by Susie Brown

Created on: November 22, 2008   Last Updated: November 23, 2008

Hire Hire Hire! Not only do I believe you should hire the professional; if you want to insure your project is successful, and your budget is met, it's a must. The money you pay your designer/decorator is going to save you so much more than all the mistakes on buys that don't work out, and paint that you repeatably have to buy, trying to find the right shade. I know this from some of the experiences from clients and one in particular had great taste, but made bad buys and wrong decisions which cost her a lot more money than it would have been, than to hire a designer in the first place. I was hired to do damage control.

"Yes Virginia; I am a designer, and proud to say I love it." Believe me when I say, it gives the designer fulfillment to make their clients love their spaces. If you are able to pull the surprise ending; it's even better, to see their faces, when they see the completed room. The design shows on Television are really fun to watch; I know because, I'm a fan of them, myself. Watching those shows give the public a lot of little tricks, if you pay attention to why the designer has made the decision he or she did. But the shows in turn, leave out a lot of important steps that it took to completely finish the room you see on the show.

Some people have the talent and natural born knack for pulling things together. Perhaps Karen down the street seems to be able to buy the right thing and it just fits perfectly in that alcove in her home. Just because you seem to come home with a wrong piece of furniture that looked perfect for your space in the store. Then you got home and wondered, "what was I thinking?" You can do it too. If you enjoy tackling those projects yourself, you certainly can. You will enjoy the process more and achieve the desired results; hire yourself a designer/decorator for consultation. You will have a knowledgeable assist and you can say, you did it yourself. We have a passion for what we do; we love our jobs, and to assist someone else to achieve their perfect space is exciting for us.

Color is another quandary! I have witnessed people in the local home improvement store with their piece of fabric or a little paper cutting. The woman has asked the husband, (which no matter what he says, it's quite possible he will be blamed for the mistake) "Don't you think this color is what color (out of the torn piece of wall paper) that will look good in the kitchen? You just don't know how hard it is not to stop and help the poor husband out of his dilemma of what a good answer would be.

Not that I want to jump in the middle of this.... I certainly wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and be a know it all. I don't believe it would be professional of me, to put myself into the conversation that I wasn't invited in to. It's times like these I have to bite my tongue, smile, and walk on by.

If you are hiring a designer/decorator to redo your dining room, you and your designer will pull everything together and make the perfect choices for your space. We aren't in the business to force our style on you; we find out how you will use the room, your likes and dislikes and work to make it happen.

Good Luck!

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