THIS OLD HOUSE IS NEW AGAIN.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Fashion Editor

In 1974, it was the height of fashion.

Dark brown carpeting, blue wallpaper with tiny yellow flowers, an arc- shaped rustic brick fireplace and a huge beige sofa with a country-cute skirt.

Homeowner Bonnie Hoult knew a face-lift was long overdue, but she couldn't afford paint, wallpaper and flooring, much less new furniture for her Simi Valley tract home.

Erica Rueb to the rescue.

Within five hours, the 28-year-old owner of House Calls Interiors in Simi Valley and her staff emptied the living and family rooms, selected key pieces of furniture, then rearranged it with a few new inexpensive accessories.

When Hoult came home from work that day, her ``new'' house took her breath away. Looking at the now-spacious layout dazzling with designer flair, Hoult excitedly exclaimed, ``I'm delighted ... it's beautiful. I knew she'd have to be miracle worker to make my stuff look good, but I had no idea it could look so different. And best of all, she chose the things that were most precious to me to display ... like my mother's old sheet music, an antique school desk and my collection of kaleidoscopes ... so I don't mind that she put my recliner and other things in the garage.''

Call her sentimental, but that idea of focusing on personal treasures is what got Rueb out of the model-home-decorating business and into her new interior arrangement and consulting venture last year.

``There's no challenge in simply going out and buying all new things and making them look perfect - so perfect that we'd automatically cut the cords off kitchen appliances for model homes,'' Rueb says. ``In this job, I shop for family heirlooms, artwork and antiques throughout the client's house and garage - while they're gone - and I get the joy of seeing the owners come home and rediscover them in new ways and places.''

Rueb's creative rearranging costs $100 an hour (with a three-hour minimum) and clients must agree in advance to any additional cost for new accessories. Typically, Rueb works on one room at a time, but can do multiple areas at once.

On the day Rueb started the Hoult overhaul, the Daily News tagged along to see what went, what stayed and how it all came together.

First impression? Stepping inside the foyer, the overall feeling is dark and claustrophobic, from the parquetry to the dark wood table with oriental figurines that's set very close to the doorway.

On the other side of the railing, in the sunken living room, is a hefty 7-foot beige skirted sofa.

``The balance is all off with big and low pieces weighing heavy on the right side. And that sofa up against the railing doesn't help, but once we move it and the entryway table, the room will open up,'' Rueb explains.

And she was right.

That night, the entry seemed bigger and brighter, but the same table was there ... just moved down a bit and onto the other side. With it was the child's antique desk, accented with a vintage school book Rueb found in another room. And on the wall behind, Rueb had replaced an odd assortment of photos and certificates with a gold framed mirror, along with a new arrangement of old family photos that complemented the furniture and created a sentimental design story of its own.

The living room was the biggest challenge, the designer admits. ``The room is very brown, except for the black grand piano,'' she says, ``so my goal is to add more black to complement her grand piano and make it more contemporary. But first, I've got to find the focus of the room, which could be the fireplace, the piano or the view out the front window.''

She looks out the window, eliminates that possibility, and finally decides on moving the piano and sofa at angles to focus on the fireplace that she later accents with a candelabrum draped with silk greenery that she bought at Michael's for $10. Overhead, where the homeowner had had country-cute straw hearts and wreaths and a mirror that morning, Rueb has worked her magic. She has taken the four vintage pieces of sheet music that belonged to Hoult's mother and put them in narrow black frames, adding a large framed sign from the mother's days as a professional pianist.

And she's tossed a leopard print throw and some black pillows on the sofa, which suddenly pulled the room together.

As Rueb works on the room, she comments that everything had been pushed against the wall, a common mistake that results in a poor use of space. She strives to break the space up, create cozy conversation areas and continues to pick and choose furnishings - sending the recliner, stereo set and tall speakers, garage sale finds and classic '70s accessories (including baskets of potpourri) to a spare bedroom she uses as a holding room.

Next she goes through the garage, where she discovers some old Fiestaware plates in yellow and blue, and a small black lacquer and rattan bench. In another room she finds an old-fashioned oak telephone, an oak hat rack and a 1930s-style wooden tray with ornate carving.

