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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You use a decorator who orders from trade-only brands. A lot of it is the same stuff from the same makers in NC as retail brands, but having that same basic piece in a coordinating, nicer fabric makes a difference. Decorator can also help you mix in some antiques (which don't have to be expensive!). What makes a room look good and pulled together imo is not mainly the "quality" of the furniture, it's whether the scale and style of the furniture make sense in a layout that makes sense with a cohesive color scheme and some personality. You can drop a mint at Thomas Moser or go on Craigslist, but if your furniture is the wrong size or doesn't make sense in context it will look terrible. [/quote]

The points about scale and color are excellent for any style of decorating. But hiring a decorator is how you end up with generic-looking, “new-new” furniture of the Restoration Hardware ilk (good quality, at least) and strange accent pieces.

If you want modern furniture, I’m all for that, so long as a decorator doesn’t make your place look like a BigLaw lobby. If you want the Restoration Hardware look, save the midddleperson decorator, go to their showroom, and buy a suite. Same BigLaw decorating issues apply.

But this won’t be an “old money” look, if that’s what you’re going for, being the subject of this thread. My parents, who have old money, briefly hired an interior decorator to work on their 200-year-old house. She wanted to put eagle sconces everywhere, among other things. In the end, they did it themselves (or rather my mom did it) and went with a combination of inherited quality antiques (grandfather clock, Queen Anne chairs, etc) and Danish modern living room furniture (you can get a Danish Modern chair on eBay for about $1,500, not that you’d want to do exactly that, but to give you an idea). The word “suite” anything is pretty much an anathema, except in the dining room, because the point is that your furniture was collected over many generations, and of course none of it matches. Yet with some reupholstery and careful placement you can absolutely get a harmonious and pleasing whole. The result is a more personal look. [/quote]

Sure, that's great if you've inherited all these things, but that doesn't help people starting out. Any suggestions for acquiring these pieces? Estate sales? I've tried some, but it seems like a good wayt to pick up a lot of stuff that can easily look junky. [/quote]

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