden day bed to an antiqued red hutch, the items in Hartley Vaughn showcase Hartley's wide-ranging taste. In addition to the offerings in her store, Hartley is reaching out to the local homeowner who has finally decided to replace that couch - an Interior Co-op where "You do all the work," she says grinning. Members of the co-op will have access to an extensive catalogue library of interior design products, as well as sample and design manuals. For the modest price of the membership fee members also can purchase selected furniture (mainly foundation pieces, such as tables, sofas, chairs and the like) for a small percentage above the wholesale price. Like Hartley, Jeanette Ritchey says she tends toward an eclectic blend. Ritchey, a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers, recently opened a showroom in Ridgway. "I don't follow trends," says Ritchey. "Good design is timeless. I look back at things from the 50s and 60s, even back to the 30s and 40s and things are as wonderful now as they were then. That is not to say that I like things that are stodgy. However, you can always update old pieces with a new color or a fabric choice." Though Ritchey prefers mixing antiques with contemporary furnishings to create a look that appears as though the pieces were collected over time, Ritchey is willing to work in any style. In this area "a lot of people do a rustic style, antlers and hides and a lumber-type design," she says, and as a consequence many interiors appear the same. An interior designer can help clients define a unique, personal look. For example, many times clients who come to her for guidance have purchased a single piece of furniture hoping it will set the pace for the rest of the house. However, when the clients and Ritchey get down to business, more often than not the signature piece doesn't fit into the big picture. "It is a great idea to work with a designer. We can often save clients a lot of money in terms of making purchases and being able to offer a really broad array of choices that would not otherwise be available, even through high end furniture stores," Ritchey says. "I try to listen carefully to my clients," Ritchey says, adding that while she is open to working in any style her client chooses, she always pushes clients to have a consistent feel from the outside of the house to the inside. "You don't want a rustic house on the outside and 18th century French silk on the inside." While some interior designers like Ritchey find a direction for their clients through interviews and a questionnaire, Jeanne Knope, manager of Azadi Fine Rugs, urges clients to start with their rug. "And I'm not telling you that just because I'm a rug person," she says. "Many interior designers encourage their clients to start with the rug." "A rug is something that you might have in a family for years and years. A rug has feeling. It brings soul and warmth into your home. It is a piece of art," Knope says. That Azadi rugs are pieces of art is not an overstatement. Each rug is hand-woven, hand-knotted and dyed in the traditional way using 100 percent vegetable dyes. The mark of traditional vegetable dye applied to hand spun wool is an uneven color. "The hand spun wool accepts the dye differently throughout the strand and gives the rug" a hand-created quality, she says. The Azadi tradition began in 1790 in Azerbaijan with the great-great-great-great grandfather of current owner David Neishabori. Grandfather Neishabori was a farmer who traded wool for matches. "It was winter nine months out of the year, so matches were a hot commodity. Everybody had their own wool, so he would travel to Baku, which was more of a trading center, about 300 miles away," Neishabori recently told Sedona Magazine. When a storm hit on a return trip, all the matches were destroyed. A friend offered to teach the trader how to dye the wool, make it more profitable, and thus make up for the loss. On a subsequent trip, however, fates intervened and a storm took the life of the farmer and his donkeys. The same friend extended a helping hand to the son and taught him how to weave the dyed wool into rugs. "The business developed from there," Neishabori said. "My grandfather expanded into Europe, and my father to the United States, opening a wholesale business in California. In those days, rugs were more of a necessity that brought warmth, not the art of color and design we enjoy today. Our rugs today add so much feeling, so much warmth to a home. Our clients tell us they sometimes take their rugs for granted, but the minute one has to be cleaned, they say it's like missing a family member. A house without a rug is like a life without a soul." Neishabori has taken the family business a step further, opening retail stores in Scottsdale, Sedona and Telluride. Whether the rug us a Persian Mylayer that dates to the mid-1800s (one hangs on the wall in the Telluride store), a contemporary selection of wool rugs created in Nepal by Tibetan weavers, or a contemporary silk rug woven in Turkey, each one is hand picked from one of 17 weaving centers Azadi works with in countries from Turkey to Nepal. "The rug will speak to a client," Knope says confidently. "I look for their reaction to a rug. Once a client shows interest in a rug, their choices will be consistent in terms of color, style and even country of origin."