Archive for June, 2011
Interior Designers – The Top 2 Misconceptions That Keep Home Owners From Hiring an Interior Designer
As an Interior Designer in Atlanta, GA for the last eight years, I’ve noticed a few common threads running through the most popular misconceptions about using Interior Designers. If you’ve never used an interior designer, ask yourself why right now.
Go ahead. I’ll wait.
…
Wow, that was quick! I bet you have a pretty good answer, too. I also bet your answer falls into one of the following two major categories:
1) COST: “I can’t afford one. Using an Interior Designer is an excessive luxury reserved for the wealthiest of people that live in mansions and drive Bentley’s.” Or, “I’ll save money if I do all the design work myself, which means I can buy more furniture.”
2) CREATIVE EXPRESSION: “If I use an Interior Designer, I’m afraid I’ll feel like my home won’t be an expression of my unique style and tastes. I have good taste – I can do this on my own.”
If your answer for not hiring an interior designer fits into one of these categories, then read on for some answers that might surprise you.
First of all, I want you to know these reactions are completely normal and understandable based on the amount of information that exists in the marketplace about how the client/ designer process works.
So let me respond to each of these arguments in order.
1. COST: Professional interior designers typically are able to purchase furniture at discounted rates from furniture and accessory manufacturers or distributors because of their purchase volume. When you use an interior designer you take advantage of their discounts to purchase furniture through your designer at a cost that is lower than what you would pay on your own. Every designer operates a little differently, but a typical pricing/ fee structure used by a lot of interior designers in Atlanta (where I am based) is “cost plus”. This pricing formula is very common among industries that make purchases on behalf of their clients.
The “cost” in this pricing structure is the designers’ reduced cost for the items you purchase (furniture, accessories, window treatments, etc). The “plus” is a percentage of that cost added to compensate the designer for their services and their sources. Many designers will even waive any hourly fees for clients purchasing a certain amount of furniture through them. In the end, you pay LESS for your home furnishings using a good designer than you do without one. AND, your budget actually goes further with a designer than without one.
An interior designer can save you money in other ways, too, like:
* A designer’s “industry-insider” knowledge helps clients achieve the best results through sourcing options not available to the general public.
* Soft-costs include time saved and higher likelihood of your satisfaction in the end result (no replacement costs for that sofa that’s just too big!)
So, as you can see, using an interior designer actually makes strong financial sense. A professional designer will save you money, save you time, and stretch your budget further than you could on your own.
2. CREATIVE EXPRESSION: A good interior designer listens to what their clients’ tastes and styles are and involves them heavily in the selection process. Your style will show through in each selection you make. Designers will take you with them to furniture stores. Bring fabric samples to your home to have you review, and involve you in lots of other ways to make sure the final outcome is a reflection of your style – and one that you will bring you great satisfaction in the place where you spend most of your time – your home!
If you don’t feel your designer is listening to you carefully enough, let them know. Keeping an honest and open channel of communication is critical to make sure you’re happy with the final design of your home.
Using a professional designer who makes his or her living by decorating does have its advantages. Think about the number of times you’ve painted a room. Have they always turned out just the way you had imagined? And were they coordinated with the furniture and flowed from one room to the next? Or did you find yourself either repainting a room you just painted or, worse yet, think “ugghh” every time you walked into your bathroom?
Think of your designer as just a helping hand whose advice may save you from some expensive and time-consuming design set-backs.
Plus, the little finishing touches that truly make a house a home are the things that only the client can add to a room. I know as an interior designer, I take the responsibility of helping my clients achieve a great living space that they’ll love and feel accurately reflects their personality and likes very seriously!
I hope I’ve helped clear up some of the main reasons I’ve seen why more people don’t take advantage of professional design help when decorating a home or even just a room in a home.
Feng Shui Interior Design – How to Optimize Every Room of Your Home
Feng shui interior design describes using design elements to improve the ‘qi’ or energy of a home. Each room of the home serves a specific purpose and the interior design of the individual rooms will carry out that purpose with the help of feng shui. In this respect, different principles and techniques must be applied to the different rooms. One size doesn’t fit all in this case. Make the most out of each individual room by using totally unique cures and remedies.
The purpose of the bedroom is to be the room in the house that promotes rest, relaxation and romance. It is meant to be a place that brings out calmness and tranquility. In order to do this, colors play an important role. Loud colors are the last thing we want to use, because they are too much of a distraction and actually promotes restlessness. Furniture placement is also a key factor. The bed is the main feature of the room and must be displayed in a commanding position, which is diagonal from the door. There are many other techniques you can use to optimize the bedroom, many of which are related to love. The love corner is another central part of the bedroom, make good use of this area to attract love or maintain good relationships.
The purpose of the living room is to be the room in the house for get togethers. It is meant for family gatherings and entertaining guests. Because of this, the living room needs to be a place that promotes conversation and should be optimized for family bonding. In order to do this, the main focus is on how the seating of this room is arranged. Sofas and chairs are supposed to be placed in a semi circular shape to achieve this purpose. Family photographs should also be a feature of this room. Other great additions include artwork and live plants.
The purpose of the kitchen is to feed and nourish the entire family. It is thought to be one of the most important rooms of the house, because it symbolizes growth and prosperity for all the members of he family. The stove is the primary focus of the kitchen and its burners actually represent wealth. A stove situated within an island is the ideal position, because the cook should be able to have a good view of the entire kitchen. It is important that he or she can see who comes through the door. If the stove is built against a wall, a good feng shui remedy is to add mirrors behind the stove so anything in back is still visible.
The purpose of the home office is to be the part of the home that work is done, it has to be optimized in a way that promotes productivity and will help guarantee success. In this case the desk is the most important piece of furniture in the room and must be located in a commanding position with a clear view of the door. Using a map bagua, locate the wealth and career corners for further feng shui design. The home office is an ideal room to use live plants such as the money tree or lucky bamboo, both of which are used to attract wealth.
As you can see, there are many different feng shui interior design techniques for each room of the home. Creating the right balance between all these rooms is what makes everything come together. The different areas of your life can be harmonized as a result of creating this great balance within your home. With the bedroom working towards love, the living room promoting your relationships, the kitchen helping to generate wealth and the home office building success for your business, all these different areas of your life begins to fall in place.