14 replies to this topic

[knittychick]

We have been very happy with Steve Eliason. He lives in Folsom, is easy to work with, reasonably priced and has great taste. You can reach him at seliason@aol.com.

[stacycam]

We use Concept Candie. She has helped us with paint, furniture and general decorating ideas. She has come up with some great ideas. As a matter of fact, I just called her today to come out to help re-decorate my 11yo daughter's room. She has outgrown the bubble gum paint color and fairies theme.

Candie's phone number is 933-3394.

[giasmom]

We never used a decorator, we've looked at so many model homes that when it came to our home I just copied the paint colors and decorations that I admired in the homes we tour. You would be surprized how many people have come into our home and remarked, "Wow, this looks like a model home. . ." It would be fun to work w/a decorator though, good luck in finding the right person.

[caligirlz]

I've always done my own house also, but this time I wanted to get some design help.

I just started working with someone from a furniture store who will remain unnamed. I love the furniture. Of course, it appears that her ultimate goal is to try to convince me that none of my existing furniture is "right" for various rooms, and that EVERYTHING needs to be redone...... Or I could move the "unsightly/unneeded/old pieces" to other rooms, so that her designer rooms would shine.....

One really big issue so far is timeliness. I understand that decorating takes a lot of time. When I scheduled my appointment, I made it clear that I had another appointment at 6 pm, and she had to be done & out the door by 6 (we had 2 hour slot). She kept ignoring my attempts to close things up at 545, and at 610 I was packing her bags, pushing her towards the door & also carrying her goods out to her car while my next appointment waited. I got the sense that my schedule & my client's schedule wasn't important to her. sigh....This business relationship most likely is not going to work out.

Are the designers mentioned, willing to work with what you already have, vs pushing all new stuff?

[knittychick]

Steve is extremely flexible and he can work w/i a budget. In our case he was able to work w/some of what we had although a lot of it was in need of replacement. I think he does a free consultation, so you can decide if you think he is a good match for what you're looking for.

[stacycam]

Are the designers mentioned, willing to work with what you already have, vs pushing all new stuff?

Candie has been really good about working with what we have, and being very budget-conscious when she recommends new things. I'm sure inside her head she is screaming to get rid of our ratty couches and dated dining room table, though. She is really flexible and does try to save money whenever possible.

Also, if you tell her you have a time constraint, she is really good about keeping to it.

[caligirlz]

Thanks for the recommendations - we'll give both a call and see how it goes.

Caligirlz - what we're really looking for is trying to figure out how to arrange a room. We just built a home (well . . . a year ago) - and are struggling a bit with what furniture to put in the room (what fits, what layout, etc) - and we're a bit frustrated and tired of trying to figure it our ourselves. We've just reached the point where some professional input has got to help.

thanks!

That's exactly what I'm looking for as well. I will be calling also, and perhaps we can compare notes.

[caligirlz]

The store I consulted told me their interior designer services were free, as long as you bought furniture from them. There was no discussion as to how much furniture I would need to purchase to qualify for their free service.

I had no idea what to expect. I suppose you could say that I received the royal treatment. However, it all occured (shopping the showroom, coordinating fabric, receipt of a priceless product catalog, home consultation) without any discussion of prices, or grades of fabrics, or details. This seems completely backwards to me, or perhaps this is the way it's done with people who have aren't on a budget. I don't know.... At this point, it's just wishful thinking.

The days of mapping the room on paper are over. They now have a computer program & can even color the furniture, carpet, etc with their fabric swatches, or pictures that they take in your home. For example, McCreery's Furniture (not the shop I visited this time) has their mapper online here
However, the designer I consulted will not produce several "visual rooms", she insists I choose the furniture, fabric, etc for each room before she creates the visual rooms. If she really wanted to convience me to "buy" her ideas, then I would need to see multiple layouts.

In a way this whole situation is funny in a sad way, because they are concerned with people taking their ideas but not buying from them, yet, their process encourages just that.

[caligirlz]

They are playing mind games with you hoping you will lose focus on your budget and start going down the road of fantasy, so they can make a small fortune on you.
They don't care if you end up unhappy with the choices they made for you either.

I think in this case you are absolutely correct. They are going to wind up sadly mistaken. Too bad, because I really like their furniture, and would like to buy some. I'm now going to have to go back to the store, pick up the swatch from MY couch, and have a hard talk with that designer.

In the meantime, I'll check out the other recommendations here, and continue to do my own shopping.

[SunshineServices]

First Impressions Interiors
Michele Hutchison
(916)591-4330

Wonderful work, easy on the wallet!