Cheap design help -- pottery barn?

[Anonymous]

I am a new young homeowner with a small budget and mostly hand me down furniture. I need help! Has anyone used the pottery barn free design service? Is there anywhere else I can get free or cheap advice, or should I just submit myself for all of the hgtv shows?

[Anonymous]

This book is pretty old now, but it has really practical advice on the basics of design, and in particular furniture arrangement. I highly recommend it and the title is right!

Use What You Have Decorating

http://www.amazon.com/Use-What-You-Have-Decorating/dp/039952536X

[Anonymous]

Yes, I used the PB design service recently. I found them to be unhelpful. They just directed me to pieces of furniture on their website. More like product promoters than designers. They were slow to respond too.
With a limited budget, I'd just get on Houzz and start figuring out your style. Spend $$$ on some big statement pieces (a nice rug, dining room chandelier, a sideboard cabinet?) and then fill in the gaps with HomeGoods and Target finds.

[Anonymous]

My friend hired an interior designer through a Thumbtack request to come advise on paint colors, furniture re-use etc. it was $100 something for an hour or so and she found it useful. The advantage is the designers know its a small job going into it and won't submit a bid unless interested. You can check their portfolio to see if you like their style.

[Anonymous]

I've seen some ads for this company recently, might be worth doing the initial consult and seeing how it goes: https://www.homepolish.com/

[Anonymous]

Like PP, I found the free design service to be completely unhelpful. The woman they sent had NO ideas and barely even knew their products.

I did use Ethan Allen's design service and they were incredibly helpful and comprehensive. Their products are much more expensive than PB, but I ended up buying two pieces and then using their suggestions to find the other pieces/accessories they suggested elsewhere that were similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like PP, I found the free design service to be completely unhelpful. The woman they sent had NO ideas and barely even knew their products.

I did use Ethan Allen's design service and they were incredibly helpful and comprehensive. Their products are much more expensive than PB, but I ended up buying two pieces and then using their suggestions to find the other pieces/accessories they suggested elsewhere that were similar.

We used Ethan Allen and were similarly happy. We bought a few pieces, but not everything. It's super, super non-pushy. We went in and talked to someone, she came to the house to take measurements, we went back in a week or two later and she did a presentation on her ideas, and we said we wanted to think about it. She called once to follow-up (left a message). We made our decision like a month later and she hadn't called or bugged us again. The only downside to EA is that if they don't have the product, they won't really give ideas for what else might work (e.g., we needed light fixtures and they don't have a huge selection. I was hoping the designer might say "you should look for something like such and such," but no dice. That said, it's understandable).

We had a similar good experience with Bassett.

We didn't try Pottery Barn, but friends of ours that did had a similar experience to PPs - not helpful. Also, the PB people flaked out on them a couple of times, too.

Also check Thomasville. I recall a friend having a good experience there. They also had smaller-scale pieces that might work better for an apartment.