Snohomish designer’s home a showcase for her thrifty talents

Julie Robinett Smith was just a tot when she discovered her love for interior design.

“I can remember, at age 4, lying in bed trying to figure out how I was going to arrange my doll’s furniture,” said Robinett Smith, who also loved to imagine how she would reconfigure homes she visited as a kid. “I still do that when I go into people houses.”

Robinett Smith, who now works as an interior designer in Snohomish, hasn’t stopped moving things around since.

“I’m constantly changing things,” she said, standing in the Southern-inspired home she and her husband, Randy, had built in 2003. “It’s fun. I love drama.”

Robinett Smith, who graduated from Washington State University with an interior design degree, has developed a taste for the finer things over the years. But she also has become an expert at achieving dramatic interiors inexpensively, mostly because she still delights in swapping things around in her own home.

That’s hard to afford, of course, if everything is top of the line.

“Even if you do have a big budget,” she said, “Why do you want to put a ton of money into it?”

Robinett Smith, mother to two grown daughters and a 6-year-old adopted son, Humoody Jauda-Smith, has made an art of finding high-end furniture for low prices.

“If you’re unwilling to go to places that aren’t as glamorous because you think you’re not going to get name brands, you’re making a mistake,” she said of local furniture warehouses. “You can get really good quality furniture.”

Robinett Smith is also a wizard at imitating popular styles for a fraction of the cost. “I know a lot of people like that Pottery Barn look,” she said, “but I don’t pay those prices.”

Humoody’s new room, decorated in red, white and blue, is home to some of Robinett Smith’s best bargains, and that Pottery Barn look, which cost her hundreds, not thousands.

Robinett Smith found a sturdy black bed frame with a headboard and footer for $250 from JCPenney online, along with a $99 red chest for a colorful accent. She added a black dresser with a mirror that she found as a set for $400 at McDonald’s Fine Furniture Liquidators in Lynnwood.

To keep Humoody organized, she bought four black shelving units at Walmart, assembled them herself, stacked them and filled them with inexpensive blue and red bins from Target, a storage solution that would have cost her, she estimates, $1,500 from a major home store like Pottery Barn.

“You can keep up with the trends without spending a lot of money,” Robinett Smith said. “It’s so much fun.”

Sarah Jackson 425-339-3037 sjackson@heraldnet.com

Designer’s tips

Mix high- and low-end items: Splurge on the items you love, but make up the cost on other pieces and accessories.

Be patient: Keep an eye out for close-outs deals and special sales. Sign up for e-mail alerts and catalogs so you know when the deepest discounts arrive.

Buy second hand: Used items work particularly well with the continued popularity of distressed or vintage styles.

Suitcase storage: Stack vintage suitcases, which can be found for $5 to $25 at antiques stores, for a funky accent that can also be used as storage.

Make your own: Craft exactly the items you need by sewing, painting or reupholstering your finds to meet your needs.

Shop locally and online: Go where the deals are, whether that’s your neighborhood home shop or eBay. Thrift knows no boundaries.

Resources

Here are some of Robinett’s favorite places to scout:

American Blinds, Wallpaper and More www.americanblinds.com

Annie’s on First 1210 First St. Snohomish 360-568-4242 Anniesinsnohomish.blogspot.com

Designer’s Furniture Warehouse 3210 Hewitt Ave. Everett 425-339-2094 www.buyfurniturenow.com

Discount Fabric www.discountfabric.com

Faded Elegance 1116 First St. Snohomish 360-568-5333 Fadedelegancestyle.blogspot.com

Gatherings 1515 Third St. Marysville 360-659-9729 www.gatheringshome.com