What Women Want vs. Men (In a House)
10/14/2014Overheard at a birthday party with some of my designer friends last weekend: “When I work with builders I always tell them that WOMEN buy houses, not men.” Men want a large TV room {via pinterest} A Garage {via pinterest} Isn’t this amazing! Now this is an organized person! {source} And, No Nagging! {via pinterest} Women want above…
“I’ve got this.” Do you suffer from unrealistic thoughts about renovation? Design help is here. Here’s what I’ve learned from thousands of interior design consultations. So, just in case you were wondering and losing sleep over this topic like I have, I’ve figured it out. The third week in my Renovate with Confidence™ Focus on Finishes…
I once helped a client decorate her guest room. She wanted everything NOW. The painting had to happen IMMEDIATELY! The furniture, delivered YESTERDAY.
In my experience, there are two types of clients who want furniture that fast.
When you move into a new house and you don’t have any furniture to sit on, that has people get pretty impatient for new stuff, RIGHT NOW.
Second, the client who cannot decide. They don’t want to make a mistake so they wait.
And wait.
And wait.
And wait.
And put up with old, bad, and cheap for a very long time.
Why Choosing Granite is So Hard
04/09/2014Have you installed granite in your kitchen or bathroom… and then wondered why it doesn’t look like you thought it would? Here’s why choosing granite is so hard. I came across this comment on my blog the other day, I had forgotten about it. This reader expressed what so many of my clients have told…
Why You’ve Never Had a Good Contractor
11/21/2013Obviously this statement doesn’t apply to everyone, but I’ve heard it a few times lately from clients. And I’ve been thinking about why. And since that’s what I do best – figure out the answer to the question why – I’ve come up with a theory. Here it is: Since I’m a decorator and not…
Artwork by Liza Lambertini Source This post is written by my fabulous Design Associate Irene Hill: For about the past year I’ve been telling people my husband and I are in the middle of a renovation project. That’s not really accurate. Three years ago we purchased this little 1,000 square foot rancher in a nice…
The Quest for the High End Client
09/01/2013It’s pretty much agreed among most designers that the measure for success seems to be to design for the upscale, high-end client with lots of money. It’s kind of like this, once you get this client, you have hit the pinnacle to some degree. We all know that’s never enough and once you get there,…
Dear Maria, We have those dreaded honey oak cabinets in our kitchen. We are not interested at this point in changing or painting them. I just want to choose a laminate countertop and a backsplash and a wall colour that will look reasonably good together. I prefer lighter colours for the counter and backsplash. Could…
I know this is not a complete absolute truth because it won’t apply to the high end market but I do a lot of design and colour consulting in brand new homes and the homeowner is usually saying things like, “The builder only gave us two options, so we chose the lesser of the two…
What it Takes to Have a Classic House
01/29/2013Whether you are shopping for a new house or planning to build your dream home, here are some great examples of what not to do. Sure, you want this next house to create the look and feel you love and but some just don’t have what it takes to be classic house. Keep reading to…
The other day my mom reminded me of an old Finnish proverb that goes like this: When a job is done right, no one asks how long it took, everyone simply says “It’s beautiful”. A client recently called me in a panic, her subway tile backsplash was being installed and the advice she had received…
Is Painted Furniture on Its Way Out?
09/15/2012I received this great question from Tamara recently: source ‘I love your blog and have learned so much about undertones and choosing colors. We’ve all noticed the plethora of painted wood furniture lately. At first I thought it was just a trend and that dark wood will be back, but I’m not sure anymore. What…
The Zen of Home Renovating
08/19/2012‘A Happy Wife is a Happy Life.’ How many times have you heard that expression? Let’s be really clear about something, when it comes to creating a home, wives are usually the ones who are the most upset or annoyed about the out-dated or unattractive areas. I know this because 95% of the time, it’s…
The Best Reason to Paint Old Furniture
08/25/2011Recently Joni from Cote de Texas wrote this totally inspired post, Convincing Your Husband to Decorate Your Way. It’s a must read for every woman who gets grief from their husband over wanting to paint old furniture (or dated cabinets for that matter) in addition to just decorating your way. Fundamentally, when it comes to home decor,…
source The other day I received this note: “We had a house built this year and the builder would not install the white cabinets I have always wanted, its a cookie cutter builder who just wasn’t offering that in our neighborhood. To me this was crazy, all I have ever wanted is a beautiful white…
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