Are you stuck with your renovation project's to-do list? 

It's true - somethings never seem to change - like your to do list. But if you're like many of my clients, there comes a time when you just have to go ahead and get your project going.

But where to start? You can start here by reading a few posts written for people just like you.

A little confirmation helps you to know you are not alone. So here are some ideas for you to read to get you started. The link below is a short piece about the need to block out time and make a commitment to get started. It might start with contacting a contractor, builder or architect or you might start by visiting home centers and kitchen and bath stores. 

Start here first

Great, now you're warming up to moving ahead. But you still have questions or concerns about building or renovating. The more you understand the building process, the better you will be when the time comes to find your kitchen and bath cabinets, plumbing, appliances, tubs, etc.

If you're in a coastal area, you want to make sure that your home will be built for longevity.

Now read this

It's really that simple. Once you understand what's needed in the construction process, you can jump to the fun part - design and decorating. However, before you head back to Pinterest to get ideas, let's take time to discuss how you plan to use the room you are building or renovating.

This part will make you relieved and ready for a great change

In the end, your project is about creating your vision of the best home. Home should be a place to be comfortable in with everything that pulls at your heart strings. And by the way, I value this quote from The One Thing book that says "Perfection gets in the way of what is possible". In other words, it's okay to want something wonderful, but don't let the fact that it isn't "perfect" (nothing is here on earth you know) keep you from enjoying all the wonderful things about your home. 

If you're still frozen, consider calling an expert to help you make decisions and who values the things that you love. 

Mary Alice Smith - 732 608-7583

M. A. Smith Interior Design 

Residential and Commercial Interior Design

E-mail: masmith@masmithinteriordesign.com 

Allied Member ASID

Member of Kiwanis Club of Greater Toms River 

Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce

Website:  http://masmithinteriordesign.com

Serving Coastal New Jersey homeowners and businesses for twenty years

Feeling Discombobulated Lately? Join our De-Cluttering Challenge Today

Photo courtesy of House Beautiful and Ikea

More Clothes and Less Space?

After the holidays were you given wonderful new outfits, purses, scarves, etc.? All is well and good till you try to add them to our already cramped closet. 

Or, maybe you threw yourself into cooking over the holidays and have added spices, new pots and pans to your cramped pantry. 

While Architectural Digest is not coming to inspect your home, you know you'd feel better, more in control and even lighter if you could organize your spaces. 

 Enter this year's challenge. Pick one space you would be so happy to see organized.

Schedule it in your calendar to tackle. 

Tell us your plan or challenge. 

Send us photos when you are done and you will have more praise than you've received in a long time.

What's your organizing challenge? 

The 5 Most Important Questions I ask my Clients

The 5 Most Important Questions I ask my Clients 

Photo courtesy of Copeland Furniture - made in Vermont

Now that summer is behind us, we look to the next few months as a new start. If you're like me, you feel like hitting "refresh" as soon as September rolls around. 

I definitely need a new look and a new perspective in autumn. And, just like my clients who hire me to give their homes a new look, I also need to change up things inside and outside our home. 

But in order to change, you first need to know what needs changing. It's hard to prioritize and decide what should stay, what should go or what look in your home needs a re-boot. 

So I have to pretend I'm my own client in a way. I have to ask myself the same things I ask my clients. For instance:

1. How do you want to use the room or space (indoors or outside)? Do you need more seating, less seating, more space for entertaining perhaps?
2. What are the things you love about this room? Is it the light, the fireplace, the colors used on walls and furnishings?
3. What are you most dissatisfied with the room? Is it too small, too large, too plain? 
4. What rooms in Pinterest, House Beautiful or Architectural Digest have you consistently loved? Are you a fan of Ralph Lauren, Miles Redd, Restoration Hardware?
5. What is your budget? Are you ready to renovate to the extent of changing floors, opening up a room, or is it more cosmetic with new furniture and new paint colors on the walls? 

To help you make a change, I'll share with you my journey in my own 'Autumn Refresh'. I'll start with the first question on the next post. See you then!

