Expense aside, designers love the look

Taxpayers might not appreciate his expensive taste in decor and cars , but so far Deval Patrick seems to have the interior design community gushing over the updated look of the corner office, which they say gives it the feel of a fresh start.

In particular, the new $12,306 damask draperies set the tone for an office that is physically and perhaps emotionally more relaxed and welcoming, designers said yesterday.

"These are definitely more modern, more graceful, and not nearly as uptight" as the faded blue draperies that Patrick's predecessor, Mitt Romney, had in the corner office, according to interior designer Dennis Duffy of Duffy Design Group, which is based in Boston.

"I like them. They're elegant. They have a bell pleat at the top."

Duffy said that although he has not met the governor, the draperies seem to match Patrick's public image.

"He seems more, not relaxed, but more personally engaging," Duffy added. "He's very charismatic, whereas, his method of delivery is much less formal. And these [draperies] speak of that to me."

Interior designer Cheryl Katz, a principal of C & J Katz Studio in Boston, said she, too, loves the new look, although she was befuddled by the fanlight treatment that appears to be a remnant from Romney's old draperies.

"I like the way Patrick has set up his office," she said. "It's much more inviting. He really respects the room.

"And I do have to say that I also like the more neutral palette. I like the envelope that it's created. It's updated, and I think it's quite sophisticated and elegant, and yet still quite traditional."

On Tuesday, after a Globe inquiry, Patrick said he would repay the state the $27,387 he spent redecorating his State House office, including the new draperies, a desk, two couches, two wing chairs, two sideboards, and other furnishings.

Several other designers, who said they had no firsthand knowledge of the draperies' fabrication, said the price seemed reasonable, given the look of the material and the amount needed to outfit so many large windows.

"That's what things cost," said Hilary Hickok, an owner of Hilary House on Beacon Hill, an interiors firm that participated in the redecoration of the Parkman House, a city-owned property the mayor uses on Beacon Street.

"I think it's great that he cares enough to put something like that up," she said. "It's very traditional.

"He's the governor of the state. The other thing is, he is entertaining dignitaries."

Hickok's mother, Ann Sullivan, the founder of Hilary House, designed a suite at City Hall for Mayor Kevin H. White , outfitting it with "top-quality wool carpets and, I believe, Le Corbusier leather furniture," Hickok recalled. "It was handsome."