professional interior designer

Here’s a little confession: I know exactly which family and out-of-town friends have the most comfortable guest bedrooms to stay in, and I often base my length of “available visit time” accordingly.

Do you blame me? While I can roll with the punches to a point, there is a big difference between sleeping on a blow up mattress on a child’s bedroom floor or having a room to myself, just as there’s a difference between sleeping on somebody’s old, worn-out mattress rather than enjoying a comfortable bed that feels (almost) like home.

Get Your Extra Bedroom Into Shape Before the Holidays

With the holiday season right around the corner, this is a perfect time to prioritize a guest room makeover. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Choose relaxing colors. Regardless of your owner personal taste or penchant for bright colors, I feel guest rooms are best left to the relaxing and neutral areas of the color palette. Guests are often jet lagged or tired from the very nature of what it took to get them to you in the first place. Just being away from home and the normal routine is enough to create an energy drain – consciously or not. Therefore, chose wall and trim colors that are restful and relaxing – whites, grays, greens and blues are all good options. Feel free to add fun, peppy and more energetic splashes of color via accents and display items. If your guest room is on the smaller side, you can use color tricks to make the room seem larger.

Make them feel like royalty. If at all possible, try to provide a queen-size bed at the very minimum. While a double bed works for a singleton, couples are going to struggle sleeping well on anything less than a queen. Then, do invest in a fantastic mattress. Today’s mattress – especially memory foam options – will last a lifetime. If budget is an issue, look for the prolific 0% financing options, which provide you with a new, high-quality mattress for double-digits per month. Alternatively, go directly through the manufacturer for better deals.

Indulge in comfortable linens and bed sets. Cheap sheets feel terrible. While most hotel mattresses are all right these days, it’s the sheets themselves that can really drive you nuts. They are more irritating than they are comforting. Look for sheets with a thread count that is 300 or higher to give your guests a soft place to rest. Think along those same lines when it comes to providing soft bath towels. Then, think in terms of layers. I like to top my guest bed sheets with a thin, soft blanket so those that sleep hot can still enjoy that cozy feeling. Then a down or wool comforter can top that for those who need a little more warmth. I also like to provide four pillows (don’t go too crazy on the pillow front or guests don’t know what to do with them all each morning/night) – two for the head and an extra for those who prefer them or who enjoy reading in bed before going to sleep.

Give guests a place to keep their clothes. Living out a suitcase can be discombobulating at best and completely disastrous at worst, with favorite shirts, suits and dresses having to live in a perpetual state of wrinkled. If you use your guest room closet for storage, try to leave a dozen empty hangers and a small section of closet rod available when guests come to stay. Along those lines, an empty dresser drawer or three is always a nice bonus as well. If there is no closet space available, read, Creating a Closet in a Closet-Less Space, for ideas – most of which can be set up temporarily.

The little extras. Here are some of the little extras I like to provide for guests – arranged artfully in a basket – so they don’t have to ask:

• Shampoo, conditioner and bath gel or soap
• Unscented or gender-neutral lotion/moisturizer
• Shaving cream and decent razor
• Toothbrush, toothpaste and floss
• A tastefully hidden array of feminine hygiene products
• Q-tips and cotton balls
• Tissues
• Brush/comb

By having these items at the ready, your guests don’t have to feel embarrassed or burdensome if they forget an essential item or two at home. This “guest survival” kit is also handy for guests whose luggage gets lost along the way.

I choose to have beautiful houseplants rather than fresh flowers in my guest room as I have found that flowers in small places are more conducive to guests with allergy attacks.

Finally, leave a guest book on the nightstand. Our household has gone through several guest books over the course of the last few decades and it is such a delight to peruse them from time to time, remembering past holidays, gatherings, visits and special events.

Does your kitchen pantry look like a pantry? Or does it resemble a post-tornado disaster scene? Like the guest bedroom storage closet and the kitchen junk drawer, pantries tend to go from tidy and organized, to a big jumbled mess, faster than you can say, “Hon? Have you seen the rice vinegar?”

