Marlene Oliphant Interior Design

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United States
San Clemente, CA
Marlene Oliphant Interior Design

Experienced Interior Designer, specializing in helping 50+ Boomers reboot their homes for their fabu Currently, all project meetings are virtual.

Marlene has lived the journey of finding a dream home with her husband with an eye toward their retirement, and renovating it to suit their lifestyle now. She's an expert at helping her 50+ clients live life to the fullest in a home that's refreshingly stylish, comfortable and functional. Decluttering is definitely a factor to consider and Marlene offers solid advice and guidance in helping clients determine what to keep and what to dispense with to gain the most from their redesigned home. There are many specialty furnishings and other products designed for aging gracefully in place. To look at Marlene's finished rooms, one would never know that safety is one of the primary goals of her designs. Several of her projects were featured on Home Tours in Pasadena and Florida. You can take her tongue-in-cheek Quiz "Does Your Home Make You Look Old?" at this link : https://marleneoliphant.com/quiz to get started. Marlene's Services Include:
-- The Future-Proof-Your-Home Consultation
A 90-minute virtual personal assessment of the client's home to help them make critical decisions about what's needed for improvement. Whether it's a room redesign or a remodel, Marlene helps the client determine how to repurpose rooms, make them more functional, and add aesthetic appeal. Her attitude is, "there's nothing that provides more peace of mind than living in a beautiful home that's future-ready!"

--Kitchen and Bath Design: A complete custom design tailored to the client for a beautiful, functional space that's safe to use while aging gracefully in place. Marlene's prior background as a food professional and cookbook author (a.k.a. Marlene Brown) makes her an expert at kitchen design for novices to cooking enthusiasts. She has designed dozens of kitchens and baths and no two are alike. Currently, all meetings for these projects are virtual.

--Room Redesigns: Customized design service is based on the number of rooms and clients' needs. Currently all meetings for these projects are virtual.

--Customized Projects: Inquire about your project for a custom design plan.

08/02/2023

Love these plates for my patio wall!

11/23/2022

At The Flamingo Park in Ft Lauderdale. All my favorite colors!

12/22/2020

Our beautiful San Clemente pier at sunset with Catalina in the background! They placed a Christmas tree at the end. By Greg Gothjan.

12/21/2020

This is a stunning photo of our San Clemente pier at sunset! With the Christmas tree. Catalina is in the distance! Photo by Greg Gothjan.

11/18/2020

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Here’s a handy chart for thawing that frozen turkey:

06/09/2020

Design Tip #12 for Sheltering in Style: Make Your Bedroom a Sanctuary Space 🌙

Many people spend time decorating the public rooms in their home, but when it comes to their bedroom space, it becomes a lower priority. Well, now is the time to pay attention!

1. Copy your favorite hotel suite. Think about that place you stayed on vacation that you never wanted to leave. What were the qualities of that room you’d like to duplicate?

2. The bed is the focal point of your bedroom. If you have a spring mattress, turn it every six months or so to minimize wear and tear. Get a new mattress if it’s been too long!
3. If you don’t like your headboard or bedframe, maybe it’s time to change the finish/recover the headboard/buy a new bed frame and headboard.
4. Start with a good mattress cover, which protects from staining. Invest in some beautiful new sheets. Even is selling luxurious sheets that will make your night. Percale and linen are cooler than high-thread count sheets if you tend to get hot; buy flannel if you get cold. Ditch your old blankets and pick up a new coverlet, bedspread or duvet. Try
5. Make your bed wall the focal point. Consider adding wallpaper to the wall behind your bed, or a darker tone of paint that sets off your furniture. A large piece of lattice or some simple moldings applied in a grid pattern lend some needed architecture.
6. Add the suite part. Include a chair or small sitting area in your bedroom if possible. A bench at the end of the bed also works.
7. Do you like to read in bed or your easy chair? Add the reading light where you need it. Change out or add sconces over the bed when circumstances allow.
8. Your bedroom is a great place for family photos, a landscape or two you picked up while on vacation, or framed photos of your favorite places.

If you want to subscribe to our weekly emails – email marlene@marleneoliphant.

06/08/2020

Design Tip #11 for Sheltering in Style: The Home Office Makeover 📁

There is no time like the present to address your personal needs! When you add up the time you spend in your office, it’s worth using some practical tips to make it work better for you.

1. Location, location! A room with a door is the most ideal, think about traffic flow… can you find a corner that won’t be rife with interruptions from other family members? Treat yourself to a nearby window with a view if you can. Place your equipment where it won’t be affected by direct sunlight.
2. I find that a table or desk that is at least 50-60” long is ideal for a workspace. If you don’t have a desk, utilize a table, a secretary, or a slab of butcherblock placed over two small bookcases or file cabinets. Try
3. Clear the clutter and find a place for everything. Shred all of the paper you don’t need. Is it really necessary to have ten file drawers of paper? Consolidate!
4. For a good guide on determining what papers to keep read this excellent article by financial expert Dave Ramsey https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/organizing-your-important-documents
5. Paint your office in a color that pleases you. If you are stuck with brown furniture, paint some or all of your pieces. Or even the backs of your bookcases!
6. Add some attractive desktop lighting. A table lamp or two adds a homey touch. Try
7. Buy the best desk chair you can afford. Even if you only spend an hour or two at a time in your home office, a good desk chair will be well worth the expense. Try the store. Add a floor protector under a rolling chair to protect your floor or carpet.
8. Pick up a wire organizer at any online office supply. You can find types that attach to the desk and keep the mess out of sight. Try
9. Add a piece or two of artwork, a rug, a pretty window treatment, some accessories for your desk and a potted plant!

