Meet Anila Egan:A Practical Approach to Beautiful, Thoughtful Design

Every homeowner has a different vision for their home, and every designer has a different way of bringing that vision to life. At OHi, our designers each bring their own perspective, experience, and personality to the design process.

As part of our designer profiles, we asked each of our designers some of the questions homeowners ask us most often. The answers give you a little glimpse into how they approach design, solve problems, and help homeowners make decisions throughout a remodel.

Next up is Anila Egan. Her approach is thoughtful and practical, with a focus on creating spaces that feel current, work beautifully and still make sense for the way a homeowner actually lives.

Where should homeowners spend the most money during a remodel?

The kitchen.

You spend so much time there, and it is typically where people gather. It really is the point of the home.

From an ROI perspective, the kitchen is also a great place to invest. If you are going to put your money somewhere, I think the kitchen is one of the most valuable spaces to focus on.

Where can homeowners save money without sacrificing quality?

Keep your existing layout when you can.  One of the biggest ways to save is by not changing the overall layout. When homeowners want a brand-new kitchen but are a little more budget-conscious, I will often advise them not to move the plumbing too much.

Moving the refrigerator is one thing. Moving the sink is another.

Once you start moving plumbing, you can add high cost without necessarily adding value to the finished space. Sometimes you can get the kitchen you want while working within the footprint you already have.

What is one thing every homeowner should know before starting a remodel?

Be prepared for construction.  Most people think they are prepared, but then construction starts, and they realize they really weren't.

You also have to be prepared for issues, especially at the beginning of demolition. Once the walls are open, that is when we tend to discover what is actually going on behind them.

The good news is that once those initial surprises are uncovered, we have a much better understanding of what we are working with and where things are going.

How do you make sure a home still feels like the homeowner instead of a showroom?

When I go into someone's home, I first try to get an overall sense of their style.

I want to understand the vibe of the house and then match that feeling in the new design. From there, I look at their color and pattern preferences and incorporate those into the space.

The goal is for the remodel to feel like it belongs in their home, not like we dropped a completely different style into it.

How do you help couples who have completely different tastes?

Honestly, I become their mediator.

I try to be the neutral party and find the similarities between what they both like. Then we can build from there and create a happy medium.  A big part of it is trust. When you build a good relationship with your clients, they trust that you are going to find that middle ground and create something they can both be happy with.

And sometimes I mix what they like with what I like to help pull everything together.

What makes a kitchen feel timeless instead of trendy?

I like to start with a neutral base.  Keeping the cabinets and floors neutral helps ground the kitchen and maintain a more traditional look throughout the house. Then you can bring in trends through things that are easier to change, like the backsplash or smaller decorative updates.

That way, you can keep the foundation timeless while still keeping the kitchen feeling current.

 How do you know if a trend is worth incorporating? 

Sometimes, I think it is better not to pay too much attention to trends.

I do not necessarily want to incorporate a trend into every project just because it is popular. I would rather choose things that the client and I both like and create a design that feels current because all of the elements work together.

A good designer can also find ways to modernize something that feels completely outdated without making it look like you are trying too hard to follow a trend.

Sometimes the design itself becomes the trend.

What is one design trend you'll still recommend ten years from now?

Natural stone countertops.  Natural stone has a timeless quality that I think will continue to look beautiful for years to come.

Is there a trend homeowners should use sparingly?

Black trim, especially on exteriors.  I do not mind black trim inside the home, but I think it is becoming a little overdone on exteriors.

You see so many black-and-white houses now, and at some point something that was really fresh and trendy starts to feel oversaturated.

Trends are great, but you don't want your home to look like it was designed from the same template as everyone else's.

What materials age the best?

Wood.  It is universal. Wood floors are probably my number one recommendation.

Especially here in Chicago, you see wood floors that have been in homes for generations. They have staying power, and they can work with so many different design styles.

What instantly makes a room feel more expensive?

Paint.  Paint is the color you are surrounding yourself with every day, so it has a huge influence on how a room feels.  It can completely change a space's atmosphere without a huge investment.

How do you make a room feel larger?

Paint is a big part of it.  For a smaller room, you typically want to look at lighter colors, while darker colors can sometimes work beautifully in a space where you want a more intimate feeling.

But paint isn't the only thing. Furniture scale and lighting also make a big difference.  You have to consider all of those elements together to make a space feel larger and more comfortable.

What is your favorite "small change, big impact" design trick?

Wallpaper.  It creates such a dramatic effect.

You can take a completely boring room and make it exciting with wallpaper. I have wallpaper in my own office, and it made me realize just how many incredible options are out there.  Once I started looking at it, I fell in love with it.

It is one of those things that can completely change the personality of a room.

What is one kitchen feature homeowners thank you for later?

The spice pull-out.  Everyone seems to want one, but then they say, "I don't know if this is really going to work."

I usually tell them, "You know what? This is what you're using now, so let's make it easy to access."

And then they get it, start using it, and love it.

Those little organizational features can make a surprisingly big difference in how much you enjoy your kitchen.

How do you balance beauty with functionality?

It really is a balancing act.  You have to make the space beautiful, but it also has to work. At the end of the day, the design has to make sense for the way the homeowner is actually going to use the room.

For me, it is about figuring out how to make both happen at the same time.

What's one cabinet feature you wish everyone knew about?

Dedicated sheet storage.  Everyone has sheets, and somehow no one knows where to put them.  I like creating a dedicated spot for them, often above the refrigerator. It keeps them organized without taking up valuable primary-access storage.

I also like features like pull-outs for pans. You can pull them out, easily see everything and take what you need without digging through a cabinet.

Those are the kinds of details homeowners might not think about at first, but they really appreciate once they are living in the space.

What layout mistakes do you see most often?

Microwave placement.  Especially with drawer microwaves, homeowners sometimes have a very specific spot in mind without realizing how that placement will affect the flow of the kitchen.

I had a customer who really wanted the microwave next to her table. She was very specific about it, but it just was not a good location from a functional standpoint.

That is where the design process becomes important. Sometimes what you initially think you want is not necessarily what will work best once you look at the entire space.

Anila's Design Philosophy in a Nutshell

For Anila, good design is about finding the sweet spot between what looks beautiful, what feels like home, and what actually works.

She is not interested in following every trend or changing things simply for the sake of changing them. Instead, she looks for thoughtful ways to modernize a home, improve its function and create a design that will continue to feel right long after the remodel is complete.  And sometimes, that means being the mediator, talking a homeowner out of moving their sink or convincing them to finally get the spice pull-out.