Great room (Photo credit: Dawn Gagnon) |
Interior Decorators often will conduct in home consultations for a small fee. With that being said, you can learn a lot from an Interior Decorator in a short period of time. They can advise you as to color choices, accessories, de-cluttering, furniture placement, artwork arrangements, artwork displays, proper lighting, etc. Some will even consult with you about design and decorations that you are considering and have a hard time deciding on, a second opinion if you will. Consultations can range from in home, to even assisting you during a shopping trip for things for your home.
Many people that have used Interior Decorators for consultations will tell you they learned a lot of time saving valuable things in an hour or two than they may have ever learned from a magazine or television show. Reason being, it's personal, they can assess your individual needs rather than give generic one size fits all advice that you get on television and in magazines.
Interior Decorators can stage your home. While some people may know how to properly stage a home to market it's assets, some may feel they could use the services of a home stager. The truth is, an Interior Decorator can do this as well. Some can even advise you on staging right on the internet. Did you know proper staging of your home is one of the top five most important actions a homeowner can make to improve a home's chance of selling? Interior decorators are trained to visualize a space to bring out its best attributes.
Many will come to your home for a nominal fee and help you increase the feeling of space and give your home a new look just through a room redesign. If you hire a decorator to help sell your home there are a few tips to consider. If you're selling your home be open to the decorators suggestions. It is imperative that you let the decorator do their job, don't try to dictate how you want things to look if you're planning on selling.
Why? Well if the job of the decorator is to improve the visual appeal, and maximize flow and the look of space, they have to appeal to the general public. The general public is not an individual entity but a mass of consumers that need to like what they see, or more importantly be able to picture themselves in your home. That requires making the home neutral enough that any potential buyer can move right in and not have to worry about their décor working with your home. Trust the decorator's judgment, they have nothing to gain from failing your expectations..