Fall has a way of making us notice our homes again. The lamps come on earlier, the cozy throws come out, and we start thinking about all the rooms we want to finish before the holidays.
But before you buy another rug, choose another paint colour or start adding paneling, it helps to know what your room actually needs.
Are you solving the wrong problem?
Every day I pop into one of those huge Facebook decorating groups because it’s a good way to monitor trends. Recently a woman posted a photo of her living room.
It looked something like this:
This is a recreation of the room, not the original Facebook photo.
She had a big sectional filling the room, a television mounted on a blank wall, no rug, no art and no pillows.
And her question was:
“We’ve recently moved into this home and I’m struggling to make this room look more inviting, what kind of paneling should I add to this wall?”
I’m sure you know what I was thinking. Panelling!? This room needs to be decorated! I think this happens a lot because, as I’ve said many times, it’s easier to ask questions like, ‘Should I change my countertops, should I replace this fireplace’, over ‘which area rug will work the best here’.
And this is exactly where good design advice can save you a lot of money. The thing you’re planning to change may not be the thing keeping your room from working.
That is what we do in an eDesign consultation.
For four days only, through Friday, October 2, save 10% on eligible eDesign packages.
Stop guessing before you start spending
The most expensive decorating mistakes happen when you buy things one at a time without a clear plan. You replace the countertop when painting the cabinets would have made the existing countertop disappear.
You choose a new paint colour, but the room still feels unfinished because what it really needed was a rug, better lamps and throw pillows.
You install a backsplash when the lighting and hardware are what’s actually making the kitchen feel dated.
Every dollar spent on the wrong solution is a dollar you can’t spend on the change that would transform the room. After 40 years of decorating, styling and specifying colour, I can immediatley see what will, and won’t, move a room forward.
Inspiration images and AI can offer ideas based on the question you ask. An experienced designer may look at your room and tell you that you’re asking the wrong question entirely. Kind of like this room I recently mentioned:
She’d finally convinced her husband to install the panelling, painted it black, and immediately felt something was off. The suggestions she received kept adding more black, making the entry feel harsher. Repainting the existing panelling a warm neutral would be the straightforward fix. If she were planning it from the start, classic moulding in warm white would make far more sense for her Colonial home. That’s what eDesign helps you see before you spend more money solving the wrong problem.
That compressed experience is what you’re investing in when you purchase an eDesign package.
That fresh diagnosis is often where the real value is.
Expert advice is especially valuable for DIYers
If you’re a DIY decorator, you may be the person who needs eDesign most.
You’re still going to do the shopping, painting, ordering and installation yourself. But you don’t also have to waste your limited budget buying things that don’t work.
With a clear plan, every purchase moves your room in the same direction. That’s what makes even a modestly priced room look considered and expensive.
You don’t necessarily need a larger budget. You need to put the budget you have into the right things.
Every eDesign package also includes our Decorate or Renovate recommendation. We’ll tell you whether we would decorate around what you have, refresh a few key elements or plan for a larger renovation.
In other words, you don’t have to diagnose the room before hiring me.
That’s my job.
Want help finishing a room?
If you’re purchasing an eligible interior paint package, you can now add our new Decor Refresh for $295.
You’ll receive suggestions for three key decorating pieces that I believe will make the greatest difference in your room—perhaps a rug, lamps, a coffee table or another item the room is missing.
Because paint can create the background, but it can’t do all the decorating for you. Please note, this add on is only available as an add-on to the paint packages.
Planning a kitchen, bathroom or larger renovation?
We’ll help you understand what should stay, what should change and how your colours, finishes, lighting and other details should work together.
And if you aren’t ready to begin your project immediately, you can still purchase your consultation during the sale and submit your information when you’re ready.
You don’t need to solve your entire home at once.
Start with the room that’s on your mind. Find out what it actually needs. Then make each purchase with confidence, knowing it’s part of a clear plan.
Because life is too short to live in a home you don’t love—and decorating is too expensive to keep guessing.
Through Friday, October 2nd save 10% on eligible eDesign packages. Let our team help you turn your inspiration into a clear, confident plan you can easily bring to life.
Our four-day eDesign sale starts now
I see you thinking, “it is what it is for now, and ONE DAY, I will renovate and decorate this room”. If you’ve been following my Renovate or Decorate channel, you’ll know what I’m going to say right?
You don’t have to wait until you tear out the floors and renovate the fireplace. You can love your room now. I’m giving you permission. Because life’s too short to live in a home you don’t love.
And you don’t have to solve your whole home at once. Sometimes, one room-and clear advice on what to change- is the best place to start.
So I’m throwing a fall sale on eDesign packages so you can get the advice you need to tackle that room.
Let’s find the right starting point for you.
If you have questions about which room you should start with, email some photos to my team here.
Want your room to feel pulled together?
Start with a paint colour that works with what you already have. Then, if you need help with the finishing touches, explore our brand-new Decor Refresh add-on
Another option that I personally think would have looked great too would be to keep the original black spindles, but stain the handrail and newel post the same as the floor. Paint out the door frame and feature wall with the same light colour as Maria has done, but paint the front door black. Finally add the orb chandelier from AI version one which ties in with the new railing and front door.
And the answer to the first question about paneling is …? In my opinion, the absolute first thing I’d change, my nonnegotiable, is to lower the television to be eye level to anyone sitting on the sofa. The TV is currently hung far too high. I just don’t understand why people are hanging TVs at a height that ensures neck problems for the rest of their lives!
The first room needed decorating far more than it needed panelling. In the second room, the panelling itself was the wrong choice for the style of the house, so changing its colour wouldn’t solve the problem although it would have looked 100% better NOT in black. Thanks for your comment. Maria
I see posts like this on Reddit all the time where people are asking about unnecessary renovations and completely ignoring decorating. It drives me crazy! And I feel it has gotten even worse with the widespread use of AI mockups by the masses, who largely do not understand what AI can and cannot accomplish. (So many posts about which color to paint a room that only include several AI mockups and no real pictures of the actual room…urgh!)