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Choosing Paint Colors
When choosing colors and accents for a room, your last decision should be your paint selection. There is a wide selection of paint colors to choose from and you will have no difficulty finding a paint color that works with everything else in the room.
Faux Finishing |
| If you are having difficulty tying together the colors and textures in your space, consider faux painting the room. A good designer can help the faux painter create a mixture of colors and textures that will compliment almost any color scheme. |
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Don't Settle For Second Best. |
| Do not settle for second best. If you are having cash flow challenges, consider financing your design project or consider spreading your design project over a longer period of time. Often times a furniture store can arrange favorable financing for products that you purchase. In addition, an Interior Designer can put together a design plan for you that you can implement slowly as cash flow permits. It is better to wait two years to get exactly what you want than to rush the project and settle for something less. |
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A Beautiful Home - Part II |
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Develop a time frame. A three to five year plan is reasonable. Start with immediate needs, crucial to each room, and begin there.
Utilize professional advice. A professional may help you avoid expensive mistakes. By becoming familiar with your needs, a designer will be able to work within your budget and your time frame. |
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A Beautiful Home - Part I |
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Your home is an investment, not only financial, but emotional. Invest the time, energy and funds to make sure your home satisfies your needs.
Establish priorities and stick with them. Decide which rooms will be decorated first, and spend your energies there. |
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Accessorizing |
| When placing multiple accessories, use groupings in odd numbers. This will create a visual balance to the eye. |
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Small Rooms |
| If a room seems small and enclosed try using a mirror instead of artwork to open it up and give a feeling of depth and openness. |
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Cleaning Artificial Plants, Trees & Florals |
| Use "canned air" found at office supply stores to clean keyboards, etc., to clean artificial plants, trees and floral arrangements. To keep items in optimum condition, "spray" dust them at least once a month. |
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Protect Wood Tabletops |
| To protect wood tabletops on dining and occasional pieces, have a local glass provider make tops to fit the dimensions of the piece. |
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Problem Corners and Walls |
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The addition of a tree can fill the problem area but also soften the look and feel of a room. |
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Window Treatments |
| To make windows appear taller, have the bottom of the window treatment only cover the top 2-3 inches of the window and then go up thus creating the illusion. | |
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Bathroom Fixture |
| Most homes have white bathroom fixtures (sinks, toilets, showers, bathing tubs and spas). There are several color options available to make your bathroom exotic and exciting. However, these decisions must be made up front with the contractor and/or plumber. Otherwise, the contractor or plumber will take the safe road and choose white. |
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Working with Architects |
| Architects are not skilled in Interior Design. Their professional training is all about meeting building codes. Building codes have nothing to do with good Interior Design. A room can be right to building code specifications and yet be non-functional from a design point of view. Architects and Interior Designers must work together to assure that the home accommodates your furniture and your lifestyle. |
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Involve An Interior Designer Early |
| The quicker you involve an Interior Designer in your project the higher will be the rate of return on your invested dollar. In new construction, you should have your floor plans reviewed by an Interior Designer before construction begins. This process takes between two to three hours and will save you thousands of dollars. |
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It's A Packaged Deal! |
| It is becoming a common practice for a homebuilder to bid your home construction costs using packages. As an example, there will be a lighting package that covers all your lighting needs. If you are not happy with one item in the package, you will often times have to upgrade everything in the package if you want to make a change. This can be quite costly. Before you sign the building contract, we recommend that you review each package and identify the desired upgrades. Then ask the builder to refigure the bid so that you have a more accurate picture of what the home is really going to cost. |
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Furniture-New Construction |
| If you are planning to purchase new furniture for a home under construction, draw a floor plan and make certain that the new furniture will fit in the rooms. |
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Furniture Planning In A New Home |
| With new home construction, decide in advance what furniture you desire to keep and make certain that the furniture will fit in the square footage proposed for each space. , As an example, if you have a king size bed for the master bedroom, will the bed fit into the room allowing space for an armoire and two nightstands? |
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Electrical Outlet Planning |
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With new home construction, it is important to review all of the proposed electrical outlets in advance of construction. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is there an electrical outlet in the entry way for your desired electrical fixture or chandelier?
- Are the electrical outlets in key rooms such as the family room, living room and master bedroom arranged so that lamps can be plugged in without running electrical cords across the floor?
- Is there an electrical outlet in the center of the area you plan for your dining room table?
- Have you considered recessed or hidden electrical outlets in the kitchen area so that electrical outlets do not have to be carved into backsplashes?
- Where do you want to place your Christmas tree each year? , Is there a convenient electrical outlet?
- Are there adequate electrical outlets on the outside of the home for hanging Christmas lights on the roof or in the yard?
- Is there an electrical outlet for an outside hot tub?
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