How an Interior Designer Can Help You Maximize What You Already Own

Working with a professional interior designer can seem daunting. You might worry they’ll judge your furnishings, insist on discarding your family treasures, or push you toward a complete overhaul. But that’s a myth we’re here to dispel.

The truth? A skilled interior designer can actually help you make the most of what you already have. In fact, this is exactly how an interior designer can help you maximize what you already own—by honoring your existing pieces and thoughtfully integrating them into a refreshed design.

At LiLu Interiors, we believe that a well-loved piece—whether it’s your grandmother’s heirloom armchair, a favorite painting, or the dining table where you’ve gathered for countless family dinners—has emotional value and a story to tell. Rather than starting from scratch, we often begin with these cherished items, using them as a foundation to design a home that’s both personal and elevated.

One great example: We’ve worked with one of our long-time clients across three different homes. In the first home, our task was to thoughtfully incorporate the furnishings they already owned into a larger space that could support their growing family. We paired beloved existing pieces with custom furnishings and rugs that brought cohesion, comfort, and beauty to their new environment.

The result? A home that felt not only complete and beautiful—but uniquely theirs.

If you're considering working with an interior designer but are worried you'll have to give up the things you love, rest assured: a great designer will honor your past while helping you create a future-forward home that works beautifully for your life today. This is just one example of how an interior designer can help you maximize what you already own.

Dining Room

In the first dining room we executed for them, we used a table our client had been using as a desk and painted it silver to update it, combined it with new chairs and a settee and took a dresser from their former bedroom and used it as buffet. We added a new chandelier and created a layered look with custom window treatments and a printed grass cloth wallcovering. By using pieces they already had and combining them with new pieces, we were able to design a home that looked curated over time.

In their second dining room, which was quite a bit larger, we added a new custom-designed dining table, purchased several new but matching dining chairs, and added a fully upholstered host chairs and a new chandelier from Ironies. We also added a rug that allowed the dining room to flow with the color palette of the entire home. If you are curious to see the first and second home, Check out Posh Playhouse and Posh Playhouse 2.0 in our portfolio.

 

The third home we have designed for them, which they purchased to be in a community they loved, had space allocated quite differently and a smaller dining room. Again, we had a custom table built, with leaves for holidays, that was the correct scale for the room and we cut down the rug from their previous dining room. The much-loved chandelier was moved before their second home was sold. The settee from their first dining room now sits in the open hallway at the end of the dining table.

You can see from this example how an interior designer can help you maximize what you already own.

 

Living Room

In the first living room we designed for this family, we used a timeless sofa frame in a light grey fabric with the idea that it could be used in many rooms in the future. In addition, we designed a custom coffee table with simple lines which can span styles. We combined it with colorful floor pillows, other pillows and chairs with stripes in the colors of the room.

In their second home, this sofa and coffee table became the anchor for a colorful and happy living room with a pink abstract rug. We added a daybed, new side tables, and reused the chairs and ottoman they were paired with. This second living room has many of the same elements as the first but looks completely fresh because we paired it with new pieces and a custom rug.

In the third home, the gray sofa appears again in the hearth room. If you look closely you will see the living room rug from home one has been paired again with this sofa.

It's basically like we took all the furnishings and scrambled them up to reuse everything in a new and fresh way.

Family Room

In the family room, we ran into a bit of luck. The large pink sectional we had built for the family room in our client’s second home fit perfectly in their third home designed by LiLu. We paired it with a lounge chair from a guest room in their previous home, added a new end table, and incorporated the floor pillows from living room number one!

While thinking this all through took time, it seems well worth the effort! This is how an interior designer can help you maximize what you already own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact us today to start your next project!