The Decorating Diva Features Beal and Trend Funnel for Spotlight on Design
Trend Funnel’s President and Co-Founder , Mary Elizabeth Beal can’t remember a time when interior design was not a part of her life. As a young girl in elementary school, Mary Elizabeth found her interests were quite different than her peers. “I don’t remember using money for candy, toys or clothes” she says. “Around 8 years old, I began saving so
that I could afford home décor items like bedspreads and artwork… expressing myself in the decorated environment around me.”
And those environments were constantly changing. Mary Elizabeth’s father was a jet
pilot in the Air Force and his career kept the family on the move. She has lived and experienced a variety of locations all around the globe including Germany and Hawaii. The traveling enabled her to incorporate her love for interior design by researching first-hand how culture, climate, geographical location, religion and history drastically affected the architecture and design of each location.
Mary Elizabeth has a degree in Interior Design from the University of Florida and was recruited after graduation to work for a major furniture manufacturing company as the Director of Visual Merchandising and Showroom Design. She left that job to get married and move to North Carolina where she
co-founded Trend Funnel with her good friend Thera Storm.
In addition to her work as founder of Trend Funnel, she has launched a non-profit organization entitled “The Serventrepreneur Foundation” which is an organization dedicated to “serving” entrepreneurs and developing “servant entrepreneurs”.
What inspired you to launch Trend Funnel?
Whether I was working as a Visual Merchandiser for manufacturers in their showrooms or
retailers in their stores, or working as an interior design consultant with residential clients I
began to realize that one of the main services I was providing was an answer to the simple
question “Does this go together?”
I developed Trend Funnel as a way to move shoppers through the thought process that I go
through as a design consultant when I am shopping for products to furnish a space. Trend
Funnel is a way for me to multiply the volume of people I am able to help. I am not just
selling them a piece of furniture; I am selling them a method that they can use to decorate
their entire home.
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Trend Funnel product details for Glam it Up living room design sketch board. |
Tell us how Trend Funnel works.
Trend Funnel allows homeowners to shop like an interior designer by using the revolutionary 3-Step Trend Funnel® Method to find unique home decor items, furniture, artwork, accessories and more; all from one complete source.
Trend Funnel’s team of experienced professional interior design and home decoration specialists search high and low to offer homeowners decor that fits the homeowner’s desired theme. Their selections are “funneled” down to an elite stream of the 20-30 best for the “trend” options. Each application focuses entirely on one trend and features products from flooring, paint, furniture, accessories, and more by room allowing homeowners to “Trend Funnel®” a room by generating interior design boards and shopping lists without worrying about coordinating with the look of your trend.
Where do you find inspiration for your designs?
Everywhere… literally… I am inspired everyday. I live just minutes from the High Point
Furniture Market- so that is a great place to start.
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Trend Funnel product details for Beachy bedroom design sketch board. |
What’s your favorite color(s)?
It is a combination of colors that makeup a palette I like to call Pink Mousse (shown on left)
My personal office is decorated in this palette. The brown shade keeps me grounded and
focused, the white shade is sharp and energizing, and the pinks just make me happy!
What are your five favorite pieces of home décor from your home or elsewhere?
My favorite piece of décor in my home is an antique Louis the 14th style table that my
mother gave me. She used to go antiquing while our family (military) was stationed in
Germany and that is one of the pieces she found in Belgium.
What’s your favorite room at home? Why is it your favorite?
My living room- as a newlywed/ new entrepreneur the design and furnishing of it is still
ongoing but it is the perfect combination of formality and relaxation- pulling from my
favorite “Old Hollywood” influences.
Who’s your favorite designer(s)?
From history, I find myself fascinated by designers or architects that worked in the Beaux-
Arts, Neo-Baroque/Neoclassical, and/or French Baroque (Neo-Baroque) styles of
architecture and design. One of my favorite buildings is the Chicago Theater (architects
C.W. & Geo. L. Rapp).
From modern day (and perhaps something a little more practical, yet still romantic
and glamorous)- I really like much of the work done by HGTV celebrity designer
Candice Olson. I actually used to watch her show years ago (before she landed the
spot as a judge on design star) and I was disappointed when for a period of time it
was rarely on the air. I am happy to see that her show “Divine Design” is back on
regularly.
What’s your personal design style? Has it evolved over time?
My personal design style has and still continues to evolve over time. As a little girl I
always imagined I would live in a grand palace or castle. As I have grown, my taste has
“toned down” to some extent. I still love glamour and formality in design. I would
describe my personal design style as “romantic but not frilly” and “glamorous but on a
more simple/clean less ornate scale”.
If you could design your dream room-what décor, what style, what color(s) would you use?
Design style would be as I described earlier: “romantic but not frilly” and “glamorous but on a
more simple/clean less ornate scale”. As for colors: I love bouncing rich jewel tones off of various shades of gray neutrals.
Many of us have a product we bought for our home-that now makes us think-”what was I thinking” – do you have one?
I have made many purchases in my life that would fit in this category… however I
am big on donating anything I have that I don’t like or use on a regular basis, so
items like this don’t stick around for long.
Tell us about a favorite home decorating or remodeling project.
Anything involving paint… Paint has an amazing ability to completely transform a space.
Also, because it is easy and inexpensive to change, it is a great project to take risks with.
You can always paint back over something you decide you don’t like.
Do you have a decorating, design or remodeling tip you’d like to share with
thedecoratingdiva.com readers?
One of my faves would be how to shop for paint colors at a home improvement store:
Grab a few of the paint chips you are considering and walk over to the lighting department . Making color selections while standing under the chandeliers and ceiling fans in the lighting department will give you a better idea of how that color will look with the lighting in your home.
Contact Information
Mary Elizabeth Beal
Web: Trend Funnel
Blog: Trend Funnel Blog
Twitter: Trend Funnel on Twitter
Facebook: Trend Funnel on Facebook
We’d like to thank Mary Elizabeth Beal of Trend Funnel for sharing her design insight and creative vision with The Decorating Diva.com readers.
All images copyright of their respective owners.
Submitted by Editor, The Decorating Diva LLC on Monday, 9 November 2009
The Decorating Diva.com is a decorating blog devoted to interior design with a primary focus on covering the latest trends in home design, Green design, color, home decor and healthy home living. For more information about The Decorating Diva or to see the original article posted on their website go to http://thedecoratingdiva.com/mary-elizabeth-beal-of-trend-funnel-com/
Tags: home decor ideas, Mary Elizabeth Beal, Spotlight on Design, Trend Funnel Company News
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