Saturday, November 28, 2009

Recipe for a Room ~ Step 1

After my last post, I got a e-mail that stated that the post was not a recipe at all, only the ingredients . . . they wanted the instructions, the tips, the budget ect.
Well, I am here to please, so I will attempt to do a few posts that give more info. If this becomes boring, just let me know.
Step 1 *'The feel of the space.' Whenever I have a room to decorate for myself or a client, I start by asking, "How do you want the space to feel?"
Do you see there is a big differences in how a room feels ? This room is very modern. It says , "I am cool and I don't follow the rules." I think the person that lives in this room would be fun to spend some time with . . .

I will ask a client to write 5 words that will describe the way they want the room to feel. Somehow the writing of the words makes them more important. I do this myself, as well. For my guest room (above) I wrote, white, patina, elegant-cottage , feminine and warm. Not a single piece will come into the space that doesn't somehow fall in line with those 5 words. They keep me on track.
As for the budget, I can tell by the rest of the house about how much I can spend. As for myself , I want to go as cheap as I can and still have a room I can be proud of. For this room, I set a $3000.00 budget .


I thought it might be fun to have you send me a picture of a room you want to re-do and we can all help you keep your eye on the prize. (I will pick one space only. e-mail me, with your own photo, if you want to enter the contest.)



13 comments:

  1. * Vicky, I've THOUGHT of course, very MUCH about how I want a space to LOOK...to FEEL...to "SAY". However, it's taken years (ie: old"er" age!!!) to realize how truly important it is to ALSO care about how it FUNCTIONS!!!

    What I never DID do tho, was actually, physically WRITE IT ALL DOWN~~~~ seems so simple a thing to do, but I never THOUGHT of DOING that! It would come in soooo handy when I have my "weak moments", & start to head "off course" because "something" or some "GREAT new idea" has come to my attention! (Which would NOT help the final outsome of the space I'm TRYING to improve upon!)...

    SURPRIZE!!! ~ I'm just about ready to re-do the study now~~~ and I'm GOING to literally WRITE DOWN my goals! (And have a few good questions for ya, too, dear pal!)~~~

    Thanks, Sweets!

    Love n' hugs,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE your bedroom & that table is gorgeous. This is going to be a great series. Writing a description of the way the room should feel is brilliant too. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great idea, the 5-word list. It could work for any project, couldn't it? Dying to see what you'll do with someone's room-redo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just found your blog and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this guest room. I am about to tackle a make-over of my living and dining room and I think the five word exercise is great! Thanks so much for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fabulous post! Thank you for sharing this information and your tips. It's important to have a direction when you're re-doing a room and your 5 word list is a fantastic way to keep true to your vision!

    Love your blog sweet friend, thanks for the visit and lovely comment...I adore you!

    Love and hugs,
    Karyn

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love your post. Boy do I have a room for you, but I have no budget. So maybe I won't send it. Our kitchen is taking up our all of our decor budget for the next 40 years! Great post, I can't wait to see what you do. Hugs, Cindy S.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Excellent point! That's something I need to work on. Thank you! :D

    ReplyDelete
  8. I;m in. In the morning, I'll email you a before picture and what I hope it will make me feel when redone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the fabulous tip regarding the five words! I am sure this will help with my decisions I NEED to make. Thank you SO much!
    SherylCanadianGirl

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey SherlyCanadianGirl, I remember you from rms. You loved my coffee table! Thanks for letting me know you are out there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really loved the excitement of Hong Kong, would not want to live there but.... it was a dream of mine that I made come true.
    BTW, did you like my blog?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just discovered your blog. I've been going through your archive. I'm loving it.
    Is it too late to enter your contest?

    ReplyDelete
  13. How fun is this? I'm trying this on my own project right now. Hmmm. Clean, bright, fun, retro, colorful. Those are my words. Let's see if it all comes together like it is in my head. :D
    pam

    ReplyDelete