In the kitchen she digs through old dishes and discovers a bunch of plates and tiny dishes with a delftware look. ``The blue in these plates is dark enough that a collection of them on the wall will make the light blue wallpaper recede,'' she says, and it does. In the dining area she uses the Fiestaware ceramic plates as chargers and places the tiny oriental-looking delftware dishes on top for contrast.

And the centerpiece? Gone is the straw basket of dried flowers and in its place are the three tall carved oriental figures from the foyer, surrounded by flickering votives on tiny delftware dishes.

``Very Asian. Very now,'' she says.

In the family room, there's less drama, but another cozy pit with sofas placed at angles for better TV viewing, with the stereo nearby. The antique telephone, the hat rack and wooden serving tray - and also that black bench - have found their way into the room. On the hallway wall, where bookstands once stood, there are now poster-size black-and-white blow-ups of her children. Rueb explains that those photos not only add to the character of the family room but show decorating savvy, since black-and-white photos are trendy again.

The family room is basically beige and brown, so the designer uses burgundy and fuchsia as color accents - found in an oriental carpet and an old afghan that she throws on the corner of the sofa.

Rueb also provides design consultations discussing selection of colors, fabrics, finishes and furniture to guide the homeowner through the sometimes panicky decision-making process, and suggests future projects.

``For instance,'' she says, ``I'd have her take down the wallpaper and paint the entire interior of the house, perhaps in a very pale green. I'd rip out the carpeting and put in wood flooring or a lighter shade of carpeting, but the owner has dogs so that might not be practical ... and I'd also consider updating the fireplace by painting it the same as the walls or removing the extending bricks to eliminate the oval shape and give it a traditional mantle.''

But all that is someone else's job.

What goes, stays and how to pull it together

Toss:

Potpourri and its containers

Country crafts

Pastel-colored accents (pillows, rugs)

Kleenex box holders

Wallpaper (however, borders are in)

Cutesy animal figures

Worn-out recliners and upholstered furniture

Keep:

Candles and candelabras (simple, bold styles)

Dramatic vases

Anything Asian

Old posters, black-and-white photos

Antiques, personal mementos

Space Age designs from the '60s

Furniture in monochromatic fabric (beige, dark green, burgundy)

Getting started:

Decide on a focus, whether it's the view from the window, a fireplace or a special piece of furniture. Then move the furniture away from the wall to showcase the focal point.

Find a common theme, whether it's a color, fabric or furniture style. For instance, mismatched chairs will look like they belong together if upholstered in the same fabric.

Mix things up purposely. Don't be afraid to use metal, wood and plastic picture frames together in an arrangement if the artwork complements one another.

Add a contrast or accent (go lighter or darker) without taking away from the beauty of an item. For instance, a light oak table can be accented with dark-colored dishes or candles.

Be ruthless about ``editing'' clutter.

- Barbara De Witt

CAPTION(S):

12 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- cover -- color) On the cover: Interior designer Erica Rueb turned Bonnie Hoult's dining room into a showcase by rearranging her own accessories and adding a few special touches.

(4 -- 5 -- color) An antique oak telephone, left, finds its way from storage into a place of honor in the newly decorated family room of Simi Valley homeowner Bonnie Hoult. Below the phone is Hoult's special kaleidoscope collection that previously was displayed in the living room. To brighten the basically beige room, Rueb added an oriental rug and a colorful afghan she found in the holding room, plus a few new plants.

(6 -- color) Rueb, owner of House Calls in Simi Valley, takes joy in finding special places for client's favorite objects.

(7 -- 8 -- color) The school desk, right, was lost in a sea of antiques in the living room, but Rueb showcased it in an arrangement at the end of the entryway, far right, that includes old school books as well as vintage photos.

(9 -- 10) Before the makeover, above, the living room was steeped in '70s crafts and a variety of garage sale finds and antiques with no obvious focal point, said Rueb. In the newly arranged living room, left, the grand piano has been turned around and accented with photos and candles, and the sofa has been pulled away from the wall to call attention to the fireplace. Rueb spent about $100 on the pillows, a leopard print throw, candles and plants to update the room.

(11) Interior decorator Erica Rueb enjoys the reaction as homeowner Bonnie Hoult sees her newly rearranged living room. ``I'm delighted. She chose things that were precious to me,'' said Hoult.

(12) Before Rueb starts her reorganization plan for a client, she moves all their furniture to a holding room so she can look at objects in new ways.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box: What goes, stays and how to put it together