Decorating For Yourself… but Not by Yourself
The Key to Stress Free Decorating
At the end of a long day at the office or running around from school to the soccer fields then home to make dinner, ultimately each one of us finally returns home. Our homes are where we start and end every single day. Therefore, our homes should reflect a style that meets our expectations. The bedroom should be restful, tranquil, a sanctuary to relax in at the day’s end. The family room should be a warm and comfortable environment, in which all family members can be themselves and share in each others company. The kitchen is usually a gathering place for families to begin and end their days together. So how does one go about making each room of their home reflect their personal style? Enter, an interior decorator.
My job as an interior decorator is to help my clients achieve their decorating goals with ease and even a little fun, definitely no stress. We all have areas in our homes for which we have a different vision. The biggest challenges that prevent people from achieving these visions tend to be a lack of time and knowledge. Finding the time to devise and carry out a plan is difficult to do during the fast paced lives that we all seem to lead here in Northern Virginia. Between work, school, sports, church, social obligations, etc. most people do not have time to run from store to store looking for a new sofa, or the right size area rug or even the accessories needed to complete their living room. The people who do find a sliver of time to shop for their desired decorating products tend to get ‘stuck’ in the process. Have you ever said to yourself, “This table is absolutely beautiful, but will it go with the rest of my kitchen?” Or even more frustrating, “Wow, this sofa did not look that big in the store!” I hear these comments, and many others just like them, from my clients quite often. Their next thought is usually, “I need help.”
The importance of creating a plan is priceless. As a decorator, I work closely with my clients to create a design plan that is not only beautiful but also meets the needs of their lifestyle and is in line with their budget. An organized plan takes all of the guesswork out of decorating. That way the table and sofa from the above examples have a purpose and are individual parts of an entire scheme. Creating a plan starts with questions. How many kids do you have? Do you have any pets? How will this room be used? What colors do you like? What colors do you not like? Do you like soft and curvy lines or more straight lines? All of these questions help to define your sense of style. Once you have answered these questions, and determined a decorating allowance, your decorator is ready to put together a design plan for you.
Now that you have a design scheme and everything is ordered and on its way, the most fun part of the process is just around the corner. That is delivery day! Whether you are giving your room a facelift with window treatments and accessories or refreshing the entire room with all new pieces, the end result will be stunning. We have all seen the design shows on television where everything seems to magically disappear and the new room evolves virtually over night, right? Well, in real life there is a bit more work involved, but it is all worth it on delivery day when the final accessory is placed in the room. As the home owner, you then take a deep breath and soak in all of the beauty of your new room. And the best part is this: everything was designed with the guidance of a professional, created for your unique tastes and lifestyle, and you never had to leave home. How wonderful!
By utilizing an interior decorator, you are choosing an efficient path to attain your decorating desires. A decorator will guide you towards the right decisions, take care of all the behind the scenes steps and provide you with an outcome that is sure to exceed your expectations. I absolutely love meeting new people every week who have varying needs, homes, and personal styles and I feel very lucky to be able to make a difference in their lives. I am sure many of the readers out there are thinking about several different areas of their homes that they would like to decorate right now. If so, I would suggest a complimentary consultation that would allow us to prioritize your goals. Decorating success comes from precise planning, so together you and I can create your dream home, one gorgeous room at a time.
