Home Decor

by Peter

It’s easy to get carried away when reading the glossy home décor magazines.

Beautifully crafted photos of the interiors of ‘A’ list celebrity homes, wonderfully flowing and prosaic articles by leading design gurus and of course the helpful wisdoms shared by the top consultants – all these things in the publications can leave us looking around our own living space and feeling very inadequate.

Getting massively motivated, we charge off downtown determined to revolutionize the décor around our home. This enthusiasm usually lasts right up until we turn over the price tag on that ‘must have’ fabric in the shop. Cue knees turning to jelly!

It doesn’t have to be like that though.

It may be that you’re sufficiently wealthy so as to be able to afford to fly in a top interior designer from Europe or the other side of the country and give him or her a blank check with the instruction “go do it”. If you are, then you have no need to read on.

If you have slightly less disposable income, it’s worth remembering at the outset that many of the home interiors magazines are very useful as idea generators.

Don’t get depressed though in terms of costs. In general they tend to concentrate on the very top designers, labels, brands and suppliers. You may be able to achieve similar effects overall at a far lower cost.

Contrary to their media image, the vast majority of professionals in this area are not living a pretentious and champagne lifestyle. You may be surprised at how affordable their advice, guidance and design services are. Some stores and outlets will even offer some services of this type free-of-charge if you’re buying through them.

It may be a wise investment. As an example, many of us know the principles of the look we’re going for but perhaps lack the exact skills necessary to achieve the perfect balance of colors and textiles etc. It could also be the case that we may not know exactly what choices are available or where the best bargains can be found in terms of sourcing what we need.

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