Designs By the Hour
Professional advice is the best way to get a polished, great-looking room. But sometimes you don’t want to make a major commitment. Or you may even want to tackle a project yourself and just need a little help to get started. Here are four ways to get professional insights without relinquishing control.
DESIGN ROAD MAP
If you are game for pulling together a room yourself, but want to make sure you’re starting on the right foot
Professional advice is the best way to get a polished, great-looking room. But sometimes you don’t want to make a major commitment. Or you may even want to tackle a project yourself and just need a little help to get started. Here are four ways to get professional insights without relinquishing control.
DESIGN ROAD MAP
If you are game for pulling together a room yourself, but want to make sure you’re starting on the right foot, try hiring an interior designer for a consultation. You’ll get professional design ideas, and it’s up to you to carry them out. While not all designers and decorators offer this service, many who are building their businesses will consult with you for several hours or a few days.
Julia Landers, an interior designer with a business of the same name in Hanover, offers a two-day consultation for $250. On the first day, she visits your home. “I absorb the space,” she says. “I get an idea of what you see in the room, the existing furniture you’ll be working around, your color choices and your hobbies. I get to know you, and I take measurements.” She then builds a guidebook with a suggested theme for the room, including a design scheme, paint selections, layout, style, furniture suggestions and accessory ideas. On her second visit, she reviews the guidebook with you, explaining her recommendations and answering your questions. “You can take this guidebook and make the room yourself,” she says. You can take over the project at this point, or continue consultations if you’d like more guidance. “People hire a designer because they’re confused about what to do,” she says. “This lowers the cost, and gives people a chance to be involved in the project.”
The upside: Advice is tailored to your room and needs.
The downside: It’s up to you to finish the project.
THE PLUSH RUSH
For access to the amazing trade-only showrooms in the Boston Design Center, plus a few hours of a professional designer’s time, you can join Plush. The program’s $275 annual fee includes an hour-long initial consultation plus four hours with one of the center’s interior designers—and unlimited browsing in participating showrooms.
Winchester-based interior designer Patricia Yagjian says you’ll typically spend your first hour laying the groundwork. “You’ll meet with a designer, see if he or she is a good fit, talk about what it’s like to work with a designer, evaluate your project and pull together a ballpark figure for your budget,” she says. In the remaining hours, Yagjian will work along with you based on your priorities. The design center has 78 showrooms spread over 250,000 square feet, so her familiarity with the showrooms and their products can save you a lot of time.
“Some people need to see 500 rugs, while others can see three,” she says. “If you need to see 500, I might send you out on your own with some parameters, then have you come back.” If you’re the type who makes decisions quickly, you might find your rug—as well as a sofa and fabric—in your remaining hours with your designer. As a Plush member, you can reserve additional time with a designer for $110 per hour.
The design center also offers a free designer-on-call service that lets you consult with a designer for an hour. Like the first hour in the Plush membership, you’ll evaluate your project, learn what working with a designer entails and develop a very rough budget. “If you’ve never worked with a designer before, this takes away the ambiguity,” Yagjian says. “You’ll know that nobody is going to take your project and run with it, and that you’ll be signing off on all of your invoices.”
The upside: You can shop at the Boston Design Center’s trade-only showrooms.
The downside: Your design time might not include a visit to your home.
STYLE IN STORE
If you don’t mind limiting your selections to one store, you can work with a professional designer through Ethan Allen, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Jordan’s Furniture and other retailers. Call your favorite store for pricing info—many, but not all, offer free professional design. Charlene Rosata, a design consultant for Ethan Allen in Natick, says by using a store’s design services, “you are creating a room rather than buying a piece of furniture. Anyone can buy a desk. We can help with the rug, chair and window treatment to go with it.”
You can bring photos of your room to the store as a starting point, or set up a home visit. “Most people have some pieces and styles selected, and sometimes they’ve chosen rugs and fabrics,” says Rosata. “I’ll come out and measure the room and draw up a floor plan. I like to see the style of your house, what colors you are drawn to, and if all of your rooms have a similar feeling.” A design consultant will manage the project from start to finish—from choosing furniture, paint, rugs and window treatments to standing by when the truck arrives with your new furniture.
The upside: The service often is free.
The downside: You need to commit to one store.
DESIGN IN A DAY
What if you love your stuff but aren’t sure how to showcase it? One-day decorators can help. They’ll come in for a set fee, typically $250 to $500 per day depending on the size of the room. Most start with a discussion, learning what you do and don’t like about the room. They will empty the room as much as possible and then start moving your furniture and accessories back in, arranging them in ways that work better, culling pieces that don’t work and perhaps moving pieces in from other rooms. “I work with what people care about and what they want to keep,” says Rebecca Wilson, owner of RW Interiors in Needham. “Often, people simply have too much clutter—they keep putting things in, thinking it will make the room better.”
One-day decorators typically don’t shop for you, though they may leave you with a list of pieces that could enhance your look.
The upside: You are working with what you already own.
The downside: You are working with what you already own.