Kathy's goal is to create rooms that delight you, take care of you and enlarge your vision, all at the same time. She is especially inspired by color, art and handcrafted objects. Her work has been featured on Connecticut's NBC News, the Hartford Courant, the Orlando Sentinel, the Bloomfield Journal and The Guild's online newsletter. Kathy occasionally teaches decorating classes for West Hartford's Life Learn Program, and has been a guest speaker at UCONN's "Celebrate Women" program. Her work takes her throughout Connecticut, New England, New York and Florida.

Design Statement

My work is inspired by the European practice of freely mixing contemporary and traditional elements, using color joyfully, pursuing originality in interior decoration, and valuing comfort as well as style.

I don't think rooms should be untouchable, the kind that are looked at rather than lived in. And I don't believe in a formulaic approach to decorating or in outdated notions of correctness. Instead, I want to work with my clients to create rooms that are imbued with personality, that are a source of comfort, and that both describe and enhance the way they live.

Furnishing a space is, at its deepest level, an expression of who we are and what we love. When we decorate this way, we know ourselves a little better at the end of the process, and we allow others to know us in a new way when they enter our homes.

Dear Kathy,

Without your help in decorating my home would not get the "oohs" and "ahhs" it regularly gets from company.

Your sense of color is so dead-on that at this point I absolutely refuse to paint without your input.

Most of all, I value your ability to work with my taste and the feeling I am going for in a room, though my stye is very different from your personal one. Your intuitiveness to glean what I want even without my being able to verbalize it well is extraordinary. I have come to very much rely on your input and I trust your judgment.

Thank you for helping me to turn my house into the home I love spending time in.

"Kathy Hayes is a responsive and effective decorating consultant. She combines formal education and experience with a sensitivity to her client. She is energetic and enthusiastic and offers support at many levels. I had very little experience with home decorating--paint colors, window treatments, etc. Kathy came to our home, engaged my husband and me in dialogue, listened and suggested, and we came to decisions that combined her expertise with our lifestyle and personalities. She helped us rearrange our living room furniture, making the room more attractive to the eye and more comfortable for us. I recommend her highly."

"I'm sitting in my 'new' room, at my 'new' desk, being careful not to disturb any elements! I am so happy with the room! My mother always used to say 'I wish the house would burn down and I could start over.' Thank you for giving me that gift, without the pyrotechincs!"

"Kathy made my home amazing!

Not only does she care about the rooms, she cares about the people who use them. She took the time to understand me. Her creativity is that she doesn't have a canned solution. She looked at me, my life, and the junk I couldn't part with to create an amazing home for me and my young son. People walk in and say,'Wow! This looks exactly like you.' Yet the truth is that I would have never come up with it on my own.

I told her my favorite colors, showed her the furniture and accessories I absolutely wanted to keep. I wanted formal but not stuffy, comfortable but not sloppy, cool but not ultra-freaky. Oh, and by the way, do this in a house with a small child.

Kathy created a look that feels exactly like me and perfectly accommodates my son's endless toys (who knew that toy baskets could become an accessory!).

I'm glad this is my place because if I didn't live here, I'd wish it were mine!"