Designing an Entire House-Part 2 {Client Design}

Yesterday I talked about my design process of designing an entire home during new construction.  For additional spaces the clients wanted me to design but they wanted to tackle the shopping and installation themselves, I created similar Design Boards with a specific shopping list for them to easily create my proposed designs.

When it comes to hiring an Interior Designer, even though I work really hard to give my client's a high end design at an affordable price tag, it can get pricey.  Especially when you are trying to do everything at once.  My suggestion would be to work through the house one room at a time.  It is a little less stressful, for everyone.  A little easier on the wallet,  But will take a little more time to get to a completely decorated home that you can enjoy.

But if you really don't have the time to work through the house at a slower pace, and are ready to finish the house right away, there is another option.  For those that are willing to put in a little time and decorate the rooms themselves, we can work together on an E-Design.  Working through e-mail.  Whether you are down the street from me or across the country, I can offer you an E-Design.

Here are a few examples of how I completed some designs my clients could then take and create themselves!

The main pieces for this Dining Room were purchased with my help -- table, chairs, and curtains.  But with accessories not top priority right this minute, I held off on purchasing those items for my client.  Instead, I gave them a Design Board with options and ideas of what I thought they should purchase to complete the Dining Room and Kitchen.  

Each Design Board also comes with a specified "shopping list" of all of the items I show and where they can purchased.

I like to give people options when it comes to purchasing larger items such as these bar stools.  I love these upholstered bar stools.  But I know they can be a scary purchase because most people are usually worried about food stains in the kitchen.  I get it.  I understand.  I have all wood bar stools for the same reason.  So I included an all wood option as well that I love just as much!

A lot of people don't think of putting a rug under their dining room table.  Me, on the other hand, could put a rug under everything!!  I love rugs!  So I had to give them a few rug options as well.  Did you see the prices on these?!?  That's a steal!  If there are chances of future food stains, don't spend an arm and a leg on the rug.  This way, if you decide to switch out the rug in 2-3 years, you won't feel so bad.

I can't assume people are in my head and know what I am thinking if I just show them a shelf and a wine rack.  So I like to take the guess work out of it and help them visualize exactly how I would hang the four items together.

I love this new trend of creating the word "EAT" in your kitchen.  When I saw these huge galvanized metal letters at Hobby Lobby, I thought they would look awesome in this open wall space in their kitchen.  I don't think design has to be so serious.  People tend to over think it.  Have some fun with it!

Some simple additions to the entry way.  It is not a very big space, so no room for an entry way table, but a mirror will bring more light into the space and give you a place for a quick make-up check before heading out the door.  The yellow rug is a fun pop of color to coordinate with the yellow accents in the living room.

We chose to paint the Guest Bedroom the same Dutch Tile Blue as the Master Bathroom.  It is too beautiful of a color to just use in one room!  The homeowner loved some of the blue and coral combinations she was seeing on Pinterest so we went with that color scheme.  I fell in love with this muted coral duvet cover from West Elm (and thankfully, so did she), so the room was created around that.  How perfect is this wood slatted artwork for a guest bedroom?!?

Bathrooms are pretty easy to decorate because they don't need a lot.  Shower curtain, a couple of cute hand towels, one or two small pieces of artwork for the wall, and some greenery to bring a little life into the space.  I found the minty colored prints with gray frames at Hobby Lobby for under $10 each.  I loved them so much, I went ahead and bought 3 of the same prints for them and just hung them all together. 3 prints will definitely make a bigger impact than just one.

Sometimes the best way to coordinate bath items is to buy them all from the same place (Target here) and lay it all together in the store to make sure it matches!!  :)

I never think you have to buy every single specific piece I suggest in these Design Boards of an E-Design.  Of course there are other items out there that would look just as great.  But for those who don't want to spend extra time shopping around, I would rather just give them as much detail as possible ahead of time to complete the room. 

Like me, most people are very visual when it comes to decorating their home.  It is much easier for me to translate my design ideas with these Design Boards and with pictures of similar items in real homes.  Thanks to Pinterst and Houzz, this makes it a lot easier for me to show my clients my ideas. 

This is a great way to work within your budget when hiring me as an Interior Designer.  If you are handy enough and have the time to do the labor yourself, I can easily take on the creative and design side for you, giving you all the direction you need to create a beautiful space.