POEMAPOEMA

Design + Build | POEMA, Interior Design and Home Remodeling in Libertyville, Illinois

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Rooms with nerve

Poema means a thing made, a composition. We take the strict rules of building, permits, loads and codes and fill them with heart and soul. One room or the whole house.

Our philosophy

The Mix

An old entry hall with a carved wood staircase and floral runner, a plaster arch, a chartreuse curvy chair, a stone bench and an oxblood painting
Old Bones

Arches, trim, real plaster.

A stack of rough travertine blocks holding a green marble bowl beside an oxblood velvet sofa with a French blue pillow, on a chartreuse rug
Brutalist Stone

Heavy, honest, a little raw.

A curved built-in plaster bench with a chartreuse velvet cushion, a travertine ledge, an oxblood vase and a French blue striped rug on old wood floors
Plaster

Hand-troweled. Never perfect.

Heritage Rebellion

Our signature style

Discover more
A quiet window seat with an oxblood velvet cushion, French blue striped curtains and pillow, a travertine side table, a chartreuse lamp and a cream shag rug

The Manifesto

No invisible friction

Read it

Our Signature Style

Heritage Rebellion

Your home, with character. We mix old and new so every room feels collected, personal and completely yours.

We start with what you love about your home and keep what's worth keeping: good bones, solid wood, beautiful proportions. Then we layer in color, texture and pieces with a story, so it feels warm, livable and like no one else's.

Designed with nerve. Built to last. Made to be lived in.

Our Offerings

Design and build, done properly

Design is a service on its own here, not just a step before construction. Design, work and details, all in-house.

  • Design Consults
  • Room Refreshes
  • Paint & Finish Selection
  • Full Design Plans
  • Remodels
  • Restoration
  • General Construction
  • Painting
A corner with walnut paneling and cream plaster, an oxblood leather 1970s lounge chair, a floral pillow, a shag rug over an antique rug, a stone fragment on a plinth and a chartreuse vase

i. Interior Design

Consults, room refreshes, paint and finish selection, full design plans and drawings for bigger changes.

A remodeled bathroom with purple-veined marble walls, a travertine trough sink with a brass faucet, a celadon green reeded vanity and a French blue striped cafe curtain

ii. Remodels

Kitchens, baths and whole homes. We fix what isn't working and keep the bones.

A restored parlor with its original carved mantel, plaster medallion and herringbone floor, now in French blue limewash with a chartreuse boucle chair, a travertine block table and an oxblood velvet ottoman

iii. Restoration

Old homes deserve care, not erasure. Millwork, plaster, floors, windows, hardware.

A new arched opening framed in fresh studs and curved plywood inside an old plaster and lath wall, with an oxblood plaster room beyond and a sawhorse holding a travertine offcut

iv. Construction

Additions, structural changes and repairs, done carefully and to code.

A wall mid-paint, half rolled in terracotta over bare plaster, with a glossy oxblood door, terracotta, pink and celadon sample boards, a ladder, paint tray and drop cloth

v. Painting

Interior and exterior paint, limewash, Venetian plaster. Colors chosen in your own light.

Design Services

Design only, in two acts

For rooms that need a designer, not a demo crew.

A chunky purple-veined marble console against a hand-troweled cream plaster wall, with a chartreuse stoneware vase of branches, a brass sconce and a stone sphere

Act I

The Restyle

You already own pieces you love. Act I gives those pieces new purpose. We start in your home, looking at what stays, what moves and what’s missing. From there, we edit and rearrange what you have, then layer in new decor, lighting and art chosen to bring the room into focus. Nothing is replaced for the sake of it. The goal is a room that feels intentional, personal and finished, built on the foundation you already have. Act I is ideal if your furniture works but the room still feels flat, cluttered or unfinished. Includes one round of revisions.

Act II

The Full Room

A room designed from the ground up. Act II begins with how you live: how the room is used, who uses it and how you want it to feel. From there, we build the full design, including layout and space planning, furniture, lighting, finishes, color, textiles and art all composed as one bold vision. You’ll see the complete concept before anything is ordered, so every decision is clear and considered. Act II is for rooms that need a true transformation, whether you’re starting fresh or starting over. Includes up to three rounds of revisions.

Core Pillars

The three pillars

I.The Skeleton

Architectural Rigor

Structural integrity, clean lines and precise framing. Without rigor, a house is just a box.

II.The Feel

Tactile Warmth

Venetian plaster, unlacquered brass, rich woods and natural stone over cold, builder-grade materials.

III.The Soul

Storied Patina

Antique rugs, reclaimed beams and one-of-a-kind hardware, so your home has history from day one.

How We Work

Four simple steps

Start to finish, no guesswork

See the steps

You always know what happens next, what it costs and who is taking care of it.

  1. 01

    Design Consult

    We meet at your home, walk the space and talk about how you live, what you love and what is not working.

  2. 02

    Design + Plan

    Concept, finishes and layout in one clear plan, with a straightforward estimate before any work begins.

  3. 03

    Build

    Our trusted trades bring the design to life, with weekly updates so you are never left wondering.

  4. 04

    Reveal

    A final walkthrough together, every detail finished, and a home that finally feels like yours.

Female-Founded

How we work in your home

As a female-founded business, we take daily schedules, impeccable cleanup and open communication very seriously.

  • Daily SchedulesYou will know who is on site and when, every single day.
  • Impeccable CleanupWe leave your home cleaner than we found it at the end of every workday.
  • Open CommunicationYou will always know where things stand, without having to ask twice.
Book a Design Consult Whole-home renovations and considered rooms.

The POEMA Manifesto

Free of invisible friction

Beautiful rooms should still work on a Tuesday. We design for the everyday: smart storage, quiet rooms and light that shifts gently as the sun goes down.

01 / Acoustic Mapping

Dense sound insulation and careful layering, so conversations never echo through open-plan rooms.

02 / Human-Centric Systems

Hidden mechanical access, whole-home air filtration and natural circadian lighting that fits your life.

A dining room with cream plaster walls, a long travertine slab table, sculptural oxblood velvet chairs, a white pleated pendant and a French blue striped rug

Color Notes

Calm bones, a little mischief

A calm base that ages well, and one or two rooms with a little nerve.

An attic reading nook with French blue walls and shelves, a saffron velvet 1970s armchair, a green mushroom lamp, a travertine block table and a floral rug

Blue Reading Nook

French blue walls, a saffron velvet chair. A room you actually sit in.

A sitting room with a dusty pink plaster wall, a curved cream boucle sofa, a little orange mushroom lamp, red marble tables and a rust shag rug

Pink Plaster

Pink plaster, a cream sofa and one odd little lamp. It works.

From the Journal

The Journal

The quiet logic of homes that work, from one room to the whole house.

A designer's worktable with a pencil floor plan, plaster samples, travertine and marble chips, oxblood, chartreuse, French blue striped and floral fabric swatches and brass knobs

Consultation

Start your inquiry

Tell us about your project, big or small. A design consult, one room, or the whole house, in Libertyville and surrounding suburbs.

Scope of Vision