Grayson Enterprises Ltd. First NA Serial Rights

page 1 Copyright 1989

1,000 words

INTERIORS BY J.C.

Written by June Grayson

Photographed by James Ream and June Grayson

You deserve a beautiful home, according to Joan Cowen of INTERIORS BY J.C., of St. Charles, Illinois. "Your home should be a place of refuge, the place you love to be, so that you can find the peace and tranquility you need to go out again into a very troubled world." 

Peace and tranquility abound in the Fox River Valley forty miles west of Chicago where the Pottawatomie Indians used to fish 

and wehre the early settlers planted corn on the wooded hills. Now those oak groves and hills shelter luxurious brick mansions built by corporate officers and professionals moving into the area. These are the clients whos seek the help of Cowen in  

making their homes into the proper setting for their entertaining of their world wide business clients. 

An interior designer is a special personl who is allowed to enter the most private world of a human teing - their home. My responsiblity is to listen to them talk so I can find out what they love and then guide them in putting the things together. I try to find out the little things, " explains Cowen. "Do butterflies remind them of a wonderful childhood memory? What colors make them feel at home? 

Cowen says that there is a return to traditional styles and elegance. "We are all riushing so muchg, that we don't take the time to feel elegant anymore. And thats a pity.l I look at my clients and ask, what do they want their home to say to you when you enter The people we design for do a lot of entertaining. ONe client territory is literally the whole whordl. They are from England. I had to study their English ehritage and Anne Hathaway's cottage. What did they watn to pull from England. Most poeple don't realize that a lot of research goes into a decorating job. I have a new clietn now who wants to reproduce the feel of ther Twenties,  

Cowen will do a whole house. many of her clients are corpiatons head who do a lot of entertainting, they are moving into a new home, and what the whole house done. 

Other clients will call adn say theys tarted doing their own hosue, but they need help, just don't know how to get the right comination of things they want for what they want to accomplsiuh. 

In fact, one of the most cerative things she ever did is when a defvleoper retaiend her to do 2 model homes in Wheaton. He told her to spend money on the accessories but that he was on a stringent budget and didn't want to spend much money on the fruniture., So she haunbted fela amrkets, garage sales, and estate sales, bought thing sor 25 and stripped them down under many alyers of paint to discover wonderful woods, then theyr nded up#

otered furntiure, they cut them down and rehupholstered them. Bought thigns fo 25 and 2ade furtnitrure wortth hudnred of  

W 

]ASll of the furniture used in the mdoel homes eventually dollars. 

But you don't need to be rich to have a beautiful home, Cowen thinks.  

 

in the buidlern's own home. 

Cowen's love of beuatifulf abrics started early.Born in MOntgomery Alabama, she grew up as a typical southern belle. Her family, though not rich, still lived the soutern lifestyle. Whereas most little girls, when a mother asks what can she bring from a store, may say, please bring me candy, or a toy, or a doll, or a book, Cowen remembers that she always asked her motehr to bring me some pretty fabric. Then she would make clothes for her dolls and later on she made all of her own clothes. 

ired either to be a teacher or a nurse. Since she loathed teaching, after a half day stint i1 high school when the children wouldn't obey her and threw spitballs at her, she bexame a 1urse and did public health nursing in Cloealand. I don't regret my nursing experience, though, explains Cowen. I think it made me more sensitive and understanding of people. Now, when I am around someone who is iirtable, I never take it eprsonnaly, but I try ot udnerstand what could have happened to upset him so much. 

She married the man who fixed hethe flat tire on her car parked in front of the nursing dormotry. Four daughters arrived. 

When she decided she watned to finish off their basement into a recreation room and ofund out it would cost several thousand dollars, she decided instead to buy a radial saw and do it herself. AT first the hardware store man would not even sell her the saw. But with her hisband's approval she persisted, studied books and magazines and di it all herself. That was the real start of her successfu& decorating business. 

A firend- her first cleint, after seeing her work, asked her to edcesign and build a dsweing cabinet and worktable for her. TYhat led to other requests from friends, cabinets. Then they asekd her to help pick the colors and the wall papers for their rooms. 

