Tags: edesign

Kirsten Krason, an interior designer in Utah, posted a great series this week on her blog, 6th Street Design School.   The series is about how a room is much more than the before and after photos that you see.  There is A LOT that happens in between.   I wanted to share this with my readers because it’s very much how I work and it will give you a very solid idea of what working with a decorator is like.

Here is a summary, but jump over there to see the details.

1.  Client had the main pieces.

She just needed help with a few things in order to really pull the room together. This was Kirsten’s list after the first consult.

Seems simple.  No problem.

2. Change of plans.

Client tries new rug.

Kirsten updates the plan.

Client buys new sofa.

Kirsten updates the design board again.

3.  The room is reinvented.

Essentially they start over after the client decides it’s not going in the direction she really wants.  She likes stuff but doesn’t love it…

Here is Kirsten’s new list of things that the client needs help with.

So, out went that new rug.  Kirsten bought the old coffee table.  And, they started, well, over.  The client wanted something more green, natural and some vintage.

Kirsten loved these fabrics.  So do I.

After lots of back and forth, they settled on these, though the client had another fabric that she couldn’t get her mind off of…

4. Final details.

Kirsten set out to find THE rug now that they had the fabric.  Kirsten sends her client a series of design boards with a variety of rugs in them so she can see the possibilities and choose a direction.

After buying a second rug that they had agreed on (layering two rugs actually) and feeling it didn’t really work in the room, they decided on this one from West Elm.

During this period, the client also found the perfect art and her hubby made a very simple coffee table for the space.

And, she ended up switching from the blue and green (one the right) floral fabric to this Hot House fabric (on the left).

5. Finished room, one year later.

Though she didn’t explicitly say, I’m almost positive that Kirsten worked by the hour and also charged for the fabrics she found for the client and purchased. The other items seemed to be procured by the client.

I love that she showed that things don’t happen overnight, that it takes time and that there will be tweaking along the way.  It’s alright for something not to work once it gets into the room.  We always want to check scale and color and at least see it on a design board, but there is nothing like actually seeing items in the space.

For all the nitty gritty details, check out the series on her blog!

Have you worked with a designer/ decorator?  What was your experience like?  There are a million ways to structure help from e-design to full service to shopping help.  What services did you receive?  Have you thought about working with a designer?  Does this help clarify how the process CAN look?  

If you are a designer/ decorator, what did you think of her series?