New Year's design resolutions!

Resolutions...we all have them. Mine are aplenty, trust me! If one of your happens to be to finally get your home looking fabulous, here are some simple tips and tools that can help you reach your goal!


1. Create a Pinterest Board: Not that long ago, I would tell my clients to cut out pictures from magazines of rooms they liked or elements they wanted to incorporate into their room design. That way I could have a visual understanding of what they liked and envisioned in their home. Then, along came Pinterest! If you haven't joined Pinterest yet, I highly recommend that you do, especially if you are planning on starting a new project at home. Create a board specific to your project and pin away! You can share your board or keep it private. Either way, it's an incredible visual tool that will help you hone in on your design wants and needs. Here are a few of my favorite boards: 

http://www.pinterest.com/reneebcarman/dream-bathrooms/

http://www.pinterest.com/reneebcarman/pool-patio-design/

2. Check out Houzz: Similar to Pinterest, Houzz is a visual playground. You can spend hours perusing 100's of thousands of beautiful photos. If you are looking to redo your kitchen or bath Houzz is especially helpful. You can search by your design style and then create your own "Ideabook". Bam! Once again you have a great visual library of what you see your own project looking like!

http://www.houzz.com/projects/532090/small-spaces-big-design-under-700-sq-ft-maine-cottages

3. Get organized: Everyone knows this is the first thing you should do to start a new project, but often times it's the last! I suggest making a wish list and prioritizing your projects. List them in order of importance to you. It might not be the biggest, most expensive project that is most important to you, but you won't really know until you put it on paper, and really think about it!

4. Focus on one room at a time: We all want our whole house to look great, but that can sometimes be overwhelming to think about when you are redesigning. And aren't we all a little guilty of not finishing our projects completely?!  That was the old Renee, now I focus on one room, start to finish, before I move on to the next. Of course, I always have a plan in mind for my next room, but I love the feeling of a finished room.

5. Hire a professional: It's truly helpful to have another set of eyes look at your room and talk to you about what your needs are; does the room need to be kid friendly? do you need lots of storage? what about the furry pets in your life? An interior designer has an eye for all of these things and they have an abundance of resources at their fingertips that are not necessarily available to you. So if you want your home to be a bit more special to you, and to look just like the house next door, call in an designer! You'll be happy you did!

Hopefully these tips get you started in the right direction for the new year. If you are still struggling a bit to get on track, give me a call! Together we can resolve to create a stunning home for you and your family!

Happy New Year!
Renee