Tom Kreis wants to release you from the “drywall box” you’re living in. That’s the goal he had in mind when he opened Architectural Impressions in Arlington Heights.
“Home exteriors have plenty of detail, but we live inside the house,” says Kreis. Architectural Impressions carries everything from ceiling medallions and columns to cove moldings and hand-carved marble fireplace surrounds, to give the inside of homes that special touch.
“You can do something as simple as casing in a doorway, or gluing on stair brackets. These small touches add ambience and atmosphere to a room,” says Kreis.
Kreis suggests a good starting place is the ceiling. Adding cornice or crown moldings “has a dramatic effect on a room,” he says. This can be followed up with chair rails, baseboards and french paneling.
A ceiling medallion, which is a round, carved, ornamental disc that attaches to the ceiling, provides a dramatic backdrop for a light fixture and can cost less than $100. For customers with a larger budget who want to decorate an entire room, Kreis and his associates provide full-service custom design and installation.
“We can implement a grand plan or start with a mantel or a door lintel,” says Kreis.
The whole idea behind adding architectural details to a room, says Kreis, is to make the room itself something special.
“People see a room in a magazine and want that look in their own home, but don’t know how to duplicate it. So they just keep adding more furniture,” he says. “When you add architectural details, the room itself has character. You can take out all the furniture, and the room might be empty, but it will never be bare.”
Kreis also has a library of catalogs with thousands of styles of architectural ornamentation to transform a room from the ceiling to the floor.
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Architectural Impressions, 1730 W. Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights, is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Phone 708-259-4488.