Five of my Favorite Myths or Secrets about Decorating your Home with Paint

Photo courtesy of Country Living 

1. Dark paint colors make a room look smaller - wrong! Dark paint colors give a small space the oomph it needs to look important. There is a warm and enveloping feeling that you can't always get from a pale shade of paint. 
2. Trim has to be either stained or painted white. Please give this one myth up ASAP! In our own home we used a medium shade of gray on our formerly lackluster white interior doors. 
3. Gray paint is not a warm color. Wrong again! Yes, some grays are cooler grays, but there's a warm gray for everybody. We used Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Gray on our hallways and Foyer. It's a beigy/soft/greige that changes throughout the day. It's perfect if you want to be 'engaged' but not commit to gray. 
4. Everyone in the house has to love the color I choose. Trust me, not everyone has the faintest idea of what paint can do for a house. For instance, if your toddler craves purple, would you respect her choice and paint your home purple? If you're unsure on what color to select, look into hiring an interior designer to help make the best choice of color. 
5. All paints are the same, so buy less expensive paint. After twenty years in the business of interior design, I can speak as an expert. Do buy good paint, it will look and last better than cheaper paints. 

Lastly, (as much as I love my painters) let them do their work but save the color selection to you or your designer. Not every color looks the same in every house. I've seen paint colors in my clients homes that I would have loved in my home. But, we have different light, floor color, furnishings and all that can change how a color looks. 

Mary Alice Smith of M. A. Smith Interior Design - an interior designer serving New Jersey, Ocean and Monmouth County, the Jersey Shore and metropolitan New York, CT 

To schedule an appointment call: 732 690-2030

M. A. Smith Interior Design 

masmith@masmithinteriordesign.com

Allied Member ASID

Member of Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce

Member of Kiwanis Daybreak of Toms River

http://masmithinteriordesign.com

Blog: HouseZenGarden and Best Design Coach

Puzzled about designing your Home?

Today is like any other day as as interior designer. With a variety of projects to work on, it can feel overwhelming every once in awhile. It's like working with a puzzle. You have the finished work in mind, but it takes patience and concentration to pull it all together. 

I found this quote that explains the 'puzzle phenomenon' that can apply when decorating your home or to life in general. 

"Life isn't 

about finding pieces 

of a puzzle. 

It's about

creating 

and putting

 those exceptional

pieces

together"

Glenn van Dekken 

So it's a good thing that I love puzzles! I love finding the pieces that bring my clients' vision together. And like working on a puzzle, it takes time and thought, patience and courage to finish the project. 

It's not any one piece of the 'puzzle' that is important. Every piece is important. For instance, it's not just a sofa that will transform a room. It's a medley of a number of things orchestrated together to give a room life, that will give it its soul. 

So, be patient with yourself (or your designer). The best things in life take time!

Even Tired Looking Rooms Need a Facelift

 

Where do you start when you want to change the look of a room? It can be a simple task for some. But if you're like most, you'll feel better about planning the first step in decorating, when you have a goal in mind. 

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

1. If you have a time limit-

• Plan on finding furniture that is readily available in stores in your area
• Use ready made drapes that can be shortened to size or add trim to the leading edge to customize its look
• Use paint to make a statement (paint a focal wall in a darker color) as opposed to adding beadboard panelling or mouldings
• To have a finished look, dedicate a weekend to finish the job including hanging artwork, adding accessories to a cocktail table, etc.

2. If you have a budget limit- 

• Determine the maximum amount you can spend on decorating
• Spend the most on either focal point areas or new seating
• Do as much as you can yourself
• Find ways to get the same look you saw in a magazine with a less costly application. For instance, if you like the look of a large stripe wallpaper on entry walls - you can get a similar look by painting stripes instead. 
  

3. If the project includes construction-

• Use the services of an interior designer to do a floorplan showing furniture placement in a room. An architect's floorplan is the foundation to make your project work. But, know where your furniture will fit before you hire your contractor. Changes later on can be costly.

• Make sure you have a vision for how the room will look finished. You can tear pages of rooms you like and make a concept folder or use Pinterest.com and/or hire a designer to do the work for you.

• Get everyone involved (architect, designer, contractor, tradespeople) on the 'same page'. If one of the team is difficult to communicate with, it will only slow down the process later for the others involved.

• Invest in items that have the longest life or get the most use. For instance, appliances, dining room furniture, flooring - know how they will hold up to constant use. 

• Lastly, life changes, kids grow up, people retire. Plan your home for those changes, not only for the present. For instance, can the Dining Room be changed into a home office or additional bedroom for visiting family or friends? 

Goals are the first step. Next make a plan. Nothing happens until you commit yourself to diving in to bring your dreams to life!


For professional help with your project, call:

M. A. Smith, Ltd. Interior Design
1288 Beauchamps Place, Toms River, NJ 08753
732 690-2030
E-mail: maryalicesmith@masmithinteriordesign.com

Allied Member ASID

http://masmithinteriordesign.com
Blog: HouseZenGarden
Blog: BestDesignCoach.com
Serving New Jersey and Metropolitan New York City