What a difference a new paint job makes

What a difference a new paint job makes!

For all of you wanting to find a quick fix to refreshing your interior or a client's, then a new paint job comes highly recommended.

We have just had some painting done to our home to tidy up wear and tear and I can't believe the difference it makes. We haven't changed any colors, simply had another coat of paint applied and the house looks good as new!

Another upside is that it is cost effective for major visual results. We tossed up with the idea of repainting ourselves, and after our last attempts, where scraping paints drips of flooring took longer than the actual painting, we decided to leave it to the experts. They are fast efficient and know all the little tricks of the trade. We have come to the conclusion that we are good at designing and terrible at DIY, so we stick to what we are good at!

So my lesson for the day here is two things, painting is a great way to refresh your interior and DIY painting is not always the most cost effective option. Get a few quotes or estimates before you start to see how much it will cost, then you can weight up how much time it would take you compared to paying them to do it for you!

If you want to learn about how to get an estimate or quotation you can find more information here.
If you want to learn more about paint you can find details here.

Do Feature Walls Still Spin Your Wheels?

Do Feature Walls Still Spin Your Wheels?

This is going to be a short blog post as I want you to comment on what you think about feature walls.

I recently visited a house, it is about 10 years old and crammed with feature walls. I found the hairs on my arms rise as I moved from room to room, it really was not a nice feeling.

The problem with the feature walls was the contrast, or too much of it. Off white walls with heavy dark colors like aubergine (right purple/black) in the bedroom, an even darker version in the formal living room, but not the whole wall only part of it! Deep forest green in one bedroom, royal blue in another.....can you visualize it? It was just to hard on your eyes and the rooms didn't flow and it became a joke, oh, I wonder what color they have pulled out of the color swatch for the next room?

Successful interior decoration should be considered, harmonious and pleasant to the eye at a minimum! Does this mean NO to feature walls? Here is where I want your opinion. I have written a couple of articles on this topic in the past, you could read them, then make a comment below about what you think.

I will let you know what I think about feature walls in my next post, or perhaps I will just make a comment with the rest of you.

Background Reading

Wallpaper a New Variation on Feature Walls - The Future of Feature Walls

How to Use the Once Humble Feature Wall in Interior Decorating

Feature Wall Defines Color Theme

I hope you find these entertaining, don't forget to write what you think in the comments below.

The Importance of Quality Curtains

The Importance of Quality Curtains

I know I go on and on about this topic, but it is one of those pet hates - cheap and nasty curtains. They really bring down a good design. It is the finishing touches of interior design or decoration that people notice, no matter how much detail you put into space planning and architectural features they get left behind when you see poor curtain selection at the windows. Let's face it, most homes today have a lot of windows and they are expensive to drape, but please resist the temptation to buy that cheap fabric on sale at the local fabric store and then not use enough at each window and forget to line them, so all you have is a piece of mediocre fabric hanging beside the window limply with no fullness, no length and no design presence.

The curtain tracks or rods are also important. You need to make sure you spend a little bit extra on the curtain rod or track length so that you can have stack backs (space to either side of the windows for the curtains to sit). You have paid for big windows, so don't cover them up, stack the curtains off the window and let the light in and see the view out.

Short curtains - I cannot stress enough, if you are having full length curtains, then this means that they should go all the way to the floor, allowing a tolerance of 10 mm (1 cm) for ease of movement, or if you want them to puddle add a minimum of 100mm or 10 cm to the length. Do not leave your curtains with daylight showing through the bottom, it looks like you have taken the curtains to the dry cleaner and they have shrunk! It is not a good look and will ruin all your hard work.

I will leave it there as I can become rather boring when I go on about this topic, but I went to visit a house that was for sale yesterday and I couldn't get past the poor quality curtains, I couldn't look past this because it really annoyed me. First impressions count, and when people view your design you want them to look further into your design and decorating work and appreciate your hard work and dedication for perfection.

