Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Your Decorating Budget: A Love-Hate Relationship
My Decorating Plan
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We hate to think about it, but eventually we have to come to terms with the fact that creating a beautiful interior means we have to lay down some hard earned cash.
This fact explains why one of the first questions you will hear from any professional decorator is “What is your decorating budget?”
Unfortunately, the most common answer they hear in response to that question is “I don’t know”.
Although the customary “I don’t know” answer gives the professional decorator little to go on, the answer is predictable and understandable. Many people feel overwhelmed by the entire decorating process, and that includes knowing what to budget for costs associated with a decorating project.
The term “budget” does not mean that the design is going to be “cheap”. A decorating budget is the sum of money that a person is wanting to or willing to spend to get the decorating results he or she desires.
Home décor is a sizable investment. The amount of money spent on home décor is generally ranked third behind a home purchase and an automobile purchase. One way to get a grasp on the reality of what your decorating budget should be is to approach it the same way you would when buying a home or automobile. Go out and shop around. Visit local home décor stores and see how things are priced. Go to high-end furniture stores as well as low-end so you can see the difference in quality and pricing. Internet product searching is a quick method to get pricing. Do whatever might be practical in order to form an opinion of what you may have to spend to get the result you want.
After you have done comparison shopping, determine how much you want to spend, how long it will take to complete the project and what your sequence of priorities are.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to do your project all at once. Spreading the project out over time enables you to stretch your dollars out over time as income is earned and also makes it easier to invest in long-lasting higher quality products.
Still confused? Ask for help. DO NOT be afraid to discuss money with your decorator. In fact, DO discuss money with your decorator. Your professional decorator can assist you in determining a “reality-check” budget for your “dream room”. Your professional decorator will also help you spend your budgeted funds wisely.
