Marcia Lyon

Architecturally trained Marcia Lyon uses her remodeling design know-how to create the weekly newspaper column CREATING SPACES. Each column features the "Problem and Solution" to various remodeling dilemmas, fitting each particular homeowner's needs. These projects range from a one-bedroom condominium to tripling the size of a house, but most of them are typical, space-bound bungalows and uninspired ranch homes.

CREATING SPACES debuted in newspapers such as The Detroit Free Press, The Buffalo News, The Cincinnati Enquirer and The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Lyon will soon have a book published on her unique approach to remodeling, and she has a half-hour television series about remodeling design in the making, which will be aired in the U.S. and Canada. While most other architects concentrate on commercial projects, or large custom homes, Lyon has developed her own architectural niche - remodeling design on a reasonable budget.

Working with her firm, Creating Spaces of Chicago, Lyon travels often to consult for average homeowners across the U.S. and Canada. She offers a unique service that gives remodeling homeowners just what they need - design and direction. And she turns those experiences into a column, accompanied by before and after floor plans, to help other homeowners.

"Saving construction dollars is my goal," says Lyon. In private practice since 1977, Lyon judged the Better Homes & Gardens Home Improvement Contest for a decade. The first contest drew more than 13,000 entries nationwide. Lyon did some special projects for Maytag Corp. including the overall design package for the Maytag Home Appliance stores.

For more than three decades, many of Lyon's projects have been featured in major home magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Home Plan Ideas, Country Home, and others. Her collection of published magazine works is sizable. Public speaking and appearances fill the balance of her schedule, but her real love is helping people make their homes truly their own.