Redecorating on a budget - learn how to save money without reducing the quality.

As you may well know by now, I like the finer things in life when it comes to interior design and decorating. Sometimes, more often than not these are not in an achievable price bracket for me! I know I am not alone in this, so I thought I would share how I achieved high quality without the high quality price tag in my own home! This sounds strange coming from an interior designer, but I always think of my client's budget when I design, and of course, scrutinize it even more when it's my own!!

So how did I get what I wanted for the right price? Simple, careful planning, and taking my time.

What I did was decide on the look I wanted to achieve, then I made a note of how I was going to do this. What were the key factors in the design that would pull the interior scheme off?

Then I waited, this is the magical factor in achieving the quality that you want at the price you can afford. Others may call this shopping around, but how many times have you impulsively purchased something and then the week after it was reduced by 25% ?Just think what else you could have purchased with the savings of 25%?

You simply need to keep an eye open for what you need, monitor it at the retail stores, check online auctions, this is a great way to save money, frequently wholesalers list their products online and have an auction with a reserve or a buy now price, usually cheaper than purchasing retail. Then check for second hand or as I like to call it preloved items, quality at a much reduced price, often a preloved leather lounge suite is just what you are looking for, already aged and worn in, something that would have taken you years to get the same look!

Now you will know what the items you want are worth and how much you are willing to buy them for, this casual shopping in your own leisure time has saved you hard cash!
Now when you are passing the department store and you see the lounge chair you desire, you can check the price tag and feel comfortable buying it as you know it fits your budget and you are getting it at a suitable price, or admiring it and walking on by, knowing that in two months it will be the right price for you! You can find things in an online auction and put them on your wishlist, and when they come up, you will have a good idea how much to bid. This price saving is all able to be achieved because I have allowed my project to be facilitated over time.

This is all very well, you say but what if you can't wait? What if you want your renovation to happen all at once? Well, you will just have to do all that homework quicker and make decisions faster, this will add a little to the end price, but a major savings can still be achieved.

My project is still not completed, but so far, I have saved myself, $4,000.00 on a lounge suite from the original I had first desired! $2,500 on dining room chairs, and they are even upholstered in a beautiful fabric already! But just as well I hadn't ordered the curtains as due to this lovely upholstery fabric I now have to change the drapery fabric to something a little more subdued, so that is my next mission, checking out fabric prices! It is important to be able to subtly change your scheme as this allows for you to achieve the look you want and still get the quality. The lounge suite is even better that the original I had selected, and then I have managed to get 8 chairs instead of the 6 I had originally budgeted on.

So it just goes to show you that good things come to those who wait, and of course to those who plan carefully!

for interior design tips visit design tips and helpful hints

Stair, Staircase or Stairway? What do you call it?

This is a common question, which name do you use? I use all of them and I don't think it matters!

To me they all mean the same thing, I guess it all comes down to what your parents taught you! If anyone knows other wise, feel free to comment below!

The reason I am discussing stairs is because I have recently been up to my armpits in stair terminology. I have just made live a lovely little website on stairs, it is in it's infancy, like all our little websites, but I have loads to keep adding to help everyone with their stair design education.

There are examples of staircases, with comments about their makeup and design features and pitfalls, the definition of a stair, parts of a staircase, the differences between stairs, ramps and lifts and in the future there will be information about ergonomics of stairs, lighting for stairs, materials for use on stairs and many more photographs of staircase design ideas.

So instead of reading this, move over to the stairs website and see what you think for yourself!

You Must Choose Quality Fittings and Fixtures For Your Home

When it comes to what you can see in a room, make it look good! When it comes to what you can touch in a room, make it quality!

