By George.

One of Kansas City’s best designers believes firmly in the highest level of design for reaching clientele.

George Terbovich lives on a quiet street in a white house that is big enough but not grand in size. His shop and interior design studio are nearby, and those buildings are also white, big enough but not grand in size. But while George, his house, and his shop do not shout, they exude a quiet confidence. They have presence. None are overly boisterous or loud, but they vibrate with a low and steady energy that engages with originality, creativity, and design integrity. Knowing him and his world is a bit like having the secret knock that allows you in, to watch and listen as creativity flows.

George began his career in design at the former Hall’s on the Plaza as director and buyer for the gallery of folk art, literally before the flood. But his design sensibility was formed long before at his grandparents’ house in Lexington, Missouri.

“My mother said I was mischievous at birth,” he says. “But what I was, was curious. I was up every morning before dawn because I really wanted to get on with it. By the time I could ride a bicycle, I was gone – exploring anywhere.”

On these explorations, which often resulted in bringing home a new pet for which his mother was less enthusiastic than he, he remembers being very aware of his surroundings.

“Both the natural environment and the design environment,” he says. “I learned a lot from my mother’s home, which was lovely and comfortable, but my creativity emanates from my childhood and my grandmother’s house.”

He says the house was playpen for him, his brother, and his sister.

“It had a great balustrade that we slid down. The walls of my sister’s room were white with red stars. It may sound horrible, but it was just wonderful.”

In college he studied abroad in Spain and worked for a short time at the United States Embassy. His original plan was to go into the foreign service. While studying political science in college, he started working in the retail division at Hall’s department store part time. His role eventually expanded.

“The job afforded me a lot of opportunities. The department was an offshoot of Mr. [Donald] Hall’s personal efforts to support the People to People pavilion at the World’s Fair in Flushing, New York. He hired Carl Fox, who was a well-known ethnographic curator at the Brooklyn Museum, to select pieces for the pavilion. It was largely children’s art from around the world.”

Terbovich’s role with the organization expanded, and he began working on the design for Crown Center Real Estate.

“We were shopping in New York with dealers who carried kilims, East Indian fabrics, Polish rugs, and weavings, that were gaining popularity on the East Coast.”

In 1984, close friends asked Terbovich to help with their design of a rural Johnson County residence that they had purchased.

“It was sited on the highest point in Johnson County. It had an incredible view. You could see all the way downtown. It was in the style of a Spanish hacienda, and I was able to shop and fabricate architectural elements in Mexico.”

While he hadn’t designed for other people before, he trusted his experience and his instinct.

“I didn’t have a formal training in design, but I have a built-in radar for proportion. And I can look at a floor plan and see it three dimensionally.”

In addition, Terbovich is well educated and aware of design history and architecture, which are the foundation of where he begins. He’s committed to timeless interiors. It’s likely that if pictures of this first commission existed, they would still hold up today. His talent and experience have allowed him to build a thriving international practice that has weathered several economic downturns. As he moves toward retirement, his longtime associate, Lucy Mayor, has taken the reins at George Terbovich, Inc.

The pair are in agreement that a well-designed home requires the homeowner to put in the time and effort to make it his or her own.

“I’m a firm believer that that everyone has a style,” Terbovich says. “They may not know it and they may need

“I think I was experimenting on myself, which is better than experimenting with clients,” she says. “But in the last few years, I’ve changed out the rug to something simpler and replaced the pillows with ones that have texture rather than color.”

She says the change has delivered a new sense of calm in the room.

“Maybe, in my case, with raising children and working all day, what I want to come home to is something that’s relaxing, welcoming, and peaceful.”

In addition to the calming effect, Schmidt thinks neutral backgrounds provide a lot of flexibility, as well.

“We have a client whose whole house is neutral, but she has a very colorful art collection and accessories that she changes in different seasons. A neutral background allows her to add personality on a whim without a big commitment. I’d rather the artwork and other textures attract attention rather than the palette of the room itself,” Schmidt says.

While the neutrals of decades past might have led homeowners to forbid red wine in the living room, Schmidt notes that today’s textiles offer wearability even in rooms that withstand a lot of use and traffic.

“When it comes to lighter-colored materials, we use a lot of natural materials like wool, which repels and cleans very well. When my children were young, we had a light-colored wool sofa, and I had it cleaned once and never had an issue. It just repelled stains.” some help defining it. That’s what designers do. We spend time with the person and listen. Everyone says that they do this, but often the result is a rubber stamp of the designer’s specific style.”

Schmidt also appreciates the evolution of outdoor fabrics that have a soft hand.

“They’re not the plastic-y, scratchy material of the past,” she notes.

Terbovich says he does not follow many steadfast rules, but one is firm.

“You have to remember that you do not live there. A home has to have an emotional core. It should reflect that the person has put in enough time and effort to make it theirs. It sounds simplistic, but it’s not. If you leave your soul – your design soul – outside the door, it will never be yours.”

But surely some clients need coaxing?

“I may coax if I really believe something is right, but it’s a collaboration. It’s important to give the client room to ask questions. Ultimately, they decide.”

Beyond that, Terbovich has only one rule.

If there is any “bling” in Schmidt’s rooms it usually appears in light fixtures or the texture of tile.

“Someone might not think of tile around a fireplace that is neutral and matte as ‘bling,’, but it has a nice, chiseled stone face to it. You may notice the simplicity of a room, but the artwork, light fixtures, accents – such as the pillows – and the objects on the tables add a lot of interest.”

“The one thing – if there is one thing – that motivates me, is a lack of pretense. If you are making choices based on other people – whether it’s for a photoshoot or to impress other people –you can never extract that from the equation. That’s America’s greatest contribution to the world of design – a lack of pretention and a commitment to comfort.”

About The Author

About The Author

Patricia O’Dell started the lifestyle blog “Mrs. Blandings” in 2007. Her curiosity led her to write about designers, artists, business owners, and industry leaders. She’s been published in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Chicago Tribune, Flower magazine, Kansas City Spaces, and The Kansas City Star, as well as archdigest.com and elledecor.com.

Patricia O’Dell started the lifestyle blog “Mrs. Blandings” in 2007. Her curiosity led her to write about designers, artists, business owners, and industry leaders. She’s been published in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Chicago Tribune, Flower magazine, Kansas City Spaces, and The Kansas City Star, as well as archdigest.com and elledecor.com.