She elarned everything on the nob, by trial and error. she always wanted to do it all ehrself.AFter one eyar, her hsuband said, you have eveeryone's couches all over the basekemnt, you have wlal paepr samples all over the house, can't you at elast Those were still the days when a girl asto run the business and she has always b een able to pay all biklls on time out of current receipts. s She has never advertised, but clients called mostly by referrals and she was always busy. 

Win sic motnhs she has to move to a larger storye. Then she got too busy, and felt too rpessured to do it all ehrslef. So she gotclosed ehr store and accepted the job of doing the two model homes. cLEITNS REFerred kept her busy for years again working out of her St. Charles home  

She refused to start anbother store, knowing what a commitment it was. Finally, her third daughter, Kathleen, gradauted from college with a business degree convinced her that she wanted to be an interior designer too. So three yas ago togehter they oepned their first store in St. Charles. Now Mr. Cowen, has takedn early retirment, so it is a family business.  

 

Joan and Kathleen do the des 

diesigning, and Kathleen does some of the business, while Gerald has taken over all of the accounting, paryro

l adn taxes - things Joan hated anway. Those were still the days when a girl as 

get a little shop so that we can get our own house straignted up> 

Cowen would not gvo to work until all fo the chidlrenw ere ins chool full time. tHEN WITH Four dollars in eh pocket, she signed a lease for $800.00 a month for her fist store in Wheaton, Illinois. She has never borrowed any 21

She chose wEHATOM because she trasnposrted her children daily to a *wHEATON christna day school and wanted to be near them in cas4e sthey needed her during the school day. 

 

j Jan tends to be conservative, but Kathleen decorates with flair and eclectic. So they balnce each other. 

The have eight fulltime employees and doo all fo the u8phostlering and construction fo furniture and draperies on the 

premises. Coewen uses a lot of wood for cornice ocnstrtuction. That makes her deisgns harder to copy. the designs are compeltely sewn and cosntructed and put together in the store workroom, and then traported to the site in the delivery truck. 

 

They will do any styles. Now she is into ceramic tile. I am beginning to icnorpate tiles into our cornices, tiles are not beoling sued as widely as they should be. sHE PLANS to change that. 

To when her hsuband reitred he would ahve been happy to sell everything and travel toegehr with her for the rest of their lives. 

AS a compromise, she agreed that he could plan trips whneever he wanted to and she would accompany him. The first week whe unwinds 

and the next week she is isnpired to begin to create the designs she will come home and implenet. 

 

She still has her goals. Thgey want to get into furniture creating, to fill the niches they find in their work. They ahve some designs and patents in progress. maybe evne chidlren's toys. I am going to desing pieces that are not out there yet. I am going to have the enoyment of failure, things that people need. 

Cowen feels that interior desing offers her a chance to use her gOD-GIVEN CREATIVES GIFRTS AND this si where she bleongs and this is what she will continue to do. If you lvoe what you do, you will do a good job and you will succeed. 

Rich elegant designs now, lots of swaging of frabrics. FAvorite popular colors now: mauve, rose, teal, gray, soft and beatuiful adn rich colors, with darmk, accents shuch as hunter green or burgundy. 

are the dcolors soft and epaceful, does it look like it has bene put toegehr with lvoe and care CXhildren remembver things more than you think, when my daguther elft home,t hey wanted to take their rooms with. Give your children happy meemories to follow them throughout their lives. 

So many people go thorugh life unhappy, not really finding out what theyw ere meant to do. we should devleop our lvies to the otential. I oeprate a verys atisfying business that I love. If you are not in the jbo your are happy with, you must go back and find out where your talents belong. 

Cowen has another goal for her busienss - to raise money for her charitable goals. When she started the business, ehr profits . I go intwent into two hjfunds - her four daughter's eduations fund and a fund to support missionaries from her church. Now that her fourth daugther is almost through college and after they complete their current planend business expansion, azhse wants to turn mroe profits over to the Lord. She prays about her work  

into a roo2 and feel good about it. and realzie this si the way a home should be.&fact, she has had some wonderful anwsers to prayer. One bvuildre rsaid to her, this is going to amze you, but you have chosen the colors I love, or this wondow treatment is jsut what I wanted, or thiwhat you are doing remidns me of someone I love very much. So I am able to bring joy to p