If you want to subscribe to our weekly emails – email marlene@marleneoliphant.com

05/24/2020

Design Tip #10 for Sheltering in Style: Change Up the Details ✨

By now if you’ve had some fun with my decorating tips for sheltering in place, you might be feeling a lot better about your home. I hope so!

One of the most important aspects of interior design is in the details. If you are the slightest bit handy with a screwdriver, pliers, or a drill, well then! You’ve got it made when it comes to making the details special.

These six finishing touches will make all of the difference in your rooms!

1. Redress cabinets or furniture with new hardware. New handles or pulls are just what the doctor ordered for your kitchen or bath cabinetry, that old dresser or the doors in your home. One caveat: measure the distance between the holes for the pulls you currently have, it’s called the center-on-center measure. This will save you lots of hassle!
2. Try a new finish: Brass finishes are making a comeback and so is black. Check out ***s ***s
3. Add new brackets to shelves. Any open shelving you have, or even a special shelf in your closet can be jazzed up with a snazzy new bracket. Pay attention to the depth of your shelf, and make sure that the bracket supports two-thirds the depth of your shelf. Try
4. Choose beautiful new options for passage doors. Door handles are pretty exciting right now! Though a front door lock set will be a more complicated installation, it’s pretty easy to change out a regular passage set on an existing interior door. Try
5. Update floor and wall heat register covers. Again, beauty and style reign in this category. Try
6. Hooks, racks, and rods: Towel bars, robe hooks, storage racks for the bath, and all manner of items such as these are yours for the asking. Check the links listed here to get you started. Coordinate finishes for a great look.

If you want to subscribe to our weekly emails – email marlene@marleneoliphant.com

05/21/2020

Design Tip #9 for Sheltering in Style: Time for a Clothes Closet Revamp 👜

How coincidental that during this sheltering in place event in our lives, the seasons are also changing to the warm and wonderful spring and summer seasons of new growth!

And a change of season always sends us to our closets! Here are ten tips for tweaking your closet as we go into warmer weather:

1. Time to declutter. Marie Kondo is right! If it doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it! Having lots of trouble with this? Hire a Wardrobe Consultant to help you do the deed!
2. Divide the discards into piles: items to resell, items to gift to others or donate, and items to discard.
3. Wash/Clean/Repair: Another pile you should have are items that are stained/need dry cleaning/washing, or items that need repairs. Make a list of repairs and either mend it yourself this week or send to the cleaners.
4. Store out-of-season clothing. There are long rectangular plastic bins that fit the top shelves to store tops and sweaters. Dresses, skirts, pants, and blouses can go into a spare bedroom closet. Stash out-of-season shoes in plastic shoe boxes.
5. Hangers are a big deal. Ditch those wire hangers or the hangers with paper rolls attached. Your clothes deserve better! Good hangers help preserve the line of your clothing. Try Zober Hangers from which have indents to keep shoulder straps from slipping off.
6. Organize items by type and color. This goes for clothing that is hung or stacked on shelves.
7. Store accessories so you can see what you have. I use drawers/bins for items like scarves (ironed, folded and stacked), large belts (coiled up), and small purses.
8. Take control of jewelry. Use a drawer with dividers for short necklaces, bracelets and pins. has lucite trays with velvet liners which work great for earrings.
9. Store expensive sunglasses in a separate container with a soft liner.
10. You need a double-hang closet system if you don’t have one already. Try a DIY one online or an online estimate for a custom closet manufacturer.

If you want to subscribe to our weekly emails – email marlene@marleneoliphant.com @ San Clemente, California

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Concierge Interior Design Services for 50+ Boomers

As an experienced interior designer in southern California, I can tell you that planning the perfect home for our best life now and in the future was serious business for us! We emded up decluttering our two-story, hillside home in Glendale, California and selling it. Then we moved into an apartment in Pasadena for a year, while we assessed where we wanted to live and how for this next stage of our 50+ lives. There were a lot of questions to be answered so we would never have to move again.

We found our new home in San Clemente, California, just a few minutes from the beach and the pier. I got to work remodeling the home for entertaining, part time work, living well and having family and friends come visit. Now we couldn’t be happier in our hip 55+ community with a view of the ocean and the golf course.

Over the years in my design business I’ve helped lots of Boomer clients redesign and remodel their homes, with features custom-tailored to take them stylishly and strategically into the future. My empty-nester know-how, along with my interior design expertise is the best way I know to help my clients create a home that functions beautifully for the way they want to live now.

One of my services is a “Future-Proof Your Home Survey”, a virtual 90-minute in-depth consultation of up to 3 rooms in a clients’ home. I make recommendations for updates, suggestions for redesigns, and possible remodel projects where appropriate. And sometimes, after our conversation, the best solution may be to move to a new home. This survey (and the detailed report that follows it) can eliminate a lot of confusion and headaches in determing just what will be the best course of action for a future in your home (or a new one).