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Live at the Show!

September 24th, 2009 by pamela

We’re so excited to present our beautiful booth at the home improvement show.  Your IDS committee has worked SO hard to create a booth that represents us beautifully.  I would encourage all members to go support your colleagues and check out their booth.  The booth features before and after concept rooms and a working design center where our IDS designers will be putting together designs on the spot for the general public.

Drew Carney from KGW was at the show this morning and featured the IDS booth on the morning news.  If you didn’t catch, here’s the video for you to view.  Thanks Karen for a job well done!

Click here to view the video!  Out & About at the Home Improvement Show

The video is divided into 4 parts.

  • Segment #1 is the introduction of the show.
  • Segment #2 features our own Brian Kemnitz from Pearl Painters who has a booth promoting his artistic finish school
  • Segment #3 features the IDS booth and our own Karen Linder
  • Segment #4 talks about the primary feature of the show – the Make – a- Wish Foundation and the treehouse brought in for the show.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 10:55 am and is filed under Before & After, Inspiration & Motivation, Interior Design Society News, Next IDS Meeting, Tips & Trends, Your Designer & You. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Making your Business Card Work

April 9th, 2009 by angela

You have no doubt heard the popular saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

As interior designers our job is to apply style and grace to interior spaces.  When you meet someone for the first time and give them your business card what does it say about you?  Does it say you are forward thinking, stylish, edgy, sophisticated, traditional, trendy, and/or that you run a successful business?  On the other hand, does it leave an impression you don’t want with potential clients or vendors?

I recently read a great blog post by Andrew Moross, CEO of Moo.com, through LinkedIn.com.  Your business cards make a loud and clear statement about your business.   Andrew outlined some great points to ponder. His full post is listed here.

Below are 10 of Andrew’s tips for “creating remarkable and memorable business cards”:

  1. Thought: Whether you are having your cards designed by a graphic designer, or creating the look yourself, take some time to plan.  Look at the cards you’ve collected over the years to see what elements you like, and incorporate them into your design. Your business card may be the first and last thing a contact remembers you by, so make sure you are really happy with them. (Browse our ideas pages and flickr pool for some great ideas and design tips)
  2. Individuality: Your card should say something about who you are/what you do. It should be personal and show off the scope of what you do, and be easily recognizable as YOUR card. When the recipient is flicking through their Rolodex, your card should jump out and remind them of you.
  3. Impact: Your cards should be remarkable. They should spark interest and should prompt further questions about your cards, your business, yourself. Use a bold image, statement or novel shape to grab attention – don’t be shy; this is all about attention. Don’t let the exchange of your business card be the end of a conversation, but rather the beginning of one. It should stand out from the crowd and make an impact.
  4. Relevance to recipient: Are you handing your card to an existing client, a headhunter, or a stranger? Tailor your card to the recipients to maximize the effect. Hand over a card that demonstrates your awareness of who THEY are, and what they might find interesting about you and your business. Take an interest in who they are and they’ll take more notice of who you are.
  5. Context: Are these cards for you to take to meetings, leave on tables or pass out at events or trade shows? The different environments that you might want to use business cards should affect the look and purpose. If you are handing them over, you can use your charm (!) to complete the story that your cards start to tell. If you are leaving them to be found, you’ll need to tell the whole story in the card. If you are at a trade event, use them as promotional tools to give discounts, send people to your website, and grab attention.
  6. Quality: Your card should make an impression both to the eye and in the hand. Impress your contacts by handing over a card that feels great as well as looks great. A thick, smooth stock or using a recycled, pure stock, with highest quality printing can make a long-lasting impression.
  7. Get the details right: Your card should make it easy for someone to follow up and contact you. Provide correct contact details in a clear, legible way. Don’t over-clutter with unnecessary information (e.g every social network you have ever joined), but make sure that a potential client knows how to find you.
  8. Up to date: There’s no point in handing out cards with old information, images or product news. Use your cards as an indication of what you are up to at the moment. If you have a new product or service, showcase it on your cards. If you use them as sales tools, but no longer stock the product or offer the service, make new cards. Order your cards in short, inexpensive runs to make sure you don’t lose money by having piles of out of date cards. Don’t forget to recycle the old ones though!
  9. Presenting the card: The Japanese have an established, formal etiquette for handing over cards in order to set the right tone. You don’t need to go that far, but do think about how YOU come across when handing out your card. Make sure you look presentable and smile and make eye contact. Though it sounds silly, it can make a big difference to being remembered. Also think about how you take out your card. Rather than dragging them out of a suit pocket or the bottom of your bag, why not carry a smart card holder to keep your cards neat and clean?  Make a good impression when handing them over.
  10. Use them!: There’s no point in making the most beautiful cards to then keep them in a desk drawer – get them out there. Keep a stock of cards in your briefcase or bag at all times. When you go to a meeting or event, hand the cards out to anyone and everyone. You never know who will be the person to follow up, so give yourself the best chance possible.

Take an honest look at your business card.  Does it tell of your interior design talent, innovation and focus?  If not, take some time to revisit one of the most significant yet overlooked tools of the trade.

This guest post was written by Angela Todd Designs

Source:  Moo.com

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 at 6:41 pm and is filed under Interior Design Society News, Your Designer & You. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Make Your Lists and Make Them Complete

April 6th, 2009 by pamela

Excerpted and edited from the the April 5th Oregonian, Home & Garden.

