INTERIOR DESIGNER FOR A DAY & OTHER REASONS WHY MY CLIENTS HIRE ME
Do you know how to choose the right paint color and materials for your room? This is the number one question I am asked all the time and for good reason. Color can set the tone for a room before you've even added the furnishings or decor—and when you get it wrong, you know it every time you walk into the room. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about how easy it is to select the right color, therefore a mindful approach is vital to producing successful work that builds personal connections and allows us to be our best selves. Curating cohesivity isn't intuitive and DIY design mistakes & traditional luxury interior design are expensive. But...I'm on a mission to change that by working one on one with other design enthusiasts to elevate them to the status of interior design hero by offering short term, flexible, affordable interior design service options by the day.
Maybe that's why I'm called a pirate ship among the yachts.
The Benefits of my Designer for A Day Services:
You'll get your color right the first time - it's not glamorous - but I know color, see color and have mixed enough hues to help you figure it out as well. With almost 20 years of trial and error interior design experience - I've made all the mistakes (even with an interior design degree) so that you won't have to. During your onboarding process, I'll share industry secrets, get your organized and focused, and teach you my award winning interior design framework to get you out of the weeds and prepared to succeed as my gift to elevate your project and the industry. This information may be all you need to reduce your risks & improve your results.
I can translate your pinterest board or physical vibe tray into your own unique, eclectic aesthetic and brand. Not everyone fits into a common, broad category, wants their home to look predictable or feel uninspiring.
I don't tell you what to do - I show you! Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and because "you will know it when you see it", my approach to discovering your key design elements and setting your design foundation is unique and visual. Narrowing down the options & establishing your design foundation in a way that makes sense to your project - before you start designing is the only way to control your project and if you don't control your project, it will control you.
My goal is to help you succeed as quickly as possible. I do this by using process & systems that lead to predictable proven solutions. Which means, working with me removes the stressing & guessing of making cohesive design decisions.
Working on smaller projects that are done in a day keeps luxury interior design services affordable, transparent, predictable and accessible to everyone. These interior design services can take place in-person, in my design studio (a former chicken coop in the orchard) or at the client's project site, or virtually and I provide resources, vendor recommendations and ideas while answering questions and doing design work you don't have time to do or feel confident doing yourself.
My services add value to your home whether you are selling or dwelling.
Helps you avoid typical, expensive interior design mistakes so that you love the outcome and understand why some choices are better than others.
Keeps you within your budget and gives you a proven framework so you can sleep at night.
Helps you steward your time, home and resources well. Do it right and within your budget the first time without stressing & guessing - instead enjoy your weekends with family not sitting in a showroom for hours trying to pick the perfect (fill in the blank) in a vacuum or with someone without interior design credentials.
Reduces miscommunications when working with others in the trade. Interior design is a visual language that can't be interpreted accurately using vague words. In fact, if you aren't specific, you'll get negotiated out of what you want.
1 on 1 collaboration with me sets you up as the interior design authority behind your project - you'll have design answers to questions before you are asked.
My visual concept designs and 3D Renders (personalized from scratch or from templates) help you breath life into your best idea & allows you to see your ideas in action so that you can negotiate apple to apple bids from anyone in town.
Allows you to pick and choose the design tasks you want to do to keep design fees down.
Peace of Mind - Because of technology I can transform your space virtually no matter where you live.
Learn a Spirit-led framework for unlocking the perfect vision for your home design using my beautiful digital Interior Design Devotional Journal & Planning Guide (please ask for your complimentary copy before it's published).
Home is important and every single person on this planet desires a beautiful home that supports their needs for comfort, for security, for tranquility, and for beauty. A home is where we live and love and it is our ultimate destination (John 14:3). It's where we gain our sense of peace, calm and balance that our inner souls, our lives, and our children's lives, need and depend on not only to function but to shape us.
That's why my work is important and communication is key because getting from point A to point B can be frustrating and difficult, especially in an age of information overload. Often it is hard to find the right words to accurately describe our wants and needs or tell our story for something as deeply personal as home. Style theme assumptions and builder basic packages are predictable but will not help you articulate the specifics of your unique authenticity, personal values. And inspiration photos are not detailed enough to help you specify the details and pull it together cohesively. That's why selecting the best interior designer is important to your project's success. Not all interior designer's are created equal and understanding the importance of asking the right questions, listening to learn and empowering client participation produces the best results.