Happy decorating and if you want to read more about this topic you can find information on the following below and don;t forget if you really want to upskill your curtain and drapery design knowledge, we have a free ecourse for you here.


Short curtains Take a look at some examples of short curtains here with my design critique of them.

Curtain Fullness and Heading Get more information on curtain fullness and headings

Curtain linings Learn more about curtain linings

Curtain photos Get ideas about curtain design from photographs

How to Walk Your Client

How to Walk Your Client

I hear you say - "what?"

I know it sounds weird but I am quite serious.

You need to learn to walk your client through the design process. This means starting from scratch as if they a complete design virgins. And like life, they will never tell you if they know nothing about design as they won't want to look inadequate in your eyes.

Let's face it, the reason the client employs an interior designer is so that they can get a good end result achieved from a professional, but as you are well aware, you need considerable input from your client to make their project succeed.

Therefore you need to guide them, step by step into how that is achieved.

I was reminded of this when I had a client recently, who on the outside appeared in control and knew what she was talking about as she and her husband had recently had their home decorated I presumed she did. I was in a hurry as working with a newborn baby, time is precious, so I leapt straight in thinking she knew the process. When I started going over my design, I realized that the questions she was asking me were suspicious! Questions like "how do your other client's make their color decisions?", "how many choices do I get?", "how do we know which colors can go in each room, do bathrooms have to be white?". I suddenly thought that this was all new to her and she felt out of her depth, but didn't want to admit it. I felt awful of course, because if the client can't be open with their designer, how can you possibly get a good result? I had not followed my own rules. How did I fix this, you ask?
Easily!
I quietly turned the conversation around to how a project goes together and discussed her needs and expectations as a client of the designer, the process of how a design goes together and what information I would give her to help us finalize color choice decisions together. It was amazing, all of a sudden she came out of her shell and we finished choosing all her colors in a matter of minutes, with quick and fast questions from her, answers back from me and then she could decide on what she liked without worrying if she was going to make a mistake. A mistake? This is not how a client should feel - being in fear of making a mistake; they should feel comfortable with you as a designer, they should be able to say, I don't like that color or finish and move on feeling happy with their decisions.

We have to remember that as designers we do this every day, our clients will only do this once in a while and it is usually involves a large financial cost, so they are really worried about making mistakes in their choices and having to live with them everyday.

At the end of our meeting, she said she was so happy to be able to work with someone who involved her and listened and made the decision making easy for her, she didn't have to think about making mistakes, because all the answers to her questions made her feel comfortable with what she had chosen. She was relieved, and I must admit, so was I. It was a good reminder for me to follow my own design process and explain it to the client, even when I think that the client has done it all before.

I hope you can learn from my mistakes and make all your client experiences good ones!

Further reading on design processes

The design process (downloadable)
The design process (online)
The key to a successful design

An just for fun - if you are thinking about color schemes - why not sign up for the free color ecourse here and get your color skills a step ahead of your competition!

It's the little things that count for interiors

It's funny how, as an interior designer, I get annoyed at the smallest of details when I am out and about. I am currently writing this from a laptop in hospital and have noticed so many little design faults in the way it is laid out and the detail in the planning.

The first thing that I noticed in the room was finding a basin to wash my hands in. There are signs up everywhere about washing your hands and the spread of germs, but boy it was tricky to find a wash hand basin. Can you guess where I found it? Behind a column, half way into a patients "bedroom" space, the curtains were pulled around the bed, so I hadn't been able to see it. I am glad my daughter wasn't allocated that space as the whole room had to use the one basin!

Then to make it worse, they have the lever type faucets with a large wall mounted spout. Great for not having to touch the tap or faucet, but the height of the spout and the shape of the basin means that every time you turn the tap or faucet on the water shoots out, hits the basin, then "Murphy's law"states that it will hit you in the least desirable place - you guessed it your crotch!

