Wow, what a time to be purchasing a new home…. EEK! If you currently fit this description, then I am sure you have dealt with many frustrations and need a good cocktail to get through the rest of this buying process. With high interest rates and astronomical housing prices it is hard to not feel discouraged when trying to move onto the next step in your life. Whether you are a first-time home buyer, have a growing family and need more space, looking to downsize or moving for employment purposes, I have FIVE suggestions to make the house buying process less stressful from a design point of view:
1. Do not feel the need to purchase everything all at once….
When buying a home, as you know, that is a very large amount of money out of your pocket to start with. Then to add on top of that, you need to furnish/decorate your whole home….. what a financial nightmare! We tend to be our own worst enemy when we tell ourselves we need to have a fully furnished and decorated house right out of the gate. I tell all my clients that are in this situation, DO NOT RUSH when furnishing/decorating your home. Take time to figure out your style and what you gravitate towards. Pinterest should become your best friend where you can compile images to narrow down what you would like your home to resemble. When you rush to decorate, you end up buying cheaply made items and/or items you don’t necessarily love but needed to fill the space. This results in having to repurchase more products and spending unnecessary money.
2. Live in the space to see what functionally works the best….
This goes hand in hand when not rushing to purchase furniture and/or décor. There may be that one room that you aren’t sure how to utilize , an oddly shaped room, a room is on the smaller size, etc. Once living in the space, you can determine what that room/space can be used for, to make your life more organized, functional and/or relaxing. For example, if you have a smaller room that you are unsure how to utilize but after living in the home you realize you would love to have a space you can crawl away to for some alone time. Maybe you make it into a reading nook or small yoga mediation room?
3. Hire an interior designer to avoid costly mistakes….
When hiring a designer, there are numerous benefits for homeowners. One being the assistance with setting up a realistic budget and gaining the correct information when making your house a home. For example, you may install brand new wood flooring that needs a stain to be decided upon. You ultimately end up going with a dark espresso brown stain butttttt due to the natural light in your home you can see EVERY speck of dirt and dust on the floor. Now, you have unnecessarily spent money to finish a floor that you are not happy with and you may decide to refinish. Bringing in professionals will help take the guesswork out of your selections.
4. Get samples....
Many companies today offer fabric swatches, rug samples, wood finish chips, metal finish chips, etc. By contacting stores directly, they may be able to send you these samples to coordinate your home accordingly. I can't recommend this enough because a lot of items arrive looking very different than what was shown on the website, resulting in having to send items back and possibly paying restocking fees
5. Paint Consultations ...
The first step into making your house a home is giving the walls a fresh coat of paint! I encounter a lot of clients that find this part particularly difficult, especially if they don't know what aesthetic they want their home to have. By hiring a paint consultant this will help narrow down the WIDE range of paint options that are available. We all know that process can take weeks and weeks to weed out certain colors. A paint consultant has a strong understanding of color theory, a keen eye for details and the ability to assess how different colors will affect a space.
All these steps should be mindfully considered when transitioning into your new home! If you need help in any of these steps, please contact my email below and I would be happy to assist in making your home exactly what you hoped for!
Stephanie Narewski
Interior Designer
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