Interview designers, and if you’re deciding not to hire a designer, live in the home a minimum of 30 days to get a feel of the space and how you live on a daily basis.
I Bought A Home, Now What?
You can look through magazines or on websites such as Houzz, or you can google the type of home you want. For example: modern, soft modern, contemporary, or transitional Tuscan, to name a few.
If you hire a designer, make sure the designer presents you with two options for the entire home, including color palettes, furniture design, furniture layout, and lighting. If there are going to be renovations, make sure you have a full understanding of the architectural drawing for the design.
Decide where you will spend the most time in your home, and what matches your lifestyle. For instance, if you are a chef, someone who does yoga, or someone who is more interested in a “man cave,” or a cigar room, etc., this room needs to 100% reflect how you’re going to use it. This room is important because it is where you will spend the majority of your time. It needs to reflect who you are.
If you want to do something quick to the home to transform it, paint is the cheapest, quickest way.
Before meeting with a designer, before sitting down and deciding what you need for your home, how much money do you want to allocate towards this home? Have a budget range for this home.
If you buy a home and love the layout but don’t like the floors, a lot of times you can install new floors over the existing floors (depending on how they’re installed) and save an enormous amount of money, OR sometimes you can bleach or stain the floor, and make it more of the color you prefer.
Sometimes taking a home and removing a lot of things (cleaning up, decluttering, getting rid of the crown, getting rid of the busy profiles around the doors, etc.) can really give you a modern look at minimal expense.
If you are moving forward with a designer (or yourself), the materials that you select have to be able to stand up to the weather, humidity, saltwater and the usage. For example, a lot of people are installing saltwater pools, which requires a lot more maintenance than ordinary pools.
The trendy things should be things like throw pillows, artwork, etc — not furniture, flooring or lighting. The latter should be timeless and elegant, without a trendy feel. The trendy things should be less of a cost investment.
You meet the designer and in the interview, you give them your wishlist of what you want done. The designer then provides a cost range. If you feel that it’s too expensive, you let the designer know that they can remove or substitute things from the wishlist. For instance, you can let the designer know that you might not need the most expensive line for a sofa, or perhaps the fabric can be very high-end and the frame or the sofa be a less expensive brand.
In this present time, with the world being so unpredictable, it’s better to select items that are already in stock rather than something that has to be made from scratch. Most companies have what they call “quick ship stock” items, and selecting those items can save you a lot of time.
Lighting should always be incorporated with high hats that are able to be 3000k and 4000k; that way, you can set your own ambiance and have the high hats as bright or dim as you want them to be.
For instance, there are great ways to light up a staircase with inexpensive wall-mounted fixtures that highlight both the top and bottom of the staircase. Pendant lighting should not be overdone. People need to realize pendants are very trendy and expensive. You want the flexibility for these pendants to be relocated elsewhere; for instance, over a nightstand, instead of having fifteen drops in the foyer. Less is more with lighting. You can create ambiance and a style, without making it seem like you’re having a Christmas party.
The two lines of fabric I recommend: LINK and Sunbrella. You want to make sure that any outdoor furniture or fabrics that you use are from companies that offer 15-year, 20-year, or lifetime warranties. If they don’t, the fabrics and furniture are probably not made well, and will likely last no longer than six to twelve months.
Manufacturers now produce black out shades and sheers with a battery operated remote that works off a WIFI network. No electrical is needed in the wall and conveniently works from an app. Also there are shades now with a metal channel that move up and down to create a true blackout shade.
Retail and trade stores are not always up front about the time it takes for products to be delivered. When you order furniture, make sure the manufacturer has a 100% money back guarantee.
When building a new home be sure to have room on the electric circuit panels to accommodate current and future projects.
The key to a timeless Kitchen is to use integrated appliances. Avoid using handles which create holes in the cabinets doors. Cabinets now come with the GOYA system which have no handles or use a touch latch system. Also you can use upper pulls.
During these unknown times, you want to make sure that when you order furniture—whether it’s through a designer or retail store—that the contract states what the salesperson is telling you. If the contract states that it will take 8 weeks for the furniture to arrive, and it takes 20 weeks instead, then I want a full refund.
Wallpaper is a huge trend that can be a timeless look. We don’t do textured
paint, faux paint, or plastering anymore. These were very trendy in the 90s, but what’s timeless and can be done one time and only one time is smooth walls—preferably a level 5 drywall finish with either wallpaper or paint on it.
The trend now: less is more. Shams and throw pillows are out. Now we do
sleeping pillows with a beautiful throw blanket and a beautiful duvet cover for the pillows. The focus isn’t so much on the pillows, but on the other features of the bedroom. For instance, the attraction could be the back accent wall behind the bed with proper lighting, or a wallpaper or accent paint color that brings the whole room live.
