Affordable Interior Design?

[Jukesgrrl]

MN-Born-n-Raised has some great ideas. I would like to chime in with a second endorsement for Lamps Plus. I worked with their store in Chandler and was very happy with the service and products I got. Lighting is a much overlooked aspect of interior design in terms of function. Also, lighting fixture styles date very quickly; changing them out for contemporary models is a quick and very noticeable way to update a home. And don't forget ceiling fans. In Arizona, they're a god-send and you can get them coordinated with your other lighting purchases.

I also second the idea of working with a store-based designer. Many of them are very accomplished. I sold furniture for several years in Tucson and am well-aware of how much help many of our customers got from our in-house designers ... for free. When the store I worked in closed, our designers went to La-Z-Boy, Ethan Allen, and Bassett. All of those stores have branches in Phoenix. Bassett has a program that allows you to "design your own custom upholstery." Working with the designer you can choose the size, cushion style, arm style, etc., in any of their fabrics; it's delivered in 30 days and is much less expensive than regular custom.

Some of the larger window-treatment stores also have designers who will come to your house and not only help you decide, but do all the measuring and installation included in the price. You might want to do that after you pick your major furniture pieces, but make sure to leave money in the budget for it. As you probably know, window treatments are expensive but are essential in Arizona for controlling light and creating needed shade. Also, when planning your budget, don't forget the patio furniture. In Arizona it's used as often as much of your indoor furniture and can be as expensive.

You got two other pieces of valuable advice here. 1. Pick your fabrics first (upholstered furniture, bedding, and window treatments) and then choose wall paint (and flooring if you are using tile in a color) based on the fabrics. Paint colors are infinite but you don't want to be matching fabric to an existing paint if you don't have to. 2. Don't spend tons of money on "suites" of furniture. You can save a lot by spending the most on key pieces that endure wear and tear (sofas, easy chairs, mattresses, the table/chairs where you eat most often) and much less on smaller pieces that don't need to be as durable.

For flooring you can search within the Phoenix C-D for tile/flooring recommendations. You don't mention if you are doing a kitchen. If you are re-doing the kitchens, don't miss a trip to IKEA. I've redone three kitchens with IKEA cabinets with great results. Don't let people tell you it's low-quality. IKEA is the largest purveyor of kitchen cabinetry in all of Europe. Many of their manufacturing/ecological standards are higher than our own. And the store (in Tempe, between the Elliot and Warner Exits off I-10) has a huge array of model kitchens to look at and free kitchen design assistance.

[jk18gabr]

Visit Ikea if you like modern styles. They are decent quality and have some cool stuff for low prices. As for wall colors, I am a big fan of variations of grey. Its a much cooler color than tan, but has more substance than white. I usually will paint all my walls a light grey, but then paint an accent walls a color a nice contrast (Anything goes with grey... Blues, Browns, Maroons, Darker Greys, etc). I'll let my décor do the popping (plants, accent pillows, rugs, vases, etc).

As for lighting, stick with stainless lamps.

Furniture, I am a big fan of the dark mocca / coffee color wood with stainless hardware.

As for actual home designs, take a look at the website Houzz, they have a lot of different designs for different rooms. Find things you look in the pictures and go hunting.

[gil_happy]

All, thank you so much for this thread! I tried using Thumbtack.com for interior decorators / designers to bid or offer their services in the Chandler area to help decorate my place, but I received no bids or interest (I guess my starting budget of between $5000 and $10000 was not high enough).

There are many excellent suggestions in the post, particularly by 'MN-Born-n-Raised' information about Lamps Plus - I will definitely try this out. I also like the suggestion from 'ReadyFreddy' about La-Z-Boy's design service. On that note, does anyone have any suggestions for furniture retailers (or artwork, fixtures, etc) that will offer their free (or discounted) design services where they come out and look at my space and provide suggestions and pricing?

Thanks in advance!

[LavishInteriors]

I am new here, but the post is I think 2012. Any new forum threads about interior designs?

[Hal Roach]

The grey paint was beaten to death. Next year, they will be telling people to paint it back to light beige.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by LavishInteriors

I am new here, but the post is I think 2012. Any new forum threads about interior designs?

I would look in the Interior Design forum in the General Forums here, rather than any of the city forums.