I am joined today with Lindsey Waters, an interior designer with almost a decade in high end residential and commercial design experience. She is going to share her expertise to help you design your home after move-in.
After buying a home, money can be tight and home buyers are often decorating on a budget. What are some tips for prioritizing furniture and decor purchases to achieve a beautiful home? Resist the urger to purchase everything now. The worst mistake I see clients make is wanting to have their homes finished, and they sacrifice the quality of the pieces they are purchasing. I would recommend spending money on upholstery that will last you forever. You can get it reupholstered. IKEA and Amazon have great rug options. Jute is a great rug for any space. You can use Target, Amazon, and Wayfair to purchase accessories such as pillows and other smaller items.
If a buyer wants to paint their home before move-in, but they may not know what decor they are going to use, what color palette or paint color would you recommend? I would recommend neutral walls throughout to be the same color. And then I love White Dove – OC 17 – from Benjamin Moore. If you are really struggling with what color to paint your house, I love the Affinity Collection from Benjamin Moore. It is a fail proof way to pick a paint color that is going to look great. I really love their blues and their greens. They are very beautiful.
When buyers move-in, they paint and there are still no window treatments. What are your recommendations for finding good quality window treatments? In public space – your living room and common spaces, I would recommend curtains. Or if you are limited by your windows -shades. I love using Wayfair. Two Pages is a new company that you can actually customize according to the dimensions you need. Then for bedrooms, I recommend blackout curtains or shades. I also love bamboo shades. I just saw some on Amazon for under $100.
In terms of lighting, what light fixtures should we be looking at? Your overall overhead lighting is going to be your ambient lighting or general lighting. I really love incorporating floor lamps and lamps in general as your kind of accent lighting. That way if you want a soft mood, you can turn those on. Keep your overhead lights off. Then make sure your lightbulbs are warm, not cold. LED has come a long way and you don’t want to have a cold cast from the lighting in your house.
What are some common design mistakes that we should avoid? Number one mistake is back to buying everything at the same time and making it look like you bought it from a big box store. The other common mistake is not knowing what your overall design intent is. Or buying furniture that doesnt match your house. We want to keep your overall design in mind when buying everything. If you don’t know what your style is, or don’t know what looks good, look for interior designers you like on Instagram or make a Pinterest page. That way you are telling your design where to go, like when you are driving your car. As a result, you going to get that overall beautiful look at the end of the project, even if you are ordering things in stages.
If we need help, what does help from interior designers look like? I do a lot of full service design. I would work with your architect or contractor. We would be working on renovations on the inside, doing CAD drawings, making all the selections for your soft goods (carpets, upholstery, etc.). Then I would order all of that. Then I have a few clients who I consult with for paint colors or if they have specific questions on an issue in their house that they are struggling with.
Shop at Lindsey’s Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/lindseygwaters?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_aipsflindseygwaters_643TJJX075SVJB9KE3KV
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Visit Lindsey’s web site: http://www.lindseygwaters.com/
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