Initial Consultation

The first step in the decorating process is an initial consultation.  The initial consultation is typically a one to two hour meeting where a decorator comes out to your home and sits down with you to  understand the overall scope of work for your project and get a grasp of your personal tastes and what you like and dislike.  The goal of the initial consultation is to gather enough information to create a design plan that will reflect your personality and lifestyle so that the decorator’s ideas can match your homes specific needs.  This will ensure that when the process is complete, your home truly feels like home to you and doesn’t feel like a furniture showroom.  All too often, a decorator will present and implement a design that reflects their own personal style, and though appealing at first, will not provide the desired outcome and will ultimately leave the homeowner with a good design that doesn’t suit their lifestyle long term.  The initial consultation ensures that the decorator understands what the style and function of each space needs to be in order for your home to not only be beautiful but also functional.

During the initial consultation, the decorator will show you photos of various styles and themes along with color wheels and various fabric samples to help determine your personal taste and colors that suit your home.   The decorator will also make recommendations and share dos and don’ts that can be acted on or used whether or not you engage further in the decorating process.

Typically in an initial consultation the designer can help homeowners choose colors as well as help make any quick recommendations she may see while in your home.

You should be sure to voice any concerns and ask any questions that you might have during the initial consultation. You should walk away from the initial consultation comfortable that you have picked the right decorator and confident that your design plan will not just meet, but exceed your expectations.

Design Plan

A design plan is the next step in the decorating process and can be done informally with the decorator looking for products and just making suggestions or a display board can be made (see photo at right for example – click to zoom).  Your preferences and budget often determines the route the decorating process will take.  Some homeowners want ideas but wish to do certain things themselves and some prefer the decorator to do everything from space planning to the placement of the very last accessory.

Many homeowners are very visual and prefer to see the entire room “put together” before anything is purchased.  In this case, the designer can put together a display board showing a computerized layout of your space which shows you not only photos of which furnishings will look best, but also helps show where they will fit best in the room.  The design board shows the color scheme, the paint colors, the fabric choices, any drapery styles, accessories, etc.  It is basically a layout of everything the decorator will use to implement your style into your room.

Implementation

After the design plan is chosen, tweaked and approved, your decorator can help you begin arranging for contractors to finish any cosmetic changes to the room that may be needed before anything is added.  After that, the rugs, window treatments, lighting and furnishings can be purchased and placed.  The final step is adding accessories, hanging pictures, etc.