Kitchen Pantry Update 101: How to Achieve a Sustainably Organized Pantry

Sustainable is a buzzword these days and I’m going to use it here in terms of organization. It’s not just about “organic,” “green,” or “eco-friendly.” The definition of sustainable is, “able to be maintained or continued.” When thinking of it that way, all re-organization projects should strive to be as sustainable as possible.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if closet and kitchen and pantry organization didn’t have to be annual events? Instead, you would come up with a sustainable system, one that’s easy for you to maintain or continue. When you achieve that lofty goal – ritualistic, wide scale, weekend-long organization projects become a thing of the past.

Does that sound appealing? I thought so – let’s get started.

Remove everything and set it all out on the counter

The first step, as you probably imagined, is taking everything out of the pantry and getting it out on the counter. Once everything is cleared out, it’s time to wipe down the shelves. If your pantry is old, grimy and just plain gross – you may find it worthwhile to repaint the walls and shelves using leftover paint from your kitchen cabinets or the most recent paint project you’ve tackled.

While the paint – or the freshly sudsed and scrubbed interior – is drying, begin going through the contents on the counter.

Get rid of anything that’s expired or just plain gross

Now it’s time to toss anything that’s expired or just plain yuck. If your pantry is in desperate need of reorganization, you’ll find a fair amount to get rid of. If you find you have an overabundance of pantry items, donate unopened items to your local food bank. Our local grocery store has a bin out front that accepts items year-round, and homeless shelters are usually receptive to unopened food donations as well.

Re-envision the pantry space

Contemporary cabinet and drawer designs have come a very long way in a short period of time. Pullout shelves, spice-racks, custom-designed drawers – all of these have made kitchen spaces more functional and better organized than the kitchens we grew up in.

Take some of these same cues for your pantry project and evaluate where pantry-specific tools – available at big box stores and organization-centered retail shops – will be helpful. For example:

• Forget about cutesy wicker baskets – you can’t see what’s in them unless they’re over-full. If you like the idea of removable containers, opt for clear, plastic containers so you can see what’s inside at all times. Plastic organizers are also easier to clean when needed.
• Purchase affordable wine racks to keep your back supply in the pantry in space-efficient and wine-happy, horizontal stacks. You can put a smaller, higher-end version out on the buffet to display a few bottles for show.
• Are there certain staples you ALWAYS carry “in stock?” Things like 32-ounce boxes of broth, 15-ounce cans of tomatoes, cans of soup, etc.? All of these are pretty darn standard so establish reasonable, product-specific widths and divide shelves into cubby-like spaces using vertical dividers. This keeps dry goods in their own, designated spots. It also makes it easier to do quick inventories before heading to the grocery store.
• I also recommend installing pull-out, stainless steel wire racks and bins to hold potatoes, onions, fruit and other items that prefer a little air circulation. I use mine for bags of chips, bagels, rice cakes and other items that slip around or get squished when they’re stored on shelves. Pull-out drawers also work for paper goods, like paper towels, plates, and napkins.
• Use wire helper shelves to divide tall pantry shelves into more efficient spaces. These allow you to use up more of the available air space and prevents cans from being stacked into towers that block the view of what’s behind them.

Organize it in a way that’s logical and accessible for your household

Now that you have the right equipment, you have the opportunity to install it all – and replace pantry items – in a way that makes the most logical and accessible sense for your household.

• Have younger children? There’s no need to be their servant. Foster independence and put kids’ go-to snack items, fruit, easy-to-prep foods where they can easily reach them.
• Put things you use the least at the way-top, the way-bottom, and back corners. Likewise, things you use most should reside in the front-and-center spots.
• Evaluate the lighting – is it bright enough? Too bright? Change the light fixture(s) if you need to and replace light bulbs with energy-efficient versions, bright enough to allow you to read labels, but not so bright that it’s harsh or glaring.