Here are 9 other reasons why my client’s hire me:
1. I Save My Clients Money
I recently walked into Pier 1 (before they went out of business where I live) and greeted the store manager. I asked him how things were going and he frowned. He told me the current client buying cycle of shop and return was hurting his store. In the interior design world, we call this frankensteining it or piece mealing things as we go. It is not design strategy and shopping like this is expensive for both the client and the store. Maybe that's why they went out of business. I know this may seem counter-intuitive but we live in an upside down kind of world and we believe shopping for beautiful items that inspire us is all it takes to create a home that will support us. How is that working for you? Let's see a show of hands for those who have impulsively bought paint samples or perhaps a rug only to find out it didn't look good in the room. The paint color looked great in the store but sucked the life out of your living room. Or the "blue" in the rug doesn’t coordinate with the blue in your sofa or accessories so instead of a pulled together room, it looks more like Frankenstein’s bride (hope I made you laugh). Don’t feel bad – we've all been there and mistakes happen but they can also be costly – and I readily advise and help you make choices that are right for your project aims and authenticity. Just think about it …any project you’re considering around the home or business requires hundreds of design decisions to be made – Decisions that take expertise and knowledge - decisions that affect each decision going forward. I take the time to listen and discuss your ideas, lifestyle and budget in order to help you set boundaries and make well thought out decisions. This research, consideration & thinking phase of design, or 'Design Exploration" is one of my specialties and will save you money on the back-end. If you don't have the time, energy or money to invest in searching for inspirational photos online, in magazines or at the library, you can flip through my digital look books of beautiful designs I've collected over the years to help inspire your project.
2. I save my Client’s heartache
I have the ability to visualize and conceptualize how a space will look with selected finishes, materials, textures, patterns, shapes and colors. That takes focus, work and expertise. In addition I solve spatial issues relating to lifestyle and architectural harmony by reviewing and visualizing existing space or from reviewing plan drawings. This is hard to explain and imagine but it’s a craft (or maybe a gift) that I have honed, trained and disciplined and I love to use it to help others problem solve spatial or interior design issues.
I also discover what’s really important to you and then establish design & beauty boundaries so you won’t fall in love with things that won’t visually work within your space, won’t be functional or won’t comply with your project aims. Just stop and consider that for a moment. Would that be valuable to you? Combining form with function is a top priority for me to ensure you receive the best outcome. In addition, I can assist you in finding a team of reliable and excellent architects, project managers, general contractors, builders and suppliers at your disposal, to save you the headaches & war stories associated with choosing the wrong trades and suppliers.
3. I save my Client’s Time
You've heard the saying "time is money". I save my clients the frustrating & time consuming task of sourcing products and furnishings and creating a scheme or design map to pull a space together. I can also measure your space, create a personalized color scheme, research the perfect fabric, furnishings and accessories and coordinate the delivery and installation. Unless you have the passion & time for this work, you might not enjoy it. There are a lot of moving parts that could stall out the process if you don’t have the patience or the desire to plan out your project accordingly.
4. I create more than just the WOW Factor
Not everyone wants their home to be featured on HGTV or in Architectural Digest. In fact, most of my clients prefer confidentiality from social pressure and opinions and prefer to design their environments based on what I call a ‘sent mindset’ or with the big picture perspective of comfort, simplicity and grace instead. This means they are more interested in creating environments where everyone feels cared for, comfortable, cocooned and connected and is what differentiates me from other interior designers. My whole design ethos is based on creating a home as the ultimate creative expression of grace and hospitality and is based on both Biblical & Beauty principles. There is no crime against this type of design.
5. I provide short term, low commitment consultations
I prefer to 'stay in my lane' and I DO NOT need to control you, your project or your contractor. After caring for my mother who fought hard against Alzheimer's disease, I have learned a different perspective on well - everything. I prefer doing what I'm good at - providing collaborative, short term "Designer for a Day" Services with specific deliverables as part of your design team so that everyone can enjoy & participate in the creative process behind their own project. Why? Because it's transformative!
I believe that a rising tide raises all ships. And by offering my trained eye and years of trial and error design experience to notice things others miss, is another way I differentiate myself, share my gifts and change the world.
