Gibbons Decorators are celebrating 15 years in business by partnering with Pembroke Paint Company and Furniture Walk to take some of the headaches out of home improvement by offering free seminars to those thinking of redecorating.

Speaking with The Royal Gazette, president of Gibbons Decorators, Lucie Gibbons, said she and her husband Robert wanted to do something special to commemorate their anniversary and said: "People are seeing the process of decorating as a burden and a challenge. How can we generate some excitement again without them feeling that way?"

"Our goal is simple," said Ms Gibbons: "To give people some general guidelines by offering free short seminars on interior decorating and offer them a better understanding of the various choices available today."

Ms Gibbons said it was key when redecorating to have the customer "describe their vision" and then determine the scope of the project as well as the purpose of the remodelling.

"In other words, this is about getting your ideas out of your head and onto paper. We will guide you in developing a budget for the job by working out some rough estimates for you."

Ms Gibbons hopes to organise small groups of about five people who have similar needs for their project and guide them through the step by step process of redesigning a space. The groups will meet at either Furniture Walk or Pemboke Paint depending on what seminar participants wish to learn about.

Ms Gibbons has 17 years experience in the business and her firm's speciality is wallpapering. Most of her clients are large commercial jobs and past and present clients include the Southampton Fairmont Princess Hotel, Sonesta Beach Hotel, CIS, Bacardi International, Tyco and Bank of Bermuda.

Although Ms Gibbons said her company rarely does residential jobs, she said the planned seminars was her way of giving back to the community.

Participants in the seminars will get help making choices from the dizzying array products on the market and, following concerns of mothers, people can also get advice on environmentally safe redecorating.

For more information on the free seminars, contact Ms Gibbons at 238 2787 or e-mail lucierobcwbda.bm.