Decorating--Where to Start?

[Anonymous]

We just finished renovating our house. Now I have white primer on the walls and no furniture. I need to start somewhere. Paint, furniture, and window treatments. Problem is, I have no idea how to start. I went looking at fabrics at Calico and G Street and for the window treatments, it looks like I'm going to spend between $400-$800 per window. I don't mind spending the money, but for that type of money, I need to LOVE what I'm getting. I'm merely okay with the fabric selection. I don't have the patience to look through all of the fabric books to find THE ONE.

Should I hire an interior designer? My concern here is that I know often they work on commission. I have 2 small kids and the idea of spending $5K plus on a sofa that they are going to jump on and throw the pillows on the ground does not thrill me. I see my lifestyle being more Pottery Barn, Marlo, or even Ikea. You know...something that when it is destroyed in years, I won't be sick to my stomach.

Please advise? How do you start when you have a blank canvas?

[Anonymous]

Check out Joanns for fabric.

They have an extensive special order section of decorators fabrics, AND unless things have changed you can use their 40% off discount coupons on special orders.

[Anonymous]

Start going through magazines and cut our pictures of things/rooms you like.

[Anonymous]

Chek out Domino's book on decorating and Terence Conran's books on decorating. I find them the most practical and down to earth intro books on decorating.

[Anonymous]

here's what I've heard/would do/have done:

1) hire a decorator but one just for an 1 or 2 hour room or house consult. Should be $150/hour or so. A lot of layout, paint color and furniture questions could be answered with some outside perspective. I know decorators like www.bossycolor.com do this.

2) use Ethan Allen--they provide free decorators, and you don't HAVE to buy anything from them (although you might, their stuff is nice and like pottery barn in terms of look and quality/price).

3) use apartmenttherapy.com and HGTV and Houzz for inspiration

4) you don't have to do it all at once. Create an Excel spreadsheet of all the things you want to do in the house, by price, room, priority etc. I've had one for my home since I moved in 5 years ago and this helps me realize how much we've actually done to improve the place. You can't furnish 17 rooms of a house at once, you just can't.

5) focus on the most used rooms first -- main family room, kitchen, etc. The back bedroom or bathroom will have to wait. Make yourself confortable first.

6) start with rugs first (they tend to vary in color the most, and provide a palette) and then choose paint colors and other fabrics from that.

7) for window treatments, Calico has some beautiful fabrics, but it is overwhelming to me and very pricey. I might do this in 1-2 rooms but not a whole house, and I might do it instead of a colorful rug and then build on the room there.

[Anonymous]

start with the bigger/more major things first. like a sofa you like. then drapes. paint last as it is easier to paint/find a color to go with other elements in the room versus making sure a $2000 sofa goes with the walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:here's what I've heard/would do/have done:

1) hire a decorator but one just for an 1 or 2 hour room or house consult. Should be $150/hour or so. A lot of layout, paint color and furniture questions could be answered with some outside perspective. I know decorators like www.bossycolor.com do this.

2) use Ethan Allen--they provide free decorators, and you don't HAVE to buy anything from them (although you might, their stuff is nice and like pottery barn in terms of look and quality/price).

3) use apartmenttherapy.com and HGTV and Houzz for inspiration

4) you don't have to do it all at once. Create an Excel spreadsheet of all the things you want to do in the house, by price, room, priority etc. I've had one for my home since I moved in 5 years ago and this helps me realize how much we've actually done to improve the place. You can't furnish 17 rooms of a house at once, you just can't.

5) focus on the most used rooms first -- main family room, kitchen, etc. The back bedroom or bathroom will have to wait. Make yourself confortable first.

6) start with rugs first (they tend to vary in color the most, and provide a palette) and then choose paint colors and other fabrics from that.

7) for window treatments, Calico has some beautiful fabrics, but it is overwhelming to me and very pricey. I might do this in 1-2 rooms but not a whole house, and I might do it instead of a colorful rug and then build on the room there.

thank you for the suggestions. They're very practical and realistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:here's what I've heard/would do/have done:

1) hire a decorator but one just for an 1 or 2 hour room or house consult. Should be $150/hour or so. A lot of layout, paint color and furniture questions could be answered with some outside perspective. I know decorators like www.bossycolor.com do this.

