Renovating with a designer

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amother

Azure

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 3:24 pm

I used a designer who was new and didn't call references. Bad bad mistake. She was no good and charged a fortune because everything took her so long and so many hours. My advice a good designer can end up making your renovations easier but GOOD is key... Pls only hire one that you get a lot of positive references, otherwise you can easily get screwed. And don't forget to keep asking for a bill every few days especially in the beginning so you learn the designers work pace and avoid sticker shock....

amother

Blueberry

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 3:32 pm

A good designer is worth their weight in gold.

But, a good designer should respect your taste and budget. They should just be a knowledgable guide to avert you from mistakes and towards good decisions.

Starting out designers can be excellent at a good price before they get "a name".

You should get a free consultation from anyone so you can get a feel for if you want to work with them.

amother

Peony

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 3:49 pm

when you ask around about a specific designer, make sure you ask the right questions. People are hesitant to say anything negative. Ask about work ethic, project management, sticks to the budget, organized etc.

amother

DarkMagenta

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 5:53 pm

amother [ Antiquewhite ] wrote:

I was extremely lucky with my designer.

She obviously helped me with aesthetic design choices but she also helped me with figuring out how I wanted things to function especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. She would sit with me and explain exactly how certain things would work - for example I have drawers in some of my lower cabinets but I also have roll outs in other cabinets and so she would explain how materials I used would affect function and advise me of spacing of drawers.

She would explain why certain design choices made sense in terms of size, shape, how they worked with other choices etc. That way even when I looked for stuff on my own I had certain criteria that I knew would work and then we would discuss choices. When I was selecting material for my two occasional chairs - for example - we discussed material and color etc and had decided that leather would work. She then brought me about 12 swatches and said she had a favorite but wanted to see what I liked. I went through each one eliminating them and wound up choosing exactly the same one
Very Happy

When I moved back home she came on multiple Sundays and worked with my cleaning lady and my designer's mother who was a retired designer and the put everything back including clothing and miscellaneous stuff. She didn't charge me but I bought lunch for everyone and paid my cleaning lady obviously and I also paid her mother a nominal amount which made her mother feel good.

She also acted as my Project Manager and supervised the GC and inspected work before telling me it was either fine or it needed some touch up work. So I only paid when she approved that it was okay. I didn't want up paying for shoddy work and I also didn't freak out because I had reassurances from my designer that the work was fine.

Can I ask if you remember the name of the company that does degournay dupes? I have been searching for something similar that is less pricey.

amother

Lilac

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 6:09 pm

amother [ DarkMagenta ] wrote:

Can I ask if you remember the name of the company that does degournay dupes? I have been searching for something similar that is less pricey.

I’m not that poster but mural source is significantly cheaper because it’s printed, not painted.

amother

Antiquewhite

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 7:41 pm

amother [ DarkMagenta ] wrote:

Can I ask if you remember the name of the company that does degournay dupes? I have been searching for something similar that is less pricey.

My wallpaper was a true collaboration with my designer as I scoured the internet for Chinoiserie style wallpaper when I got the insane quote from DeGournay for a relatively small amount of paper. I had one accent wall in my bedroom and wallpaper above the tile in two relatively small bathrooms - e.g. not much "wall" to paper in either of the bathrooms since most of those rooms were tile.

I found a store on Etsy which had really great reviews and lots of sales. I showed the site to my designer and I requested samples. Based on the reviews and my communication with the owner of the store, I decided to go ahead.

This was where working with a designer really was critical for the end result. My designer measured everything and sent specifications to Lily (the owner). I also wanted some modification as I wanted peacocks for the master bedroom as part of the motif. Lily sent back very exact diagrams showing exactly how each "sheet" of paper would be.

My designer had an excellent wall paper hanger and when he came she supervised his getting started with the diagrams so that everything was hung correctly. He did a great job because the design matches perfect at each edge.

Lily (the owner of the Etsy store) was great to work with and if you like DeGournay but not the price, this is certainly an option to consider

https://www.etsy.com/shop/chin.....17688

Here is a shot of my guest bath. It's not a great photo as the wallpaper is much prettier in person as this looks almost gray but the actual color is a soft blue. You can get a sample of the silk to pick out the color you want to use as the background

amother

Dustypink

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 7:53 pm

wow! your bathroom is really original, how'd you think of it?

amother

Antiquewhite

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 8:00 pm

amother [ Dustypink ] wrote:

wow! your bathroom is really original, how'd you think of it?

My designer LOL

I would NEVER EVER have been able to design anything like this - it would either have been completely "safe" or be a mishmash of questionable taste. LOL

Also an example of how I "repurposed stuff" with her help instead of buying new stuff when I could use my old stuff.

The mirror is an old stain glass window I bought years ago at a thrift store - my uncle refinished it for me many years ago and I had just been using it as a bit of a divider for my kitchen. My designer suggested using it as a mirror so the middle section was replaced with a mirror.

The sconces were from my mother and were originally silver. My designer had then plated in a copper finish to. The original shades my mother used were Cadiz shell but I swapped them for mica shades I found on the internet - my designer advised me on the size that I needed to look for.

The faucets were a splurge but I fell in love with them at the store - my designer still was able to get them for less than "retail" with her trade discount and I could have gone with a less expensive faucet.

The tchotchkes are all mine - one thing I have way too much of are tchotchkes. LOL

I had told my designer when we had our first meeting that I didn't want gray or beige. Very Happy

amother

Red

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 8:04 pm

Love your bathroom!

redheaded

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 8:40 pm

That stained glass window repurposed as a mirror is STUNNING!

amother

Sienna

Sun, Jan 16 2022, 8:42 pm

And I didn’t use a designer,
because
I believe in my taste
And
I imitate well

Except when I did-my kitchen.

No regrets.

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