What Do I Like About Being An Interior Designer?

The best part of my job is the end result...seeing my client's reactions to their home. I truly believe that our surroundings impact our lives. Our surroundings ground us. Our surroundings can make us happy. Our surroundings can give us a place to relate well with others. Some ten thousand years ago cavemen drew pictures inside their cave dwellings. Since the beginning of time, decoration of our homes has been important to people.
I hear people say, "If I could only get my house decorated the way I want, I would be so much happier, and I would feel complete." There is a lot of truth to that statement. Coco Channel said "Our homes are reflections of our hearts."
There is no greater satisfaction than seeing families sit down together for a meal in a dining room they previously never used or hearing that a couple now sits by the fire each night with a glass of wine discussing activities of the day, where there once was no comfortable place in which to settle. I feel called to be an interior designer because I know that it changes the way people live and adds quality to their lives. It is not just a pretty room ...a home is where life happens. When you are designing your home keep these design principals in mind.

Rhythm: The repetition of elements. Rhythm can create movement. Example: In this rectangular room, the repetition of circular elements such as a round dining table, round saucer light fixture and round platters displayed on the shelves gives rhythm to the dining room and softens the hard rectangular angles and cabinetry.

Balance: The arrangement of the objects in a given design as it relates to their visual weight within a composition. For example, this is what I mean by visual weight: Don't put all of your tall and/or heavy furniture pieces on one side of the room; this will visually weigh it down. Evenly distribute visual weight.

Proportion/Scale: The comparison of dimensions or distribution of forms. This is the relationship in scale between one element and another, or between a whole object and one of its parts. Balance and proportion seem to be stumbling blocks for most people. Try to use pieces that are in good relationship to the size of your room and ceiling height.

 Happy decorating!

Do it With a Pro: Why You Should Hire an Interior Designer

With all of the do-it-yourself stores that sell home building products that people can use themselves, most don't see the need to hire a professional interior designer anymore. They just take any home styling magazine and copy what they see in there. Also, other than having so many home stores nowadays, another reason that is stopping people from hiring designers is because they see hiring professionals as an expensive move.

True, hiring a professional designer might be a bit costly. But what people don't know is that designers could actually help you make your home renovation cost-efficient. Here's how:

Keeps you in the budget

If you have a target budget on how much you want to spend on renovating your home, you could actually let the designer know and he or she will help you work out on it. The designer can help you determine what you need to do to achieve the look that you want for your home and then gauge how much it would cost to do so. If the renovation cost is above your budget, the designer can help you cut down cost by suggesting cheaper but quality alternatives for designs or materials.

Knows where to get the right stuff

Perhaps, the most tedious part of home renovation is the selection of furniture and accessories. What to choose alone could already be a headache. Let alone where to find the items. With a professional helping you, this task could be easy and fun. Designers are well-updated on where to get the right materials and furniture and they could go shopping with you if needed. Depending on the look you want to achieve, the designer can suggest the kind of furniture to buy and they also know which stores would be selling the kind you need. This way you won't have to waste time, effort, and money driving all over town.

Which ones to keep and which to throw out?

This is also a dilemma when renovating. Most homeowners would want to keep as much as they can of their existing stuff. But sometimes, it won't match with the new look. With a professional eye, designers can help you sort out which ones to recycle and which to replace. They can even give suggestions on how to give your furniture a new look so you could re-use it and save money.

The theory of design

Interior renovation is more than just putting together furniture, painting walls, and installing curtains. There is actually a deeper side to it. Designers not only make your home visually appealing, they also make it livable and comfortable. Space allocation is an important factor in designing a home because it will dictate how the users will utilize and move about in the space. Designers make sure that your home is ergonomically efficient so you can live comfortably in it.

Project management

The work of a designer does not just stop after developing the design for your home. Most designers nowadays also do project management. This means the designer will take care of the coordination between the material suppliers, the contractor, and the homeowner. Project coordination is very important because it ensures that the project will be running smoothly and without much hassle.