2) use Ethan Allen--they provide free decorators, and you don't HAVE to buy anything from them (although you might, their stuff is nice and like pottery barn in terms of look and quality/price).

3) use apartmenttherapy.com and HGTV and Houzz for inspiration

4) you don't have to do it all at once. Create an Excel spreadsheet of all the things you want to do in the house, by price, room, priority etc. I've had one for my home since I moved in 5 years ago and this helps me realize how much we've actually done to improve the place. You can't furnish 17 rooms of a house at once, you just can't.

5) focus on the most used rooms first -- main family room, kitchen, etc. The back bedroom or bathroom will have to wait. Make yourself confortable first.

6) start with rugs first (they tend to vary in color the most, and provide a palette) and then choose paint colors and other fabrics from that.

7) for window treatments, Calico has some beautiful fabrics, but it is overwhelming to me and very pricey. I might do this in 1-2 rooms but not a whole house, and I might do it instead of a colorful rug and then build on the room there.

I believe that Basset provides this service as well and I have always been very satisfied with their furniture and customer service.

[Anonymous]

Definitely use houzz.com. Make folders of all rooms that appeal to you (dining room, living room, etc) even if your room is not quite like the space in the photo. After a while, go back and look at just the photos in each folder -- you will probably start to notice some similarities in each set -- either color schemes, design style (contemporary/country/formal), layouts, etc. This will give you a good idea of where to start in terms of selecting finishes and furniture. Remember, you don't have to finish every room right away.

[Anonymous]

also remember to measure your space before you buy anything like a rug or a sofa. things can look a lot smaller in the showroom or online!

also use home design blogs for how-to's. some of my favorites are younghouselove.com and makingitlovely.com, but there are TONS.

[Anonymous]

We were in your exact situation. Bought our first SFH, renovated before moving in, sold all our old Ikea furniture prior to moving, and there was not a single window treatment or any paint color in the whole house (the paint was all beige). We moved in with just our bed, an old kitchen set, and a sofa.

So, we had to start from scratch. We made a lot of mistakes along the way, including painting before getting furniture, and focusing on window treatments first.

The first thing you need to do is pick 1 or 2 rooms to work on first. First step is to get your upholstered pieces, by going to a furniture store like Belfort or Haverty's, etc. There are designers on staff that will work with you for free. They can help you figure out what pieces you need and how to arrange them, and help you choose coordinating fabrics. Then once you have those in focus on the tables--coffee tables, accent tables, bookcases, etc. Then choose a paint color by finding something that coordinates with the fabrics you chose. Then last choose a rug, window treatments, and accessories.

We made the mistake of focusing on every room at once and doing a little at a time (buy a couch for one room, a desk for another, a rug for another, etc.). This was inefficient and led to us having lots of empty rooms for too long. If you focus on one or two rooms to finish completely, then take a break and start on the next ones, your house will be on its way to being complete much more efficiently.

It is very overwhelming to do it this way and I wish we hadn't sold all our furniture, because I think we rushed into a few things where we could have taken more time.

[Anonymous]

This is what pinterest is for!!! I have a friend who is building a house and she pins like 100 things a day as inspiration for her new home!!

[Anonymous]

I would start with mini blinds for all the windows so I didn't have to make quick decisions about drapes.

I would do the living or family room first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what pinterest is for!!! I have a friend who is building a house and she pins like 100 things a day as inspiration for her new home!!

Yes!

Signed a Pinterest addict

[Anonymous]

I agree with the pp who suggested simple blinds for the windows for now (or maybe inexpensive sheers depending on the rooms and visibility into the rooms). I recently hired a decorator to help me with 3 rooms in my house. She advised, similar to the statement of another pp, that the window treatments should be one of the last things addressed (after paint color, furniture, etc) - almost like a finishing touch accessory. West Elm is another option for furniture. And overstock.com, believe it or not, is a great place to purchase rugs (great prices and free shipping). Good luck!