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Ok so my husband and i found the perfect house. we made an offer and it got accepted... I was on cloud 9 until i thought... oh my gosh now i have to buy furnature... not a big deal if i was at home but work has us away at the moment...
I thought about an interior decorator but i am not sure i would want to give that much control to someone... plus i would really like to do this on a budget. and by budget i mean as cheap as possible...
basically i want an interior decorator like HGTV... so all i have to do is say i like the modern look and i have X amount of dollars per room and they scavange the garage sales and stuff looking for "things to make new" but HGTV type decorators dont really exist do they? if yes how do i find out. (the house is in a major city)
I have no family there, and i dont know anyone there.
What about renting items to see if they work and to meet your immediate needs; beds, table, etc.?
Then when you know what you need, when you need it, if it would fit, and are in place you can spend the time in local retailers, build repore,get references, to help you.
How handy are you with restoring or refinishing furniture? You can get lucky and find beat-up but quality pieces of furniture at garage sales that only need some TLC.
I have done all of the above before.
If you are on a budget an interior decorator is not even an option.
Look through magazines or online and "board" each room, i.e. put the paint chips, styles of furniture, pictures of light fixtures or other hardware you like, and see how it all looks together. And take some risks with paint, you can always redo it if you hate it. Wallpaper is a little more of a commitment as most people cannot hang it properly and good quality wallpaper is not cheap.
Ok so my husband and i found the perfect house. we made an offer and it got accepted... I was on cloud 9 until i thought... oh my gosh now i have to buy furnature... not a big deal if i was at home but work has us away at the moment...
I thought about an interior decorator but i am not sure i would want to give that much control to someone... plus i would really like to do this on a budget. and by budget i mean as cheap as possible...
basically i want an interior decorator like HGTV... so all i have to do is say i like the modern look and i have X amount of dollars per room and they scavange the garage sales and stuff looking for "things to make new" but HGTV type decorators dont really exist do they? if yes how do i find out. (the house is in a major city)
I have no family there, and i dont know anyone there.
any ideas????
~Lost and Confused :-(
You want to believe what you see on HGTV but you know it is all fake. I can tell by your wording you know it's fake. That HGTV has actually hurt all types of contractors just as much as the economic depression has. Do you really think some one, let along an Interior Designer is going to shop garage sales for you looking for junk to make work with your decor? It's all TV land. Hollywood smoke and mirrors.
Do you really think you can buy a whole new cherry wood kitchen for less then $900? Do you really think a whole crew of skilled Carpenters will converge on your home to custom make furniture peices and the total project cost less then $1000? Where do you think all those companies who donate products to the show for the free advertising are going to come from? Only on TV can all this happen. Then the damn people watching those shows call up their local contractor and expect these 1940s pricing for their home. "Oh but they did a whole 12' X 12" brand new cherry kitchen on HGTV for $998.00 so why cant you"?
You already indicated you dont want to spend any money. That leaves out Interior Decorators who will charge a couple hundred an hour. Even if you did hire one, they dont control you as you are thinking, you tell them what you want and they present you with ideas that you choose from and then they make it happen.
I have an idea. Take one of those non credit courses at your local college on decorating. They will teach you the basic color wheel concept and give you the information where to find all the crazy products to make dreams a reality.
You want to believe what you see on HGTV but you know it is all fake. I can tell by your wording you know it's fake. That HGTV has actually hurt all types of contractors just as much as the economic depression has. Do you really think some one, let along an Interior Designer is going to shop garage sales for you looking for junk to make work with your decor? It's all TV land. Hollywood smoke and mirrors.
Do you really think you can buy a whole new cherry wood kitchen for less then $900? Do you really think a whole crew of skilled Carpenters will converge on your home to custom make furniture peices and the total project cost less then $1000? Where do you think all those companies who donate products to the show for the free advertising are going to come from? Only on TV can all this happen. Then the damn people watching those shows call up their local contractor and expect these 1940s pricing for their home. "Oh but they did a whole 12' X 12" brand new cherry kitchen on HGTV for $998.00 so why cant you"?