Then the door handles, firstly the height of them. We are in a children's surgical ward and there are numerous children in wheel chairs with broken bones, the height of the round door knob to get into the bathroom is about about 1300mm high. A little bit frustrating for a child to get their way to the bathroom, then not be able to get in!

Secondly, the knobs are round, not a lever type. Most of the children have a lure in their hands to administer the IV drugs, they can barely move their hands let alone grip a door knob and turn it.

Getting lost is my next problem, there are no "landmarks" as such in a hospital and each time I come out of the room, I have to search around to find out which way to go to get out. Then you have to wind in and out of corridors that all look the same and if you happen to get in the lift and get out on the wrong floor then you are really in trouble!

Oh, and there are more than one ward 21 in the hospital, one in the main part of the hospital, and one in the children's area, difficult for visitors.

Because it is a children's ward, they have a large chair, upholstered in vinyl, that pulls out into a bed for a parent to stay the night with their child. This is great, as it beats sleeping upright in a chair, but there is no room to get into it! you have to leap from the end as it is hard up against the hospital bed.

There are loads more little things that are driving me crazy, but I hate being so negative when the hospital and the staff are so fantastic. The point I am really trying to get to is that with good planning and taking that little bit extra time to think about all the little things that make a good space great. Not aesthetically but functionally great.

How much longer does it take to measure where the water will come out and land in the basin? A couple of minutes. How difficult is it to think about who will be using the space? It is interior design 101 - taking the client brief.

As for finding your way around a hospital there are numerous ways to help out with direction, using flooring, signage, color coding floor levels, landmark directions, naming where you actually are also helps if you end up where you don't want to be.

I would just like to say that the older you get and the longer you work in the interior design field, the more you worry about all the little things that really do count to make a space work as it should. So start taking the time to go through all the little things in your project, think about the light switches, power outlet placements, door handle heights, where you put the paper towels to dry your hands, my daughter can't reach them here. As I said a few more minutes planning will mean you finish the job to a high quality standard and make all of us fussy designers happy!

More reading on some of these topics.
new home planning
plumbing
bathroom fixtures
design process
client brief

Trends in Interior Decorating and the Environment

Trends in Interior Decorating and the Environment

This is a topic which I have very strong opinions. I get asked frequently for advice on what the current trend in interior decorating is. It is pretty much impossible to answer. With the way the world is now, we have access to the Internet, international television, global magazines and we can now readily access designs and ideas from other countries. The fashion changes with the seasons and the stores are frequently stocking the shelves with the latest new look. So what look should you have and for how long?

This is where I put on my "green" hat and start to consider the question about the sustainability of the interior design industry if we are going to keep up the consumerism for the latest and greatest interior decorating trend. How much stuff can we buy, display and then trash for the next new trend four months later? What happens to all this "stuff". Having small children, I compare this to visiting McDonald's. My kids only want to go because they get the latest movie toy with their happy meal! What happens to the toy after a day or so? You guessed it, land fill. The conclusion is an absolute waste of resources to make the product, then the fuel used to transport the product, then dispose of the product in a landfill that will not decompose, simply sitting there forever.

In days gone by, we had family heirlooms, items that were passed down from generation to generation, treasured pieces of family history. What do we have now? You buy a new toaster because your old pink one doesn't match your new red kitchen. You buy new sofas because it is cheaper than recovering your old, you buy new tables and chairs because it is cheaper than having the old timber set refinished. What happens to all this old stuff? Where does it go? Admittedly the Internet has helped redistribute some old stuff with the help of online auctions like ebay.com, but the rest of the old stuff simply gets dumped. How long can we keep this up? Will we all be retiring to a landfill planet earth in 40 years?

This is probably not what you though you would read from the title of this blog, but I would like you to take into consideration the environment and consumerism when you design. Can the products you specify be recycled once they are no longer needed? Are they made from sustainable resources in the first place? How long are they designed to last and can they be easily and economically repaired? Will the design stand the test of time, will it still look good in ten years time?

