flair interior design

Working with Flair Interior Design in Annapolis, MD

Jean Phillips and Tatiana Beckham are the owners and business partners of Flair Interior Design in Annapolis, MD.  Jean and Tatiana each have more than 20 years of experience in the interior design field.  If you have a vision for your space, they can make it happen for you.  They create comfort, beauty, and style in your home whatever your budget.  In addition, they design for single family homes, apartments, condos, and offices.

We recently photographed one of their projects which was completed for Patrick Richmond in Annapolis, and thought it would be fun to share some information about their business and this project from each of their perspectives.


What is Flair Interior Design all about, and what services do you provide?
We are interior designers who work in all the phases of interior design.  We love to work with fabrics, color, room arrangements, and all the components of interior design for your home.  Our most important objective is to ensure that you are a satisfied and happy client whose home reflects your personal style.  We want you to be comfortable and proud of your home.  We will work with you in close collaboration to ensure that the project is tailored to your unique needs.

How would you describe the signature style of Flair Interior Design?
The signature style of Flair Interior Design, and actually our philosophy, is to get to know our clients well and listen closely to their needs, so that we can create spaces that show off their talents, personalities, interests, and treasures.  This is, after all, the client's home and not ours, and therefore must show off the person who lives in the space.

Who is your ideal client and why?
Our ideal client is the one who is happy with that we have done with their home.

How involved are your clients in the design process?
Our clients are always involved in the design process simply because we need to always abide by a budget, and we make sure that at every step that we are on the same wave length.  We make sure at all times that the functionality and aesthetics of our plan are compatible with the client's vision, wants, and need.

When designing a room, what is the most important factor for you?
When designing a room there are a lot of factors to consider.  We want to know when we start a project what this person wants and what are the priorities in the list of wants.  We have to listen closely because sometimes expressing wants can be subjective and unexpressed.  By listening to the needs and wants of a client, we will come up with a design style for that particular person's lifestyle.  Last but not least, we will need a budget and time frame to fulfill the project.

How did you become involved in this particular project?
Flair Interior Design began working with Patrick in the summer of 2017, when he called and said that he had rented an apartment in Annapolis, MD.  He was moving from a house in the suburbs to the city, and wanted to see if he could live in a space with common walls with neighbors.

Patrick wanted to start completely over with everything new in his apartment.  So, we had a clean slate to work with.  This is always a wonderful way to do an interior design project.  We did have to use the carpeting and the wall colors that were already there, as this is a rental apartment.  But, all the furniture, window treatments, art, lighting and accessories were ours to select.

What were the goals of this project and your creative process for working through this project? 
We were going for a contemporary look, as that was Patrick's choice.  Also, Patrick was very interested in having an uncluttered, clean atmosphere.  First, we shopped for the living room sectional and a round, upholstered ottoman. These items were found at a local furniture store.

Where did you find your inspiration for designing the spaces in this project?
Many of the other items for the apartment were purchased online.  We found a wonderful, intricately carved wood headboard for his bedroom along with a great looking comforter and shams in red, white and gray.  Red bedside chests were also found online along with brushed chrome lamps.  A small occasional chair was also found on another online site.

The window treatments for his bedroom, living room, and home office were fabricated by Flair Interior Designs workroom.  The fabrics for the window treatments and for extra throw pillows on the various furniture pieces were found by Flair at the many fabric companies located at the Design Center in Washington, D.C.

Other finds on the internet were occasional lamps for all the rooms from web sites and local stores. We covered many walls with art that came from the internet and framed at a local art framer.  We also used a professional art installer for the art.

What role did each of you play in the design process?
We both are involved at all times in the design process.  All of the purchases were made after extensive research.  We made many visits to Patrick's apartment to see the new items in place, and discuss new creative ideas for finishing the apartment.

How would you describe the style used in this project?
The style of Patrick's design process was stated by him.  He wanted a contemporary style, and uncluttered.