You already indicated you dont want to spend any money. That leaves out Interior Decorators who will charge a couple hundred an hour. Even if you did hire one, they dont control you as you are thinking, you tell them what you want and they present you with ideas that you choose from and then they make it happen.
I have an idea. Take one of those non credit courses at your local college on decorating. They will teach you the basic color wheel concept and give you the information where to find all the crazy products to make dreams a reality.
This is very true. I can hit 20 garage sales and find nothing I like, but I keep going to them looking for treasure. Every once in a while you find it and it makes it worthwhile but it is a lot of work. It is not easy. Even if you hit garage sales in a particular part of town, a lot of what is being sold there is junk. I personally like garage sales and estate sales in parts of town where elderly people live, as they are the ones most likely to have the type of stuff I am looking for (older furniture in a certain style, for example). But even then most of it is crap or overpriced even after hard negotiations.
If the OP is timid about decorating and color choices it is easy to find tips and advice online; most major decorating magazines are available online. If a particular color combo appeals to you, then go for it. I know it is very trendy but I like the chocolate brown/pink and chocolate brown/duck egg blue combinations that I am seeing. Trendy for sure, but I like it and I am going to use that in my new house. I figure solid linens and coverlets can always be replaced or combined with another color, and walls can always be repainted. I am much more cautious with things like furniture, countertops, tiles, etc because those are much more expensive to replace.
Take your time. You don't have to furnish your house all in one shot. Find one piece of furniture you like -- a sofa, a table, a framed print etc. -- and slowly build the rest of the room around it.
Don't worry about everything matching perfectly, either, in color, style, etc. Buy what you like, and you'll be able to make it work.
That being said, you're going to make mistakes. You'll buy something one day, haul it into the house, and six months later it'll be in a spare room or a closet. Don't fret -- it's all perfectly normal.
Not being where you purchased your home is what I would consider your greatest challenge. Are you already going to have to rent a moving truck, in order to take your current possessions to your new location? If so, do you have room in your current place to store a few new pieces that can be moved when you're ready to go? Can you shop locally, rent a "Pod", and store some stuff until you move?
You can do this yourself. You don't need to hire someone to do it for you. Get some magazines. Buy a few how-to books. As for your major pieces of furniture, if you really like the modern designs, buy them in a neutral palate. You can always spruce them up with nice throw pillows. Do remember though, that the term "neutral" does NOT mean blah and boring. Neutral isn't necessarily beige. If you have a few computer skills, you can actually draw out your room and "decorate" it in order to get a basic idea of what you're looking for. Also, there is software out there, and online sites as well where you can take pictures of your home, then re-color the images to get your color schemes.
Please keep this in mind..... many interior decorators, even if you can find one who is willing to do the "used furniture/mix and match" design for you, are still going to charge you for their time. Sooooo, the money you might save on your furnishings is STILL going to be spent elsewhere. You can do this...... you really can. Again, look at some magazines......look at some of the many, many sites online. If you've already shown courage in purchasing a home, you have what it takes to decorate it. LOL Good luck to you.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Originally Posted by B4U
What about renting items to see if they work and to meet your immediate needs; beds, table, etc.?
Then when you know what you need, when you need it, if it would fit, and are in place you can spend the time in local retailers, build repore,get references, to help you.
Interior design student?
I had a nephew who made a little spending money on the side, while he was in school, by helping family and friends with small decorating projects.
It's really incredible what you can find on craigslist right now. I have all modern or mid-century modern furniture and I purchased 90% of it that way. If you research brands and styles you like from store catalogues and design/architecture magazines like Dwell, keep a list of names and use keyword searches in craigslist (eg. barcelona chair). You'll be amazed and what you can find. Also if there is a high end modern furniture store in your area, type in the name of that store in the search and un-check titles only and you can find things that way.
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I figure solid linens and coverlets can always be replaced or combined with another color, and walls can always be repainted. 
I am much more cautious with things like furniture, countertops, tiles, etc because those are much more expensive to replace.
