Did you have your house decorated by a professional interior designer?

Have I? No.

Would I? Absolutely, if I could afford it.

I never know what goes with what, what 'shouldn't be done,' etc. Then again, my motto has always been, I'm not vying for the cover of House Beautiful Magazine. I want my house 'designed' the way I want it.

I wouldn't want to live surrounded by another person's taste. I have strong tastes of my own. Also my decor is very personal.

Yes - if you count Rooms to Go.

If I Were A Rich Man, I still wouldn’t hire a decorator becuz I don’t need no stylist to tell me how to decorate. I know what I like. Now, if I Were A Rich Man, I’d send the kid over to buy the curtains and the couches and paint. The cleaning, the taping, the painting, floor refinishing….I’d hire it out. Throw in a gardener too, just for maintenance and slug control… How about a pool boy to skim that scum….sounds good to me!

I’d have a much better carpet than I do now! But that wouldn’t require a decorator. Just money.

No, but people ask me that when they see my home. I've had people ask me for the name of my designer. Sorry it's just me!

😂 😂 😂 ....... Seriously, you want me to answer that question ?

I never have, but I would hire someone to help me if I had the money. I have pretty strong ideas of what I like and what I don't like. So, I think it would still end up looking like me, except a "rich me."

🤗 Yes, R6, that also frequently happens to me. I just tell them I'm pretty tight with The Scott Bros.

I would, just to have access to very high quality fabrics, furniture, and finishes.

It’s easier than ever to decorate your own home nowadays, thanks to sites like Pinterest, YouTube, AD, etc. You can basically collect inspiration until you are able to narrow down what style it is you love, and then replicate that. There are tons of “get the look for less” type interior blogs, if budget is a concern. If you’re *really* struggling, there’s several online services that are fairly inexpensive and will use digital renderings and photos to help you decorate, totally remotely.

Unless you’re obscenely wealthy and/or lazy, there’s no need to hire an old fashioned designer these days.

I'm not going to find my Belgian linen at Calico Corners, so yes I'd hire a professional.

Yes. It was worth it. I renovated extensively and she gave me an open plan concept that I love, especially the kitchen. When it came to my wall colours, she looked through my wardrobe and identified my "happy colour", used that as an accent wall inspiration and chose wisely for the primary living space colour and periferal rooms. She was in tune with me and listened. Best money I ever spent.

[quote]I'm not going to find my Belgian linen at Calico Corners, so yes I'd hire a professional.

You might, since you seem to have appeared before us from Datalounge 2007.

Fifteen years is long enough to trickle down from Axel Vervoordt's Antwerp castle to the bottom of the market.

I consulted one for wall paint colors.

Sections. My bathroom, for one, and it's a winner.

I was never able to decorate by web - textures didn’t fit well together, weights were all over the place. I gave most of the furniture to brothers with tiny, messy children.

I would hire a designer - they handle “that wall”, custom lighting, extra power outlets, and a host of other complex tasks that require many different skills.

Interior design died with Sister Parish.

I’m available, my talent for design and pattern is unparalleled and vertigo inducing!

Gay men can decorate their own homes. They don’t need help with that.

Just like lesbians can fix their own cars.

No, and the ones I would want to use if I had the money and a blank slate new house are all long dead, so I'll have to do it myself.

[quote]and periferal rooms.

What kind of rooms?!

Syrie Maugham did my garçonnière in the French Concession. Les Happy Few de Shanghai l'ont trouvé très chic. I found it too poofy and wished I'd hired Josef Hoffmann.

I think your keyboard done busted. All that there gobbledygook.

No, and never would. I have a wealthy older lady friend who hired one and while her house is pleasant enough it looks too much like an air bnb. Minimalist, impersonal and oddly sterile with no personal photos or books. Nothing to indicate someone actually lives there full time. Not sure if the designer intended it that way or my friend never got around to adding those touches but it's oddly impersonal. A home should tell a story.

I work in the industry and people act like all interior designers do is pick out pillows for you. But just like the knob at R25 is attempting to say it's a relationship. But more than anything it should reflect your personal style and you have to tell them what you want as opposed to being led around by the nose and if so that's on you.

The other thing that people don't realize is cheap trendy shit is just that. It doesn't last and designers can work with you and educate you on pieces that will last for many years. Furniture should be an investment. You should want things around you that will last a life time.

Designers work on referral and talk to your friends about the good ones or go on Houzz. There are shitty ones or ones full of ego believe me but some great ones as well.

R26, just out of curiosity, what did I say that was offensive to you?

R21 / v8fairy, can you post a photo of an ideal living room (library / sitting room), for your tastes?

R28 there you go

Thanks!

Good grief r29. No wonder we're called queens!

As a non creative nerd this is something that I need. Especially after I saw that a notable scholar in several interviews had a house with no furniture or decor. Just bookcases and a bed with no dining room table. I was slightly happy to see that normalized. For some a house is a place to keep one’s property out of the elements.

R31, yeah that one is a little but sparse isnt it, could do with more colour and pattern

This one is pretty fucking cool too

R33 / v8fairy, I know you love the Victorian style and I love that rug at R29, but I hate those Victorian sofas. No offense intended.

What do you think of the Downton Abbey library room?

R34 that is fantastic, in fact all the first 9 at that link are, as well as 12 and 13, just 10 and 11 look a bit institutional although the one at 10 certainly isnt bad, just not as nice as the others

I would hire one if I had the money, but it would mean a lot if money. There are some designers who do fantastic work either in my taste or something compatible.

While I can do very well on my own, it's always a matter of time and budget to find all the right things to furnish a room. It's a few years to find the art and furniture you want for a space, particularly if don't want a house filled with everything fresh from the Design Center.

For me it's important that a reflect reflect my tastes which are both specific and eccentric. It's not something I would trust easily to someone else, and definitely not to a color consultant, a fabric picker, or some amateur who wants to breeze in with some insipid theme and take charge; they would have to be someone who appreciates my taste and could do more with it from their knowledge and sources and own taste.

Short of a huge windfall, this will never happen.

[quote]not to a color consultant, a fabric picker,

I've got my eye on you, Bub.

I live at Motel 6, the decor is already perfect