Do You Need A Designer?
HOW TO MAKE SOMEONE ELSE’S HOUSE YOUR HOME
The real estate agent has done a bang up job of finding a house in the neighborhood you love. The mechanics of the house are strong. The previous owners have kept up nicely with maintenance. Yet, something is still not as you imagined. You want to make this house your home.
Can you do this alone or should you hire a designer?
So You’ve Got This Great “House”
Ready To Make It Your “Home”?
Mr. LBD Junior and I are on the cusp of purchasing our first home.
We will be exploring and dreaming about all the ways we will want to make the house we choose our home. So today I thought I’d share some beautiful transformations that will surely become someone’s ..
Friday Favorites!
Let’s start off with the most used room in most houses. The kitchen. This one is typical of so many homes on the market today. There is a stone floor and splash, high quality cabinets with an island, moldings, large windows, and the overly coveted “granite and stainless appliances”! If we didn’t show you the photo, you would say this kitchen ticks all the must haves.
KITCHEN
Yet…It’s Dated! The sometimes kiss of death of a resale because the new owner has hundreds of Pinterest ideas and not one looks like this! What if this same kitchen could look more like this? Sure there are changes, yet so many of the original features can remain in tact. Yes, the cabinets are blue! They are fresh and part of a great design that appeals to many of us. Kitchens like this are the result of very good client/designer relationships. Let’s keep looking!
BREAKFAST NOOK
A Design Built Off Of The Table And Copper Crockery. Go ahead and look back we can wait. Welcome Home!
THE LIVING ROOM
Oh yes, they kept the dark beams and gained a game table! Aren’t the bookcases fab?
NEED A HOME OFFICE?
This transformation is a little molding and some paint, and listening to your designer to spend the money on the furnishings. This is a room where you “make money” and you’re worth it!
DINING ROOM
Yes! It’s cool to wallpaper. Don’t be afraid. If you are, just ask your Grams to help you select. These gals have good taste. While you are at it, ask her for some of her furniture with a blessing to paint and recover it for the next generation.
DON’T FORGET THE HALLWAYS
Choosing the right paint color, especially the “whites”, and using it consistently creates a gallery for furnishings. Grab the light in your home and make it work for you. Confused about the hundreds of white paints out there. Guess who you need to call?
THE MASTER SUITE
Already have an open plan? Now it’s time to make it yours. Look at the lamps on the vanities. Yes, lamps! And is that a gold frame mirror in this sea of white metals? Yep…listen to your designer and go to your own spa everyday.
OMG! Yes, you are looking at a dark paint in this amazing bedroom! Look how the correct use of paint and lighting made this possible. Goodbye 1990s! Let your designer nudge you over to the dark side!
LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
Ready to call a designer?
These examples are all from Texas-based designer Marie Flanigan featured in Architectural Digest. We like her approach of using the bones of the house and not reinventing every space. We’ve found, in reality, this is the way so many clients would like to do renovations. Using qualified home remodelers assures you will get the very best results. These photos certainly show that using a designer has its perks!
Time for a shameless plug, and a reminder that we are available to help you make someone else’s house your home. Just ask.
I love before and after! These rare all amazing!
I think that designers are needed by everyone, especially those that don’t think they need one. They can help with placement of furniture the owner already has in perhaps more pleasing patterns than originally thought. A designer is trained to notice certain things that “Hilda Hausfrau” just doesn’t see. So yes, I believe in designers. Cynthia Fussell
I think the secret to a good designer is one who has perfect listening skills. I’ve dealt with a few in my lifetime, some good, some not so good. I don’t hire a designer for her taste, I hire her for her accessibility to fabrics, furniture, and wallpaper. I also hire her for her expert advice, but it doesn’t mean that I always take it. When I was much younger, I had a friend call me in tears because she just wrote the final check to her decorator and she was not happy. The designer was more interested in telling her what was “in” and didn’t listen to what her client wanted. In the end, she hired a friend of mine who came in and redid everything and listened to what my friend wanted. I didn’t mean to go on like that. Hope both of you lovely ladies have a fabulous weekend.
Good design should be a partnership right from the start. This is why we have such great clients.
wow what a transformation!! can’t wait to decorate my own home soon yayy
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