5 Tips to the Best Decorated Room in Town

Benjamin Moore colors with an accent color for the chairs 

How To Have The Home You Love

If you're like me, you are often (or always) thinking about updating your home.
Whether planning on a change in a room or an entire home, follow these important concepts, so your end result looks like your home and is reflective of your lifestyle:

1. Have a clear idea of how the space will be used.

For instance, if you plan on entertaining more than before in a dining room, decide on the total number of dining chairs and table length you need. 

2. Create a budget for the new furnishings.

Dining tables can be anywhere from 'free' (used) to thousands of dollars. What your budget allows will be the starting point for where to source your new table.

3. Understand the elements of great design.

When you see beautiful rooms in Pinterest or Houzz, they were created with the concepts of balance, proportion and scale. They were most likely created through a well-trained eye and/or a professional interior designer. 

4. Know what decorating style suits your lifestyle best. 

Are you a traditionalist, a minimalist or a lover of mid-century design. There is much to choose from today in the furniture world. In the 'before' it was expected that if you were into a more traditional look, you would avoid contemporary furnishings. However, today it's acceptable to have a mix of traditional with contemporary furnishings.

5. Plan a color scheme for your home. 

Try the idea of connecting rooms with one color that is repeated in the other rooms of your home. For instance, one room could have a blue-green color on the walls and the adjacent room could have a blue-green rug with soft white walls. 

For professional help, for a nudge to get started, for the best year ever,

 call Mary Alice at:

                            732 690-2030

M. A. Smith Interior Design

1288 Beauchamps Place, Toms River, NJ 08753

E-mail: masmith@masmithinteriordesign.com

Allied Member ASID

Member of Kiwanis of Greater Toms River 

BIO

http://masmithinteriordesign.com

Blog: Coastal Confidante Blog 

Blog: BestDesignCoach.com

Part VIII - How to Choose the Right Furniture for Your Home

Photo courtesy of Baker.com

If I asked you  ''What is the hardest thing to choose when you decorate a home?" would you say "paint color"? Many would agree that picking the right paint color is tough to get right. However in my experience, it's furniture selection can be problematic and challenging.

The challenge starts with the overwhelming variety of shapes, sizes, and price points for every type of furniture whether seating, tables or occasional pieces. But the choice is easier when you know the following bits of information, before you head out to your local furniture store:

• Know what size of furniture will fit in the room. Have a floorplan drawn to scale to discover what size of sofa or table will fit, without crowding a traffic zone.
• Determine how much seating you need on a daily basis and what you need for entertaining.
• Decide on what style of furniture suits your lifestyle and taste today. Country French may have been a favorite ten years ago, but your present lifestyle may call for a leaner and more contemporary look.
• List all the pieces you need and specify a budget for each piece.
• Create a folder of furniture styles that appeal to you to refer to when you go shopping. A picture is always worth a thousand words.
• Spend more time than you planned to find furniture. Don't settle because you can't find a certain piece right away. It's there - you just have to find it!
• Let a professional interior designer help you if you are crunched for time. They have the resources to find what you need quickly, saving you time and money in the long run.

Just as you leave construction to the builder, it might make more sense to leave the decorating to professionals. Decorating isn't just fluff. It's making your home not only beautiful, but comfortable and ageless for years to come.


M. A. Smith, Ltd.
Interior Design
732 690-2030
Allied Member ASID
http://masmithinteriordesign.com
Serving New Jersey and Metropolitan New York

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

Part III - an interior design best kept secret

Where do you start when you want to decorate your home?

Last week I visited the home of a couple I worked with earlier in the year. They are now enjoying their newly constructed home, but I remember the beginning of the project and how their design concept began.

In essence, with this couple and with all my clients, before design begins a lot of thinking and communication is the first step in the design process. For instance, in planning a room one needs to consider not only what will the room be used for, but how does it work with the adjacent rooms. In addition, how will you move around in the room?

Take the time to think through ideas like this:

• Will the Family Room need to seat six or eight comfortably or is it for the two of you?
• How will the room work six years from now, when the kids are away in college or when your family grows from two to six?
• What are the lighting needs? Do you read, knit or use your laptop and is there enough task lighting?

Tried but true, function is first before purchasing furniture! So, before I head out to my resources for furnishings, I make sure to complete a 'field survey' of an existing room, including photographs and measurement of everything. If it's new construction, I study the architects' plan and determine traffic patterns and available furniture placement.

Stay 'tuned' for a BestDesignCoach blog post to find out about the next item on my Website's list to consider when decorating a home.

Most important... if you or someone you know is renovating, redecorating or involved with a new construction project - send them to this page or better, send them to me to see how we can help them, or you!

Then call me, Mary Alice at 732 690-2030 or email me at: masmith729@comcast.net to get your project off to a great start.

M. A. Smith, Ltd.
Interior Design
732 690-2030
Allied Member ASID
Serving New Jersey and metropolitan New York with exceptional interior design

Part I: How An Interior Designer Helps You

What are some of the ways interior designers help Clients?

So often I'm asked how I work with clients or, what specifically do I do to help them. Even with all the TV shows on home design, people are not sure how we actually do our job.

My first response of course is to make sure they understand that many of those TV shows are far from reality! Besides the general answer that 'we solve problems' or 're-invent the look of a home', there are a number of ways I work with clients as it appears on my website:

Accessorizing, tablescapes, bookcase arrangement

Budget or space planning

Conceptual and design development

Drapery and blinds/shades - planning and design

Fabric selection and design for windows and upholstery

Flooring Selection - tile, rugs, carpet and wood flooring

Floorplans - including furniture placement and lighting schematics

Furniture floorplan, selection and design

Fixture selection - for kitchen and baths

Hardware selection - for cabinetry, doors, including kitchens and baths 

Kitchen and Bath plans - floorplans, vanities, fixtures, flooring and tile 

Lighting design - including plans, fixture shopping and selection

Paint selection - walls,ceiling, trim (including faux finishing);interior/exterior

Project management - pre-construction through post-construction

Shopping assistance - visits to local retailers for furniture, flooring and tile selection

Upholstery - new or re-upholstery and trim selection

Virtual design - designs for clients at remote locations

Window treatment selection - including drapery, valances, cornices, shutters,and trim selections

Great - so stay 'tuned' for my next BestDesignCoach blog post to find out about the first item on the above list - Accessorizing.

Most important... if you or someone you know is renovating, redecorating or involved with a new construction project - send them to this page to see how we can help them, or you!

Then call me, Mary Alice at 732 690-2030 to get the project off to a great start.

M. A. Smith, Ltd.
Interior Design
Allied Member ASID
Serving New Jersey and metropolitan New York with exceptional interior design