Helen Baynes has as many pieces of furniture and decor accessories for sale as some retail stores -- with a big difference.

The items at her Montage Interior Design Studio come from private homes, Craigslist, eBay, Goodwill stores, Construction Junction, a secondhand store in Braddock with no name, and, yes, from the trash. She gives her strays new life, using vivid color, flowing fabric, striking accents and plenty of flair.

Her studio, taking up 8,000 square feet on the second floor of a warehouse in Point Breeze, could be the setting for an Arabian tale from "One Thousand and One Nights," and Ms. Baynes could have stepped out of the story.

Her space features a dozen groupings of furniture, with colorful rugs, highly polished wooden tables and chairs and upholstered sofas, settees and armchairs piled high with jewel-tone pillows that she made herself.

Artwork or draped pieces of rich fabric cover the walls. In the morning, sunlight streams in through tall windows, highlighting colors and helping live plants to thrive. In the evening, she may light a hundred candles.

As she walks through the space, she stops in front of a large circular table that she found on the Craigslist Web site.

"It was in a man's garage and I paid him $25. It was water-damaged, so I flipped the top over and painted it. He had thrown another table, a chair and two sconces in the trash, which he gave me.

"That was one of my favorite days."

On the table is a huge vase of fresh flowers.

"I like my flowers to be wild and free. I'm not one of those tightly packed people. I like to keep it loose and flowing."

Her life has been about decorating since she was a child growing up in Homewood.

"When I was 8 years old, I got some blue fabric from my mother and used my toy sewing machine, which really sewed. I put skirts on everything in the bathroom, toilet, sink and bathtub. I loved it until my five brothers got hold of it."

Now she makes slipcovers for her sofas and chairs or re-upholsters them, if needed.

Her collecting went into high gear in 1993 when she ran a plant and flower shop in the lobby of the Morrowfield Apartments in Squirrel Hill.

"They took the grand lobby and sectioned it off. I had the marble staircase with the archway and the high ceilings, and 11 rooms. I couldn't fill it all with plants, so I began to gather accessories."

When her husband, Dusty, was injured in an accident in 1999, she put the collection in storage and focused on caring for him. Once he recovered, Ms. Baynes moved the collection to this warehouse at the corner of Meade Street and North Braddock Avenue. She says her husband is a huge help.

"I absolutely couldn't do this without him," she says.

She is undeterred by size, weight or damage.

"It took a year-and-a-half to turn this place from the trash can that it was into what it is now," she says. "There was so much junk in here when I came in that I couldn't see the windows. I had to scrape the ceilings and paint them, put up drywall partitions, run gas lines and put in four fireplaces."

She paints the floors herself every nine months or so to keep them looking fresh. She originally intended to use the space as an office and to sell her items on the Internet. But things evolved in another way.

"I let my brother-in-law have his 60th birthday here four years ago and people started calling me to host events. I tell people I have a studio, my work space."

Ms. Baynes says her space is not appropriate for many events.

"I like to do things that make a difference. Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force is going to do a health fair for women, set up different sections and pass out information. I like to do book signings, stuff that matters."

If someone wants to rent it for a gathering of 200 people, Ms. Baynes tells them, "I'm not your guy."

She enjoys decorating people's homes or setting up for events.

"If they need to transform a space, a patio or a fire hall, I rent the furniture to them and help them to arrange it."

Every item on the floor is for sale. Many more are in storage, waiting to be displayed, and Ms. Baynes is always buying more. One day recently, she headed to the North Side to buy a daybed, hoping it would fit in her SUV.

"It's one with wood carving, not those metal sides," she says, with a sparkle in her eye.

The warehouse gives no hint of the riches inside.

"People have told me they sat outside for a half-hour, deciding if they want to come in. They were that apprehensive," she says.

Once inside, they're usually glad they did.

"People tell me that they love it, and I do appreciate that.

"I can't imagine doing anything else than this."

Helen Baynes and Montage Interior Design Studio, 201 N. Braddock Ave., Point Breeze, can be reached at 412-973-5188.