A Designer Goes To Work: A Parade Interior Grows Beautifully


The Milwaukee Journal, September 1989
By Barbara Salsini

PEWAUKEE - coordinating the furnishings in a new home is a daunting task. Where does one start?

Interior designer Joanelle Jordann started with wall coverings and fabrics when she furnished the New Haven, one of the houses in this year's Parade of Homes.

The cheerful country patterns of the curtains and wallpaper inspired her selection of furniture, which might have looked at home in a colonial home in New Haven, Conn., and the rest of New England.

The furniture is from the Cobblepeg Shop in Stonewood Village, Brookfield, which specializes in country and custom made furniture.

The pieces were made to suit the style and scale of the rooms. Some were hand painted with pretty folk art designs. Most have a light oak finish.

The yellow flower in the wallpaper of the dinette is echoed in flowers painted on the backs of the dinette chairs, which are a dark blue to complement the second dominant color in the house.

Decorative pillows and chair pads repeat other patterns, including the yellow stripes of the curtains and wallpaper in a family sitting room.

Prints on the walls are among the accents that add to the overall look.

"Everything is all tied together," Jordann said.

A chest in the living room is painted with folk art heart designs. It's called a double-heart chest, and its prototypes were used as wedding and hope chests, Jordann said.

A small table in front of the 18- foot high fieldstone fireplace also features delicate painted designs, this time with a house theme, in honor of the Parade of Homes, she said. The room has a cathedral ceiling, and the sofa is covered in the yellow-and-blue chintz that was used for the dramatic window treatments on the 9-foot high windows.

Upstairs, two bedrooms and a sewing room carry out the country concept. In the sewing room, a sewing form is draped with some of the yellow-blue fabric that was used in the dining room. An antique yarn winder and old irons add folksy touches.

The Cobblepeg Shop is the retail store of the Madewell Chair Co., Sheboygan.

The $290,000 New Haven was built by David & Goliath Builders of Waukesha. Jordann worked with the builders from the planning strategies.

The Elm Grove designer has a degree in Interior design from Mount Mary College and is an allied member of the American Association of Interior Designers.

The 44th annual Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee, runs through Sept. 17 at two sites.

In Pewaukee, 19 new homes are on display at the Five Fields Subdivision, which is just west of Highway 164 and south of Capitol Dr. In Franklin, nine homes are open at the Southwood East subdivision, which is North of Ryan Road on S. 41st St.

The hours are 2 to 8 p.m. weekdays and noon to 6 p.m. weekends. Tickets cost $5 at the sites and $4 at the offices of the builders association, 6511 W. Bluemound Rd., and at the various savings and loan offices.



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