Interior design

So I have somewhere in the range of -1000 design talent. Going to build a house and you have to pick stuff out. Not sure I want everything white or gray

So have any of y'all used an interior decorator when building a custom house? Nothing fancy just trying to avoid the heckling....

 

Visit a lot of homes, for sale or home shows, you will get a lot of good ideas.

 

Lots of magazines on the stands at the big box stores, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Go to big housing developments, look at their model homes, and take lots of pictures. Professionals design all of them.

 

Where's Cannoli's ghey a$$ when you need him??

 

I'm married to one, so yes. Where you at?

 

I think it’s harder than you would think. Picking things that all match a style and theme but that aren’t too matchy matchy is way harder than i thought it would be. I think you keep things simple, look for timeless designs versus the latest trend. Everyone doing pastel appliances? Skip it. The high end places that “define” The trends will keep remodeling every 5-10 years making your stuff dated if you’re not careful.

We recently did a major renovation and I found it hard to pick a lot of stuff out and get a good look. I had a kitchen design buddy who I consulted with a lot to help out and that was key for us. Getting floors, cabinets, counters, appliances, finishes, trim and paint to all work together took a lot.

But be careful about having an interior designer, an architect, and a kitchen (or room) designer all trying to get their ideas in. It will cost you more.

Not sure if this is good advice or not but maybe it is… good luck.

 

if its a custom house... the builder doesnt give you various options to choose from??
There are all sorts of trim & finish options and a big one is custom closets.
Funny how a 5x5 room can cost $10,000. Then again you could spend $150k in a kitchen and wonder where the money went...lol

 

This should cover it.

 

I've worked for them for 34 years in anything from cinder block 2/1 little homes and trailers to 20,000 square foot oceanfront homes and megayachts. My work is on TV and magazines, unattributed of course, because most of them won't even name the design assistant who did most of the work. There are some honest and competent ones but it's a sales job in the end.
Beware of the markup, most I have dealt with were shady about pricing and pushed people towards much more expensive options rather than the exact same thing in a lesser known brand. Also seen them act as unlicensed contractors and pull off builds that would fail to get a CO if a permit had been pulled.
I would do what ducnut advised and visit models in comparable neighborhoods and look online or in design magazines and then find reasonable copies of what you liked.

If you end up using one, I'd just pay the hourly rate and use them as a personal shopper rather than buy from a studio. Rate here is roughly $100 an hour and up.

 

That's the way the blonde woman works. If you have good stuff, she will work with that.

 

100%

I used to work for a plumbing distributor who had showrooms and designers. Everything in the showrooms was the high-end stuff. Likewise, customer design showrooms I delivered to were all high-end stuff. Avoid those places. There are countless, reasonably priced, quality options available. You just need to look through the manufacturer’s online catalogs, get the model number, then, search for it.

I will caution, many of the USA-made brands are no longer, depending on the fixtures/trims you’re buying. For instance, Kohler used to all be made in Kohler, WI. Not anymore. Don’t blindly go into your purchases without finding out, first. I’ve seen $1K faucets with “Made in China” on the box, when an American-made equivalent is available, for less money. People are being taken advantage of.

 

Another caution...when it comes to appliances, quality names at the big box stores are not the same as the ones sold at appliance stores. They can be cheaper, but many are built to a price point and don't reflect the quality generally associated with the name.

 

Are you building this yourself or hiring a builder? A quality builder can answer every one of these questions.

 

Hate to say this since I am in the building business, but if you are working with a good builder, using images from Pinterest and Houzz can help the builder produce finishes you like. This works if you are able to decide looks you like and also having a builder that will take the time to help make them happen. You will pay either the builder for that time or a designer.
Now furnishings is another story. Drawing couches and such that you like on the plan to scale will help determine what pieces will work dimension wise.

 

I'd love to build out of NexCem. Only interior design concern will be, what colors does cement dye come in?

 

My concern would be are the dyes colorfast.

 

Well, yeah. That would be a concern of mine too as my interior house cleaning would involve the use of a garden hose.

 

I'm guessing this may not be a family decision.

 

The place will be in TN outside Fayetteville but I am currently south in Huntsville AL

 

Hmmm....I'll mention it to her. We just bought an RV and I retire in a few months.