Furniture: Price vs Quality and Using an Interior Designer

[Midpack]

How did you find the interior designer who was willing to shop like that? It seems like many in our area are all about the very high end stuff.

DW found her looking online starting with https://www.houzz.com/professionals...rators&location=Denver,+CO&distance=50&sort=4. And then many had websites to look further. What we noted:

• Every designer we talked to immediately asked how many rooms and what budget, so be prepared. We did 4-5 rooms and gave a broad budget range.
• All the designers we looked at published something that represented their normal budget ranges. We didn’t call the ones that listed $100K as typical (there are some in our market). And there were some who were too low budget for us. We chose someone mid range.
• They all provided example pictures of homes they had done, and it’s pretty clear which ones are exclusively high end. It’s important to ask what their signature styles are. Of course they’ll say they can do any style, and there’s some truth to that, but if you look at their portfolio you can tell what styles they gravitate to.
• Their hourly rates provide an indication too - if the designer is getting $250/hr, it’s probably mostly high end MTO.
• And the high end ones do much more advertising, so you have to look beyond splashy ads.

Our designer was 30-ish, and I suspect she’s proving herself, one day we probably won’t be able to afford her anymore. For every piece she gave us a broad range of prices that would work, it was up to us to choose high end, mid range or low for each piece - with her advice. We could have furnished our 4-5 rooms for less than half what we spent had we always chosen the lowest priced pieces she showed us, we chose what we ended up spending.

 

[Winemaker]

DW and I have only bought Ethan Allen from back in the 1980's, and recently a couch from them. We have also bought some Amish quartersawn oak shelves and curio cabinets. Other than replacing a mattress here and there, all are still in magnificent shape and beautiful. We loved the Manor Oak and Georgian designs back then and still do, but they are no longer in production, as Ethan Allen "modernized" their lines.

 

[Rianne]

Great post! My DSI is a real estate agent in our area. She's very successful and one of the things she does is stage every seller's home, empty or not. What she does is quite amazing and does this at no cost to the seller. Her idea is the house will sell for more after staging. She has a warehouse of furniture, high end, shabby chic from antique type stores, pictures, couches, end tables, rugs. She reminds me of Joanna Gaines on HGTV. Always on the hunt for ideas.
I like her eye for detail.

Personally, I'm a shabby chic gal. We had two large tables made by a craftsman from old barn wood and rail ties. They have the country house look, comfortable and worn, cost over $1000.

 

[Chuckanut]

We could have furnished our 4-5 rooms for less than half what we spent had we always chosen the lowest priced pieces she showed us, we chose what we ended up spending.

You appear to have followed the advice of the famous designer, William Morris. Very good!

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.