Where I come back to with trends in interior decorating is that a well designed interior should take on the personality of the owner or inhabitant. It should be unique and express the sentiments of the owner. Sure a few trendy items are great if used sparingly, but redecorating for every trend is really just killing our planet, and what does it say about the owner of the interior space? That they can't make up their mind what they like so they go with what other people tell them is the current fashion or trend and they just have to have it! I think that shows weakness of personality and backing yourself. If you like candy cane pink striped curtains in your bedroom, then go for it, it shows you are a fun loving "grown up" who probably always wanted them as a kid but wasn't allowed them, now you have the opportunity to decorate as you please and you just love them.

So whilst trends and fashion are great for department stores, they aren't so good for our planet, so from now on I urge you to just take a few moments extra when planning your interior decorating or design to think about the products you use, where they come from, how long will they last, are they just a flash in the pan fun trend or designed for the long term and start making informed choices about all our futures. Thank you from me and my young family - the future generation.
PS. I am weaning them off the occasional Happy Meal!

How to Have Fun with Your Interior Without Spending a Cent.

How to Have Fun with Your Interior Without Spending a Cent!

In the current world financial situation, money no longer grows on trees! Did it ever?

Money is a lot harder to come by, people are afraid of losing their jobs, worried about their financial future and less likely to be committing to making major changes to their home interiors, but that doesn't mean we have to sit back and put up with the status quo. We can have fun and change our interiors without having to spend a cent. We just need to get a little creative! Here are some ideas on how you can make your home feel like it has had a makeover without spending a cent.

• shift furniture into different rooms, it's amazing how a change of environment can make a piece of furniture look completely different
• rearrange your artwork on the walls, reposition mirrors - these help change the light in your room and depending on where you place them, can make a room feel larger
• clean your walls. I know this sounds too simple, but over time all the little knocks and bumps leave marks, from experience your existing walls can look like they have just been repainted if you give them a good scrub. I use sugar soap - brilliant stuff
• take down your curtains and give them a vacuum (Hoover - or whatever you call it in your country) Spot clean them, and as for above, they will look much brighter and look as good as new.
• have a chat with your neighbor and see if they want to swap any home decor for a few months until you both tire of it again. This could be an area rug, artificial flower arrangement, decorative pots, sculpture, wall hanging, vases, coat stands, foot stools, cushions, basically anything that you are sick of looking at. Instead of storing it in the garage or throwing it away, share it and when it comes time to swap back, you may have created new feelings for it!
• some banks, stores and credit card companies offer rewards points or dollars. Have you thought about using those to get a few new decorative items for your home. An easy way to have the feel good factor of something new without having to part with any money.
• dig to the back of your linen cupboard and pull out the towels that never get used, bring them to the front and it will feel like you have new towels for your bathroom.
• the same can be said for bed linen, sheets, duvet covers, pillow slips, cushion covers and bedspreads. We often have more than one but forget about them stuffed down the back of the cupboard, clean out the cupboards and see what you can drag out, mix and match them in your different rooms and you have a new look! Check for throw rugs and cushions that may have been stored away, drag them out give them a dust and find them a new home and store your existing ones back in the cupboard!
• look in the garage for things that have been put away. Pack up things in the house that you have had enough of looking at, and swap them over. These could be floor standing lamps, side table lamps, collections of glass figurines, children's crafts that you just couldn't part with, and could provide a talking point now they have grown up, a stack of vintage suitcases that you didn't know what to do with, place a linen cover on top and use them as a side table, similar thing with old hat boxes
• paint the outdoor pots a different color, let's face it we all have paint lying around in our garage, take it out and give the outside a revamp, perhaps paint the front door a new color, or the letterbox
  
• make a feature wall from spare wallpaper, if it's textured you could always paint it to add color, or just paint a wall and make it a feature

Well those are just a few ideas to get you started. You can take on the challenge and give your home a quick makeover by using some of these ideas, I bet you will start to think of more as you get started. If you do, add them to the comments at the bottom of this post and share them with us.

Have fun!

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