Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Your Decorating Budget: A Love-Hate Relationship
My Decorating Plan
www.mydecplan.com
805.933.0222
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.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Successful Decorating Comes from Good Understanding
My Decorating Plan
www.mydecplan.com
805.933.0222
An important element of successful decorating is to understand the people living in your home. Before creating your decorating plan you need to evaluate every family member by simply asking him or her some relevant questions, such as:
What is your furniture style preference?
What colors do you like?
Do you have fabric preferences?
Do you prefer formal or informal rooms?
What are your pet’s needs?
What type of hobbies or activities do you like?
Do you entertain small or large groups?
Ask as many questions as you need to, but understand that not every member in the family is going to have the same wants or needs for each room in the home. For example, there may be three people in the home who enjoy quiet reading and two who prefer watching television. It might be best to have different rooms for these activities because the noise factors are very different.
Rooms can be multifunctional by combining uses that are compatible, such as studying and recreational reading in one room and watching television and playing table games in another.
Prioritizing and compromising go hand in hand with successful decorating. Finding the balance and understanding the needs of everyone in the home will lead you to your perfect decorating plan.