There is nothing worse than visiting a lovely big new home that your friends are proud of and you turn the lever of the door and it springs back at you! Ugh, cheap hardware. I say this as a designer but also a lover of things that work in a home interior.
Firstly, using the door hardware example, it is an expensive item no matter what, but a few extra dollars per door can make the experience of opening and closing a door just that much better.
Secondly, just think how many times a day this happens? How long before the economical (cheap) hardware wears out? Then you have to replace it all. Good quality hardware in high use areas is essential, not only because it feels good but because it will save you money in the long run. Think about the faucets or taps in the kitchen, main bathroom and laundry, how often do you use them? All day every day. It's not such a hard decision is it really. What about light switches?
I went to visit a home that was built the same time as ours, approximately five years ago, we thought it was a bit bigger than ours and we could spread out a bit more! Well after we replaced all the light switches and power outlets that had cracked and gone yellow and brittle, the light fittings that had fallen off the wall, the wallpaper that had peeled off, broken basins and toilet seats, cracked tiles, stained carpet, should I go on.....? How much would that cost? Crazy! If the products had be specified to even a small level of quality, they would still all be of sound working order, who wants to buy a house and have to replace all the fittings and fittings in a five year old home, not us, false economy for the original owner, we moved on!
So what I am trying to say is shop around for quality, it does cost more, but it is out there and it really is worth while, especially if you our your client want to stay in your home long term.

For more information on fittings and fixtures , bathroom fittings and fixtures,

Can we ever choose the perfect floor product?

Can we ever choose the perfect floor?

I am totally disillusioned. With all my experience and product knowledge, I still get goose bumps when a new floor product is laid. Will it live up to expectations, is it worth the extra cost, can I repair it if it gets damaged....the questions are endless.

I have just experienced a scenario that I thought I would share with you, because it was my worst nightmare as a designer. The client moves into their newly renovated home only to find that the floor looks like it has been attacked by razor blades! It is the sunniest room of the house where every little deviation is visible. This wouldn't have been so bad to handle if the contractor had informed me of the problem, oh, no they were trying to fix it before they told me in conjunction with the client, so I was left out of the loop. Not a good look as I turned up with new fabrics because the original fabrics specified for some of the curtains were unavailable. I must admit, I felt very unprofessional and instantly on the back foot. The other problem was that they had moved in and didn't want contractors hanging around trying to fix it, which is understandable.

What did I do in my professional capacity?

I rang the experts, the product supplier and got them to speak directly to the client, then we decided that it wasn't in an acceptable state and that an insurance claim would have to be made to replace it with a new flooring.

What we think had happened was the cleaners had scratched the vinyl when they did the final tidy up after the builders left. Oops, it really was a mess. The contractors had done the correct procedures all the way through, they had covered the flooring so that it was not damaged, so for them to find it this way also took them by surprise.

So the moral of the story is, make sure that the building owner and the contractor have insurance to cover any little mishaps that may occur along the way in a project, and have faith in your flooring choices, it is very rare that something like this happens to a sturdy and hard wearing flooring product.
Hard Flooring Products,
Semi Hard Flooring,
Stone Flooring,
Clay Based Flooring,
Carpet
Timber Flooring

Home Sweet Home and the Bed Snob!

Happy New Year everyone!

I know I am a little late with that message but I am just back from holiday and haven't been near a computer for some time!

What I want to talk about today is how a simple thing like your comfortable bed can spoil you for life and that you don't appreciate it until you leave and stay in a hotel, motel, caravan, tent, someone else's home, holiday home....the list goes on.

I haven't slept properly for weeks.....so please excuse the spelling mistakes and bad grammar!

The reason I haven't slept is because I have been away from home, visiting people around the country and site seeing the beautiful New Zealand. There is the obvious reason I haven't slept, a foreign bed! I felt a bit like Goldilocks, this one is too hard, this one is too soft, but unfortunately the remaining was not just right, like the story says, it was too bouncy. Anyway, I would wake up stiff every morning, and tired, then there is the bathrooms, showers, toilets etc, especially when we shared ablutions at a camping ground! It is amazing how different from home these places can be, but I won't go there as you would probably stop reading at what I would describe!

I am starting to feel like a bed snob! If there is such a thing. I came back from holiday and crawled into my bed exhausted, and slept like Goldilocks! Lovely crisp cotton sheets, soft down pillows and duvet, wool mattress, I think everyone should pay particular attention to their bed, after all we do spend so much time in them! But now I am afraid that I do suffer from bed snobbery! I just can't be satisfied with anything else, I have ruined my holidays for the rest of my life! Perhaps if I can teach everyone else the importance of a well designed bed then it may just catch on, and I might find the odd good nights sleep!

