KIM MECKLER
Choosing products for your home can be a frightening experience for some; the fear of making a mistake can cause some people to stop looking altogether and postponing their project for years.
I have witnessed clients who phone back a year or two later and say that they are renovating, I always assume it is a new project from the one I originally consulted on and am surprised to find that often they have not started on the original mission!
I can assure you with all of my years of experience that it is rare for a person to choose interior products for their home and absolutely hate them.
Even those who claim to have no design skill whatsoever will usually be successful at choosing interior products. Some need a little more help than others with choosing but most people know what they want and once they see the product pulled together then decisions tend to be easy. I can visibly see clients start to breathe about halfway into a consult once they see that products are working beautifully together.
Many stores (including ours) have replacement warranties on products to help ease your mind as you choose your interior selections. These replacement or customer satisfaction guarantees are in place to assure you that you ARE making the right decision but they also have your back should you change your mind.
Choosing an entire houseful of carpet from one tiny swatch is not for everyone and you might find you have second thoughts once you see it wall to wall throughout your home.
Manufacturers understand that and offer these beautiful guarantees for your piece of mind.
The formula for choosing is easier than you may think yet many clients try to put the cart before the horse. Imagine you are doing a whole renovation or building a new home, where do you start? The big investments are usually the ones with the least amount of choice for colour and style. Think about it; when choosing appliances you have three main colour options, cabinets give you about eight (in the tones you like), granite you may have five choices in colour and style you prefer.
You know going in whether you want light or dark and that decision alone eliminates 50% of the choices. As you get on up to cheaper materials (eg. carpet and paint) you will see that there are literally thousands of choices!
Paint may cover the most square footage but the cost is low and the option to customize is endless. Paint is one of the few decorative products that you can make any colour or sheen level without long waits or high custom charges.
Whatever you have chosen for your home there is a paint to match and if there isn’t we can make you the perfect shade. Paint should be chosen near to last after the big ticket/small choice items have been settled.
You can take control of your interior project and turn fear into fabulous if you use these simple tips to organize your purchasing strategy. Some design elements are more flexible and give you much greater choice and those items should be chosen last to tie everything else you have chosen together.
Kim Meckler is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.