What was the most challenging aspect of this project and what solution did you provide?
Actually, there were no big challenges to Patrick's project.  When Patrick went out of town for his business, we worked with other clients and waited for his return.  When the wrong product was shipped to us, we told the company that they had shipped the wrong thing, and we waited for the right one to be shipped back.

Is there any space, particular piece of furniture, or accessory which you absolutely love?
I love the bedroom because it is bright and fits the space nicely, and also anchors my idea of a masculine bachelor bedroom.  I also love and revel in the color red (Tatiana).

How long did this particular project take from beginning to completion?
The entire process took approximately six months. A t the end of the project, Flair had Amanda Koehler of Charm City Virtual Tours, photograph the rooms for Flairs website and their site on Houzz.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your business or this project?
Our interior design work also includes home staging for resale.  We use techniques that will get any home ready for the competitive real estate market and the home better positioned for a quick sale.

Patrick was a great client to work with. He was open to new ideas and respected Flairs knowledge and judgement in the field of Interior Design.  Patrick is very pleased with Flairs work and the outcome of the project...a blank page made into a beautiful and comfortable space.  This is the greatest reward for us at Flair Interior Design since our philosophy is to always please the client and to work within their budget and taste.


Patrick, how did you decide that you needed the services of an interior designer?
I've never been able to properly decorate my home.  Things that were purchased together matched but there was no consideration for anything else in the room or through my home.  Since I was starting over, from scratch, in a new home I knew that having a plan from the beginning was going to be key having a living space that makes me happy.

What was your involvement in designing and selecting furniture and accessories?
We started discussing what styles I was interested in.  I was able to use some pictures from the Flair Interior Design portfolio to communicate what I was looking for.  From that starting point, things were really easy.  Jean and Tatiana would come to me with multiple choices for items that would fit together and the the overall flow of my new home.  There were no bad choices in what they suggested, since they easily understood what I was looking for.  I was also encouraged to bring in my own suggestions for items and some of those were worked into the final result.  During the whole project Jean and Tatiana explained why certain things were chosen and why they would work and, also, if I suggested something that wouldn't work they explained why.  They were able to explain things in a way I could understand which made it a great collaboration.

Were there any unpleasant surprises throughout your project?  If so, how were they resolved?
There were no unpleasant surprises.  Thanks to the great collaboration we had I was able to understand each stage as we moved through the project.

Is there a particular room, piece of furniture, or accessory piece that you absolutely love?
I'm really happy with the main living space.  Being in a smaller space, we re-purposed what could have been a dining area into an extension of the living room.  I found that even living in a much larger home a dining area went mostly unused and became wasted space.  To have people over and see how functional this area is has been great.  I'm also really happy about items I was able to bring in to represent me.  I am a musician and I was able to incorporate some pictures and wall art that expresses that.

What is your overall feeling of the finished project?
I had high expectations for this project and it turned out even better than I expected.  Not only is the end result great but Flair Interior Design made it easy for me to get this great result.

Was Flair Interior Design respectful of your budget?
At the beginning we discussed an overall budget.  As the project moved along we would discuss the cost of individual items.  It became a give and take, like any budgeting activity, what items would get more budget than others.  At the end of the project I can say that we came in under what I expected to spend.

Would you recommend Flair Interior Design and use them again?
Absolutely.  This was such a smooth project and even fun at times.  The end result was great and it was just as important that Jean and Tatiana were able to understand what I needed and communicated with me so that I understood what was happening the whole time.

What advice would you give homeowners about selecting and using and interior designer?
The way that I went about finding Flair Interior Design was looking at websites that linked to interior designers.  I found Flair Interior Design on Houzz.  The deciding factor for me was being able to look through their portfolio for spaces similar to my home and using styles that I liked.  I did an initial phone consultation with Jean and talked about what I was trying to accomplish.  I felt like we connected and that she got what I was trying to do.  Having someone who can translate what I'm looking for into a coherent finished product was key.

Jean and Tatiana can be reached by email at info@flairinteriordesign.com or by phone at
410-271-1261 or 443-871-3642.

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