Anyway, if you want to read more about types of sheets and types of pillows you can visit our bedroom website. I will be adding more ways to turn you into a bed snob too! I know you all want to experience the Goldilocks perfect bed story!

Learn About Styles and Periods for Interior Decorating

Finally I have started a website about styles and periods!

It is new so bear with me, only a few decorating styles and period decoration topics available now, but more coming. So if you are interested in Victorian, Edwardian, Gothic or Georgian periods we have that covered, also Art Deco, Art Nouveau and Shaker Styles.

This is a good website for getting background history on the evolution of interior decorating. You can learn about what influenced the periods, who were the major designers and what were the key features of the style or period.

We already have loads of information on the history of furniture at interiordezine.com, so if you haven't visited that already then you can from this website.

Learning history of design is very important as an interior designer, as I always say, because it is always true, you just never stop learning in this profession. As I research for these articles, I find myself saying "oh, really, I never knew that is where that came from", or "oh, that's fascinating, now I know where that wallpaper came from", or "interesting theories from that designer".
My designer brain is constantly being stimulated and you will be surprised at how much that large gray matter in your head stores in it's archives and brings out when you are in the middle of a brain storming process for a project. Try it for yourself. Visit styles-and-periods.interiordezine.com

I won't take up any more of your time, I know how busy this time of year is, but do take a few moments to explore the past, it does increase your skill level!

What is Contemporary Interior Design Style?

I frequently get people saying that they want their home to be contemporary style. What does that mean? I struggle for the right answer.

Modern?... recent, characteristic of the present or the immediate past, contemporary.
Modernism?....the search for new forms of expression involving a deliberate break from the past.
Minimalism?...a design characterized by simplicity of form and arrangement.

Contemporary design or decoration literally means that it is happening now, it is existing, living now, reflecting today's design or fashion trends, modern.

So how do you find out what is contemporary?

By investigation. I have observed that what is for sale in the exclusive expensive interior design stores and depicted in the latest design magazines and purchased by an exclusive few today is usually the current trend, by the time all the other stores have seen it, copied it, and mass produced it, it is then contemporary to everyone else, whilst the true trend following people will be out there searching for the next new look as theirs is no longer in fashion!

So what do you provide for a client who wants a contemporary home?

What ever is the latest trend basically, let them do some work and find out what they have seen and what their idea of contemporary is. Let them show you the magazines, or brochures, pamphlets from designer stores and see which trend they think is contemporary. I know from experience that here in New Zealand, we can have more than one theme of trend being contemporary at the same time.

So I will not mention any style that are currently contemporary, as that will date my article!!

No really, trends depend on your location, your local vernacular. The design trend that works at Antarctica will not work at the Equator. Too many different environmental factors including the different types of light.

I will say that trends do die a sudden death, this is caused by market saturation. We see something we like at our friends place ask them where they got it, buy it, one of our friends likes it at our place, buys it too! Then all of a sudden everyone has it and we suddenly don't like it at all anymore and find a way to reuse it, sell it or recycle it, just get it out of our sight!

Trends also tend to come back to haunt us. Just like clothing fashion, I have now reached the age where the style of clothes my daughter is wearing, I used to wear as a child, but I have heard the saying that "First time around is fun, if you're there for the second time around steer clear!" So you won't see me in a pink polk a dotted ra-ra skirt!
The same happens with interior design, remember when you see old photographs of a room and you say "Oh, no! Look at that hideous wallpaper, brown with great big white flowers on it twisting up the walls, how could you ever put that on your wall!" I hate to say this but after years of ridding ourselves of it, and lets face it, brown wallpaper was almost extinct, it is now back with a vengeance, spruced up to be the new and current contemporary, but it is still bold and brown!

So where do we go to from here?

My opinion as an interior designer, if anyone wants to take notice, is that labels don't always fit. I truly believe that the interior design flavor is found from within the client, guided by you as a designer, but molded around the people that live in the home. At the completion it may look contemporary to them, and Scandanavian to you, but at the end of the day as long as it works for the client and they are happy and comfortable in their environment, then who cares what the style is called!

Have fun decorating in your local contemporary style.