Warm Regards: Bill Aroosian Designed ShowHouse Living Room as Gathering Place

One of the things Bill Aroosian likes hearing about the spaces he creates isn’t a comment on a striking sofa, his color combinations or an eye-catching accessory. “People often say my rooms are warm,” the designer said. “I try to make my rooms places where people can feel comfortable, and they tend to congregate there.”

 While the living room is stylish enough to entertain guests, it’s also a place where family members can unwind, he said.“Everyone can gather here and be together as a family,” Aroosian said.That’s one reason ShowHouse visitors will see an inviting stack of cushy pillows on the floor in front of the fireplace.“When I was kid, we all had our own pillows,” he said.

Making the room user-friendly was the thinking behind Aroosian’s choice of an unexpected fabric for some of the furniture and pillows. Sunbrella is often used for outdoor furnishings but can work well inside a house, too, he said.

“I use lots of Sunbrella fabrics inside homes because it’s so easy to clean,” Aroosian said. “You can clean it with bleach, even with those Clorox wipes. The color can’t be removed from the fabric.”

While one settee in the room is covered in an Ikat-print Sunbrella selection, another has straightforward cotton fabric in a golden oatmeal color.

Aroosian bought two chairs from an estate sale recently held at the house, he said.

“There were two pairs of chairs that I wanted, and I got these,” he said. “They were covered in a purple plaid, and I replaced that with a more tailored plaid.”

Aroosian’s playful name for his ShowHouse space is “Salon de Oscar.” Oscar is an imposing wooden butler that stands at the ready near the fireplace.

“He came from Macy’s, and I once worked in Macy’s corporate store design department,” Aroosian said. “If you see Oscar sitting down on the job, please let me know.”

A pine display cabinet from Wales was built about 1890, he said.

“We’d probably call it an antique, but the definition of an antique is different in England,” Aroosian said. “There, people probably would say that it’s just a piece of old furniture.”

The designer chose unconventional coffee tables, including garden stools and glass-topped metal tables.

“They can easily be moved around to be where you need them,” he said.

He borrowed a handsome Oushak rug from Paige Drennen at Eighteenth Street Oriental Rugs in Homewood, he said.

“I love the way its colors have faded over time,” Aroosian said.

He also pointed out a red streak in the rug’s design. Deliberate mistakes like this one are often found in Persian rugs because of the cultural belief that only God can create perfection, he said.

A bright abstract landscape painting in the room is from Aroosian’s own home, he said, and was a bargain find at a yard sale in Hoover.

While he isn’t sure of the painting’s provenance, he was told that its frame was made of a pricey wood called pecky cypress, he said. Although that might mean the painting is worth more than its yard sale price tag, the important thing is to buy art that you like, Aroosian said.

“You may see me at the ShowHouse in a T-shirt that reads ‘Good Art Doesn’t Match the Sofa,’” he said.

Aroosian said he encourages clients to express their opinions.

“Of course I can do a room for you, but you need to be involved,” he said. “When someone says a room ‘looks just like you,’ that’s a great compliment.”

He’s participated in the Decorators’ ShowHouse several times. It’s an opportunity not just to showcase his work but to help bring attention to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, he said.

“My parents raised me to pay my civic rent,” Aroosian said. “The ShowHouse gets the symphony in front of a lot of people.”