Meet our Interior Designer, Alena Witkowski

Did you know that we have an interior designer on staff? Really, we do. Her name is Alena Witkowski and she is at our Brookfield location. We are pretty fond of what she can help our customers do – and it’s more than just selecting the right furniture for their space.

How did you become a designer at Penny Mustard?

In school I loved art. I went to school for Interior Design. I have a four-year degree from Mount Mary University. Almost eight years ago I came to work for Penny Mustard after working in a design center. I love to do art pieces too. I love working with soft pastels, and creating figurative art.

Do you always mention that you are a trained designer?

I don’t advertise that to everyone. It just depends on if someone’s just coming in for an end table or a mattress or a bedroom set. You know, it’s when they come in and say, “Oh, I don’t know if we need a sectional, a sofa, a love seat or how many chairs we need!” Then, I can look at their space. I can draw their space to scale. So, that’s where I bring it up.

What are some suggestions you give to a customer wanting to redo an entire room instead of an individual piece of furniture?

I always recommend that if they’re going to do wall to wall carpet, I always suggest that they do the furniture first. Let’s say you pick out a carpet color, then you’re stuck with what’s gonna look best with that. If you pick out amongst all of these millions of fabrics that we have, you can just pick what you like and then we’ll select your carpeting.

If someone has nothing and moves into an empty house, what are the top things that you tell a customer that they should invest in?

Your top things should be your living area or your family room because that’s where you’re going to entertain. When you have people over, that’s what they’re going to see. Heck, you could go up to your bedroom and just have a mattress on the floor. Nobody’s gonna see that. You can live out of a suitcase, but ultimately you have to have places for people to sit. It’s where you’re going to come in at the end of the day and relax, watch TV, socialize with your family. It’s you’re gathering space. That’s your number one thing.

Who are your favorite designers or builders?

Chip and Joanna Gaines. I love them. I love their simplicity in design. Everything they do looks so fresh and it’s so simple. I love how they use natural products like stone and different woods. I like how they repurpose a lot too. They might go out and find an old arch that was used in some church and they figure out how to use it on the wall and make it look amazing. They keep it simple and clean and fresh looking. It’s pretty timeless.

Our Brookfield location isn’t that far and Alena loves guests – stop in and ask her what she can see in your space.