Meet Maria

I have been a seeker of beauty as long as I can remember–beauty in nature, in fabrics and clothes, in spaces, in nourishing dishes, in words, and in people. Gardening has become a new passion. And I find great joy cooking healthy meals from scratch for my family and friends.

I imaginatively designed my first home when I was 7. I loved to cut out pictures of beautiful rooms and keep them in a box to have them handy when I grew up. Another fond memory is playing in the streets with other kids and having a burning desire to see past the walls of every house and apartment into the rooms. When I was invited to a home with my family, I would zone out of the conversation and move furniture around with my imagination, so I could make the place look better.

I have been practicing residential interior design since 2001, though my experience in the textile and design industry spans from my late teens back in my native Greece to the present in Florida.

I grew up in the textile and linen world through my family’s business and later on I expanded into the furniture industry where I took much training and extensive specialty courses. I am CQRID certified and a professional member of the Interior Design Society (IDS).

My style, which is strongly influenced by my travels around the world, is soulful, creative, full of color and emphasizes harmony and balance. My projects show the artistry of combining an eclectic mix of contemporary and the timeless classic.


Chroma Home is my newly inspired design platform where I create soulful interiors and share my love for beauty and harmony. I am a firm believer that homes are healing grounds if you treat them so. In my practice, I daily witness people’s transformation on many levels. In essence, I act as an agent of those changes in both their inner and outer worlds, and that’s very rewarding.

My mission and contribution to the world are changing lives by changing people’s surroundings into Everyday Getaways!

Testimonial

Our customer writes about our quality

Maria was a pleasure to work with. She has an exceptional sense of style and an ability to personalize the design experience to meet the varying tastes and budgets of her clients. Maria designed my living room, dining room, and foyer. I constantly receive compliments on the beautiful pieces! Thank you, Maria! You transformed my home into a masterpiece.

Kate Clark

This project involved complete design services for the interior of an 1853 house in Elsah, Illinois that is listed on the National Historic Register. It was begun in 2009 and completed gradually as funds were available through 2013. The project included complete redecoration and furnishing of a garage apartment. Maria DeGange was both efficient and patient and willing to work with me on the schedule I needed. She was sensitive both to cost considerations and to my tastes and provided good alternatives when requested. She worked extremely well with my construction supervisor, who very much appreciated her approach and that she gave good advice while not being overly directive according to her own personal views. Everything provided is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and feels right with a very pleasant home atmosphere. We have close to 300 people coming through the house annually for a Christmas season open house. The most frequent comments center on the beauty and exceptional coordination of the design in the living room and apartment, the two areas to benefit most from her work.”

Duncan Charters, PhD

Maria worked on two projects at my house, one large and one small. The large one required moderate reconstruction and she acted as the general contractor on the project. She worked around my very irregular schedule. The project was completed on time, despite some time-consuming delays beyond her control. She had thoughtful and helpful ideas, some of which some may think were slightly out of the box, but which really worked. This now larger room is now the favorite in my house, where I spend most of my time. She freshened two adjacent rooms at the same time, with all melding with the topography of my lot. The second smaller project is also very satisfying. She made use of some existing furnishings and rugs, indicating a concern for economics, and worked these existing items seamlessly into the decor.

Perhaps the best recommendation that I can give is that I will have Maria for my next project.”

Dr R. Smith

Maria was able to capture my vision and translate it into a beautiful design that is both stylish yet comfortable. I look forward to working with her on my next project and would recommend her to all.

Alaina M.

Thank you so much for helping us update the look of our living room and dining room. We feel very lucky that we have gotten to know you and work with you. When we started, we had ideas about how our home could look and were quite frankly overwhelmed by the choices and possibilities. We didn’t know where to start, or even, how to start.

You listened to us, and learned our style and respected our ideas. You provided a plan for decorating that worked with some of the furnishings we already had and treasured, and sequenced the decorating into manageable parts, both spatially and financially. We feel that you are most expert at reducing the confusion and you provided a manageable number of options. Your knowledge and talent have helped match colors, patterns, and materials to create truly unique and inviting living spaces. We feel our home is now fresh, stylish and truly our own.

Thanks again!

Jim and Mary Pat G