6. I increase the value of your home
Whether you are planning on dwelling or selling, I help my clients increase the value of their home by helping you create a space that will appeal to more buyers and put your home ahead of the competition or by redesigning your space using mostly what you already own to support you and your family in such a time as this.
I can do this with a virtual walk and talk of your space. After I get my eyes on your space and ask you the right questions, I'm able to create a plan to help you bring better balance and flow in your space using mostly what you already own.
7. I create the Perfect Mix & Blend of Form & Function, Old & New, His & Hers
Pulling together both form and function doesn’t happen by accident or by using, “we’ll figure it out as we go”. Yes, I have a natural gift for design and I bet you do too but do you really want to see your sofa or pillows in your neighbor's house? Pulling together a space takes more than natural gifting and it doesn't happen by accident. You need to have a firm foundation in place before you can accurately communicate your vision and create a sense of fluidity and harmony within a space that matches your unique authenticity.
Design is a constant balancing act between what looks great, how much does it cost and the intended purpose of the space. This means compromises will be made and is why it is best to plan before you plunge if you want to steward your time and resources well.
8. I have unlimited Resources for Unique items you won't see anywhere else!
I travel every year to both kitchen and bath as well as furnishings and accessory shows to acquire new knowledge, inspiration and resources! Having access to hundreds of unique vendors that span a wide range of price points gives me the ability of creating a more custom look. Simply put, this huge selection of products you won’t see anywhere else gives my clients the greatest freedom and resources to tell their own unique stories . . . and it's our stories that change the world!
9. I’ll help you no matter where you live!
As you can see, there are many benefits to working with me. I am a visual communicator & planner, spatial problem solver, concept artist and curator of space. I help my clients create the space of their dreams as a backdrop to live their best life and thrive at home -- which is a unique perspective on designing home and means I’ll make recommendations based on your vision, guard you against one-off trends, explain the why behind decisions and help you focus on your own timeless style that embodies your unique authenticity, character, and personal brand of beauty no matter where you live and no matter what your budget or size of project.
And because I believe that home and beauty is God's gift to all of us to unite, inspire and heal, I’m on a mission to make the world more beautiful by helping other mission-minded people everywhere - not just the elite - design a home where everyone feels comfortable, cared for and connected. And I do this by working safely with others no matter where they live virtually via zoom and email or in person (following Covid guidelines) from the comfort & convenience of your own home to elevate you to the status of 'design hero' behind your project. I guess that's why they call me a 'pirate ship among the yachts." So, if you are computer savvy or are willing to learn, you can jump on a call with me and take me through your space. Then I can do the heavy lifting for you by listening, organizing, interpreting, creating that thread of continuity, honing & developing your best design idea - the one that beautifully reflects you and your best life lived to ensure you achieve it.
All you need to do is sit back, be safe and enjoy the process by logging into our private design portal to see where we’re at and ask me questions. Whether you’re redesigning your whole home or needing a bedroom facelift, I have you covered.
How do you feel about designing your home? Do you prefer to spend your weekends enjoying your friends, family & hobbies instead of doing trial and error design work? Do you know who's design advice you can trust? Do you know how to see color and undertones and select the correct foundational neutral color for your space? Do you know what your perfect style mix is and what it looks like? Do you know how to pull it all together cohesively? Can you narrow down all the options in a way that makes sense to your project? Do you have time to sit for hours in showrooms trying to imagine all those details applied to all those surfaces within the context of your space? Can you accurately and quickly hone your unique style or will you be happy with being led by trade professionals using trendy choices that you might get sick of in a few years? Are you certain that sectional will look as fabulous in your family room as it does on the showroom floor?
If you're Looking for help getting started on your refresh, renovation or furnishings project without unwanted surprises so you can steward your resources well (aka: save time, save money on mistakes and empower you to make wise design decisions), contact me today.
Can't wait to hear from you!
Until then,
Hugs and blessings (Numbers 6: 24-26),
Karen
p.s.. I work one on one with my clients in Elkhart, Goshen and Middlebury Indiana as well as customized virtual design services for clients across the country, to elevate them to the status of interior design hero by offering flexible, affordable service options by the day, hour or room.
Maybe that's why I'm called a pirate ship among the yachts.