If you spend the time on the front-end, re-thinking how you use the pantry and what additions make the most sense, you’ll wind up with a pantry that is organized, neat, and stocked with just enough – but not too much. Finally – make a vow to cleanse the pantry on a regular basis, throwing away stale, old or expired food items monthly – instead of annually.

When all’s said and done, your newly organized pantry will be a joy to use and should never require any major re-organization ever again.

I’ve worked as a professional interior designer for more than a decade now, and throughout my work, I’ve come across a multitude of misconceptions pertaining to the interior design field. Typically, these misconceptions make themselves known at a first consultation, as clients begin to see that they are getting much more than just a decorator or trend guru. However, I also face them as I work with contractors or suppliers who are surprised to see how much I know about their trades, in addition to my own.

Here are 8 of the most common misconceptions about interior designers that I find prevalent as I go about my work each day:

1. They Just Decorate Homes. Nope! That’s the job of an interior decorator. Interior decorators are for homes what style consultants are to people and their wardrobes. An interior decorator comes into a space that is already finished or built, and works to dress it up in style – using colors, fabrics and accents. Interior designers can do all that and more. An interior decorator is educated in trained in architecture, the history of design and basic construction tenets – as well as all the fundamentals of colors, patterns, lighting, lines, texture, and so on.
2. You Don’t Need One If You Have a Good Contractor. Unless your contractor is also an interior designer, this one goes out the window as well. While there are “design-build” firms that hire in-house interior designers to work with their clients before the build-out takes place, most contractors are just that – contractors. Their job is to build a home or remodel according to the plans they’re presented by the architect and interior designer. Read, Why Use an Interior Designer For a Remodel or New Home Construction, to learn more about this topic. If you rely too heavily on your contractor for design expertise, he’ll probably tell you to go hire an interior designer!
3. They’re mostly women. There was an era when interior decorators and interior designers were predominantly women. Those days are over. Today, there is an increasing number of men entering the field each year, especially now that the remodel and renovation realm is so much a part of pop culture. This gender balance will continue to even out over the next decade or two.
4. Interior Designers Are Too Expensive. There are interior designers for every budget. Sure, some interior designers only work for the high-end clients, but most strive to work within their clients’ budgets – regardless of the clients’ net worth. In cases where prospective clients don’t have enough money to pay for an interior designer’s full attention, we can always be hired to work on a consulting basis, providing suggestions, advice and input for clients along the way. And, in fact, many homeowners find that investing a chunk of money on an interior designer at the outset actually saves them money because everything is done right the first time around.
5. It’s Their Way or the Highway. Unfortunately, this can be the case for some interior designers, but not most. It’s important to meet with three to five interior designers before you hire one, so you have a chance to get to know them and can select the one with whom you feel the most comfortable being yourself, expressing your opinions and who you aren’t afraid to say, “no thank you,” to if they suggest something you don’t like. While an interior designer may help to broaden your design vision – the finished product should reflect your personal taste and lifestyle.
6. Interior Designers Live in Picture-Perfect Homes. Remember those old adages about the cobbler whose children walk around in broken-down shoes, or the contractor who lives in a home with a leaky roof? Well, sometimes when you spend all day and night doing something you love, you don’t always have time to apply that passion to your immediate life. Most interior designers have nice homes, but they look pretty darn normal if you catch them unawares.
7. If You Have a Good Eye, You Can Do It Yourself. Yes, those who are creative and artistic and who have a solid understanding of basic color and design principles may not need an interior designer to create their initial design. However, interior designers have something the average person doesn’t: connections with artists, design houses, showrooms and vendors, so they can get rock-bottom prices that independent DIYers don’t have access too.
8. Your Home Isn’t “Fancy” Enough For an Interior Designer. There is no home too modest or too small for an interior designer. In fact, the attention from an interior designer can help to take your “modest” home and transform it into a showpiece of sorts. We can make smaller rooms seem larger, we can increase light availability and we can rearrange the furniture and accents you have now to better showcase your home’s best features.

Hopefully this helped to dispel any potential myths you had about interior designers.