ASK THE Interior Design EXPERT
KALEN’S PLACE ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS By K alen Mehlm an O w ner of K alen’ s Place Interior Design Q . What should I look for when hiring an interior designer? A. “ I nitial C o nsu l tatio ns” w ith an inte rio r d e sig ne r o r tw o is a k e y e l e m e nt in d e te rm ining w h ic h d e sig ne r is rig h t f o r th e sc o pe , sty l e , and siz e o f y o u r project. Finding someone that quickly u nd e rstand s y o u r h o m e ’ s ae sth e tic , h o no rs th e b u d g e t y o u ’ re w o rk ing w ith in, and is c o m pe te nt in h o w to c re ate o r ad d to w h at y o u c u rre ntl y h av e is e sse ntial . T h at pe rso n sh o u l d b e intu itiv e to y o u r sty l e , ne e d s/ w ants, and d ire c tio n. A s th e c l ie nt, y o u sh o u l d f e e l c o m f o rtab l e c o m m u nic ating w h at y o u ’ re w anting to d o w ith in y o u r h o m e and have full confidence this professio nal is w il l ing and c apab l e to m o v e f o rw ard in th at d ire c tio n.
Q . H ow can I make updates to my home without doing a complete design overhaul? A. M any tim e s, pe o pl e f e e l th at in o rd e r to “ u pd ate ” th e ir h o m e , th e y ne e d to start f ro m sc ratc h . R e st assu re d … th is is no t th e c ase ! T h e re are sim pl e w ay s to inc o rpo rate f re sh , tre nd y d e sig n e l e m e nts w ith o u t spe nd ing a f o rtu ne w h il e stil l k e e ping w ith th e ae sth e tic o f th e h o m e and re u sing o r re spac ing w e l l - l o v e d pie c e s. A s an inte rio r d e sig ne r, I ’ v e w o rk e d w ith nu m e ro u s c l ie nts w anting to u pd ate are as o f th e ir h o m e s in ph ase s. T h is al l o w s u s to f o c u s o n o ne spac e in th e h o m e , c re ate a pl an/ b u d g e t, and m o v e f o rw ard w ith th at specific area. Then on to the next I h av e b e e n l u c k y e no u g h to w o rk w ith m any o f m y c l ie nts f o r y e ars, sim pl y u pd ating w h e n tim e and b u d g e t pe rm it.
Q . H ow can I get the greatest impact with my budget? A. A s an inte rio r d e sig ne r, m y g o al is to b e as re so u rc e f u l f o r m y c l ie nts as po ssib l e . F ind ing u niq u e pl ac e s to sh o p th at o f f e r q u al ity and inte re sting pie c e s f o r th o se o n a b u d g e t is o ne o f m y prio ritie s.
Q . What are simple ways to update on a budget? A. W h e n it c o m e s to sim pl e h o m e updates I often recommend finding ne w ru g s, v ario u s te x tu re d / patte rne d pil l o w s, f re sh paint c o l o rs, o r re u ph o l ste ring c h airs and / o r so f as. C re ating a g al l e ry w al l b y sim pl y printing e ith e r f av o rite f am il y ph o to s o r d o w nl o ad ing inte re sting im ag e s is al so a u niq u e and b u d g e t- f rie nd l y w ay to ad d v isu al inte re st to y o u r h o m e . C h ang e o u t y o u r l ig h ting w ith a ne w tab l e l am p o r tw o … o r e v e n a ne w , f u nk y c h and e l ie r. S to p o f f at a v intag e sto re and se e w h at th e y c u rre ntl y h av e d ispl ay e d . P l ants ( re al o r f ak e ) are o ne o f th e m o st po pu l ar d e sig n tre nd s c u rre ntl y . M o st l o c al and o nl ine sh o ps are re g u l arl y o f f e ring se aso nal o r h o l id ay d isc o u nts, f re e sh ipping , and o f f e rs f o r ad d ing y o u rse l f to an e m ail l ist. K e e p y o u r e y e s o pe n f o r th o se o ppo rtu nitie s.
T h e re are m any l o c al sh o ps su c h as H o m e G o o d s, C o st P l u s W o rl d M ark e t, T arg e t, I k e a, h o m e b o u tiq u e s and v intag e sto re s th at o f f e r an e x trao rd inary sc o pe o f tre nd y , b u d g e t- f rie nd l y , and inte re sting ite m s. Y o u c an al so find a wealth of online design sources such as Wayfair, oss ain, Amazon, Lulu Georgia and Dot Bo. C u rre ntl y “ h o m e d e sig n” is in th e m ark e t f o re f ro nt w h ic h m e ans th at th e se b u sine sse s prim ary f o c u s is o n pro v id ing th e tre nd ie st and m o st u pd ate d h o m e f ash io ns o u t th e re .
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(602) 316-8596 | kalensplace.com NORTH 32ND NEWS • November 2018 • 7
