How important is having a gorgeous house (interior design) to you?

[Anonymous]

I've been in many houses that look like model homes--i.e. it's clear that a decorator did the designing. Everything coordinates, the drapes are gorgeous, the furniture looks like a staged open house, the accessories are placed perfectly, etc. On the other hand, many of my friends don't care about interior design and have no interest in it. I think I'm somewhere in between. Just wondering how important it is to you to have a gorgeously decorated house, and if so, how did you accomplish that (i.e. hire a decorator, or do it yourself by looking at books and websites for inspiration, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Our house looks like crap, but happily my 401k is in excellent shape.

Honestly - that is my trade off. I hate it, but that is where my current priority lies.

[Anonymous]

I am not impressed by model perfect homes but I do notice when someone has an artistic eye for furnishings and can put interesting pieces together well without looking completely mass produced. It is important for me to have a home that reflects my personal aesthetic but I also want it to be livable and conducive to life with young kids.

[Anonymous]

Ideally, if money were no object, sure I'd love to have abeautiful home. I would also have space for kids to play without worrying about ruining everything.

The reality is, my house is far from fancy smancy. We have so many other expenses that are more important and we have savings so I am happy.

[Anonymous]

Not at all. If we had tons of money, maybe, but the thought of hiring an interior decorator is foreign to me. We have a toddler, though, so the idea of perfectly placed accessories is frankly quite hilarious right now.

[Anonymous]

I dislike it when homes look too perfect. I am much more inclined to like homes that have great design sense but are quirky. My favorite house that I've ever been is in Deb Johns's. She is the founder of Scout bags. The house is in Georgetown. It's comfortable, kid-friendly, and really fun. It's unique and eclectic.

[Anonymous]

I am jealous of people who have beautiful homes and I'd love one, but right now we have chosen private school and an expensive location so we can't afford to decorate. Frankly I barely have the time or energy to clean it and keep it straightened up. Hopefully we'll have money in the future-- but college costs are looming, as is retirement .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not impressed by model perfect homes but I do notice when someone has an artistic eye for furnishings and can put interesting pieces together well without looking completely mass produced. It is important for me to have a home that reflects my personal aesthetic but I also want it to be livable and conducive to life with young kids.

Well said, +1

[Anonymous]

It's not something I really care about. Plus, we have so many other financial committments that I don't worry about it. But I feel like everyone around here has a BEAUTIFUL home, so I'm surprised by these responses.

[Anonymous]

We used a designer (and a general contractor since some of the renovations required alterations to our house.) I like design myself, but I also work full time and didn't have the time to devote to decorating/renovations without help. I probably wouldn't have bothered with a designer if we didn't have to have events at our house. DH is a law firm partner and we have to host parties quite often. We had been to enough events at partner's houses when we were younger that I had a pretty good understanding of how a house needed to function in order to hold events. I find it easier to keep the house clean now that everything is intentional. We either made a place for it or we got rid of it and we built in a lot of storage for the kid's toys, etc. We have a small house by partner standards (rowhouse in the city) so we had to be extra careful to make the rooms functional for entertaining. I knew if the house wasn't pretty great, people would question why we didn't just buy a gigantic house in the burbs. Maybe they still do.

[Anonymous]

Pretty important, but it's a hobby.

[Anonymous]

Our house looks great AND our 401ks do too. You do not need a lot of money or to hire an expensive decorator to have a house that's well put together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our house looks great AND our 401ks do too. You do not need a lot of money or to hire an expensive decorator to have a house that's well put together.

Not to mention you live in your home now, and while it's important to save for the future, you might also die and never use that retirement money.

Balance in everything.

We hired an interior decorator when we moved in to our new place. We can't afford to do 80% of what she recommended right now, but we at least have a concept and a plan for what we want to do -- a big picture, if you will, so we don't 1) do things haphardly and 2) start living with things we really don't want (and a lot of people do this).

She also helped pick out things like paint color -- a scheme for the whole house, and new light fixtures (we had awful builders grade circa 1983 throughout the house)

I think all in all it's a good choice. We'll have understated beauty befitting the house itself, but nothing cookie cutter or over-the-top

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not impressed by model perfect homes but I do notice when someone has an artistic eye for furnishings and can put interesting pieces together well without looking completely mass produced. It is important for me to have a home that reflects my personal aesthetic but I also want it to be livable and conducive to life with young kids.

Well said, +1

I also agree--this is my philosophy as well (And I have an interior designer in the family). Houses that are professionally decorated reflect someone else's taste, which is fine, if you don't have the time or don't know about design. But, there is a way to have a beautiful home that is comfortable. It's not "perfect" but it usually is a bit more personal and comfortable.

Having a gorgeous home is somewhat important to me--we have some really nice antiques from the 1700-1800s. We also have outrageously nice art, courtesy of family. Then again we have some Ikea mixed in with all of that, because we have toddlers and we are not rolling in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our house looks great AND our 401ks do too. You do not need a lot of money or to hire an expensive decorator to have a house that's well put together.

Not to mention you live in your home now, and while it's important to save for the future, you might also die and never use that retirement money.

Balance in everything.

We hired an interior decorator when we moved in to our new place. We can't afford to do 80% of what she recommended right now, but we at least have a concept and a plan for what we want to do -- a big picture, if you will, so we don't 1) do things haphardly and 2) start living with things we really don't want (and a lot of people do this).

She also helped pick out things like paint color -- a scheme for the whole house, and new light fixtures (we had awful builders grade circa 1983 throughout the house)

I think all in all it's a good choice. We'll have understated beauty befitting the house itself, but nothing cookie cutter or over-the-top

How much did this type of consultation cost?

Thanks!