Introducing Crystal McKenrick — Your Guide to a Grand Living Room

At Grand, we want to make sure you have the

that makes you happy. That’s why we’re happy to introduce you to Crystal McKenrick, our living room expert.

As a design associate at Grand, she’s helped hundreds of families create a special place in their homes for gathering, relaxing, and celebrating life together. For Crystal, her love of putting together a well-designed room started when she was a young child, accompanying her dad, a builder, out to his projects. She’d dream of ways to fill those houses with color and pattern. Now, as a certified decorator with interior design experience, that knowledge of construction and building plans helps her put together floor plans that work. Her experience has been beneficial for clients, and Crystal helped one homeowner make a room more functional after she suggested the builder move a door over six inches, to better accommodate furniture and traffic flow. The builder took her advice and the result was a happy homeowner with a beautiful, livable room. Blending a living room with today’s open floor plans means taking the kitchen, eating area and other spaces into account when designing. “You want it all to flow, and feel cohesive,” says Crystal. “Life happens in the living room and kitchen--entertaining, homework, TV, family time. Creating a space that works for your family is the most important, and fun, part of my job.” The key to success is listening, says Crystal, and getting to know the customer. “It’s their home, they are the ones living there so we need to make sure they are happy and the room functions for them. I really want to please them.” Many people are overwhelmed when it comes to

. With so many seating and fabric choices, where do you start? Crystal starts by asking a lot of questions—How do you use the room? What kind of atmosphere do you want to create? She says listening to the customer and coaxing that information out is the key to creating a space they’ll love. One of Crystal’s favorite experiences was helping a woman who had put off getting furniture for 3 years. “She was terrified of the process and didn’t know where to begin,” says Crystal. Crystal helped her identify what she was going for, found a fabulous pillow fabric for inspiration, then worked to blend the Tuscan colors in the home with neutrals and the client’s favorite color, navy, to create a knock out look. “The client had so much fun, she stopped at the manager’s office on the way out to tell him she couldn’t wait to get it all in her home,” Crystal recounted. She stays current with design trends and what’s new in the furniture world by attending the

. And yes, dad is pretty proud of her success and has even tagged along on a trip. Why are we telling you about Crystal McKenrick? Because she’s worked as a design consultant at Grand for 15 years and has been one of Grand’s top sales associates during her time here. She works with Grand customers every day and feels proud to have a little bit of her influence in so many homes. So, we’re going to feature stories and advice from Crystal here in our blog. She loves it when a client says, “Crystal helped me pick that out.” And hopefully, her advice here will help you do the same. Crystal wants customers to walk out of the store feeling good about what they’ve purchased. That’s what Grand is all about. Putting customers first, making people happy. She’ll be sharing some of her expertise on living rooms with you on a regular basis. Check back for posts on how you can create a room that works for your lifestyle with the right pieces and fabrics. If you’d like to contact Crystal or schedule a consultation with any of our design associates, just send an email to