MAKE YOUR LISTS AND MAKE THEM COMPLETE

diane-plesset-bathroom

Designer Diane Plesset, author of “The Survival Guide: Home Remodeling,” advises the same initial approach.

“First and foremost,” she says, “is to think about the budget and range of investment that you want to establish, and be ready and willing to test the reality of it.”

Plesset, of D.P. Design + Associates, says many first-timers don’t have a clue about what renovations will cost, and the only way to begin is to make a list of everything you want.

And she means everything.

Instead of saying, “We want to remodel the living room,” Plesset says to frame it this way: “We want the remodeled living room to include …”

Tangible items can get realistic price tags, which start to establish your budget.

Also, Plesset suggests having some visuals to supplement your lists. And be specific with what it was in the photo that appealed to you.

Having photos can also guard against launching a remodel that might be too grand for the value of your home.

“It’s human nature to want the beautiful picture we see,” Plesset says. “But the neighborhood may not support that.”

A designer, Plesset says, will then be able to see what you want, but pull it to within your budget and the house’s value, which is a huge deal.

Additional comments from Diane:

“Not everyone is a “list person,” but making lists helps to clarify many things, especially if we take the time to prioritize the items. If the room being remodeled is used by the entire family, i.e., the living room, family room, or kitchen, everyone in the family should make a separate list, then allow time to discuss the lists openly before talking with a designer, so any issues can be resolved. All of us have had to be a family or marriage counselor as well as interior designer, because there were unresolved issues.

Another suggestion I make is for the homeowners (or the designer) to keep an accurate spreadsheet for all products and labor. Following my advice when we built our home, we stayed within 1% of the established budget for all products we purchased, and within 3% for all labor.”

dp-at-work-greyscale-cropped

Diane Plesset, CMKBD, CID #5818, NCIDQ, C.A.P.S.
D.P. Design + Associates
503-632-8801
diane@dp-design.com
Look at my award-winning book:
“THE Survival Guide: Home Remodeling”

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 6th, 2009 at 10:35 am and is filed under Inspiration & Motivation, Redecorating & Redesign, Tips & Trends, Your Designer & You. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

911 Color Consultations

April 2nd, 2009 by angela

I have had the same housekeeper for 4 years now.  Her name is Patty.  She is a retired nurse and cleans houses to supplement her income.  Patty is like a gift from God every two weeks when she comes to my house.  There is nothing better than coming home every other Tuesday to clean hardwood floors, an immaculate kitchen, and a fresh scent throughout my home.  She is worth her weight in gold.  She allows me something I can’t buy.  She gives me precious time in a home that rejuvenates and relaxes me.  (I can’t be the only woman that can’t relax until my house is in order.)

Patty bought a new condo last month.  She received the key to her new place at closing on Wednesday.  I received a frantic message about paint colors on Thursday.  She wanted to paint over the weekend and was having trouble making a selection.  Patty had a 911 color consultation need.  Of course I could help.  I squeezed in a time to meet with her between appointments that very day. I almost giggled when I entered her new condo.  Freshly installed carpet was littered with at least a hundred paint swatches in the family room.  I toured her condo and saw just as many in the kitchen, the bathroom and the two bedrooms.   Patty began by showing me swatches, talking to their merits and moving to the next swatch.  She was confused and wanted me to make sense of her chaos.

I was happy to help.  We discussed her furniture, her artwork, what features she wanted to downplay in the room, and the ones she wanted to highlight.  Next we discussed how she wanted to feel in the room.  This narrowed down our focus, and we selected family room colors she loved in a just a few minutes.  Then we moved to the kitchen, the master bedroom and bath, and the second bedroom.  We were done in about an hour. I was reminded how relatively simple it is for an interior designer to help a client select interior finishes. Color confidence and accuracy is not just a matter of good taste.  Patty has a great sense of color and style.  Selecting great paint colors is really about experience.  A designer knows by looking at a tiny swatch how it will react in your room due to experience.  We see the subtle, and not so subtle values in colors.

color-fileHere are 10 great reasons to hire an interior designer in Portland, Oregon the next time you are ready to make paint selections:

  1. A designer can bring several lines of paint to your home so you can see the whole spectrum in your space.  There is no need for you to drive around town grabbing hundreds of 3×3 swatches of colors at the kiosks.  I brought three full paint lines to Patty’s home:  Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore and Miller Paint.  I also had large color swatches on hand to help her understand the affect scale would have once the wall color was applied.
  2. Tints, tones and shades are pleasing in decor, but colors that don’t have the same value will not be pleasing next to one another.  This mean things like baseboards, flooring and ceiling colors should be considered when choosing a paint color.   There are other things to consider. Do you know them?
  3. Colors relate to one another and will change based on the colors in your room.  They will also feel different based solely on what is around them.   Patty has a old stone fireplace with umber tones she wanted to downplay in the family room.  What would be the colors to avoid to downplay the rich, dark color in this fireplace?  What colors would neutralize the fireplace color?  What colors would bring out the fireplace?
  4. Even neutrals have a warm and cool undertone.  Patty’s carpet was a lovely speckled neutral.  She didn’t notice it was a cool neutral until I showed her how to pick out that attribute.  This instantly ruled out many colors that weren’t a good match to the carpet color.
  5. A designer understands lighting and how it effects color.  Patty realized the importance of lighting when she brought her family room color selection into the back bedroom.  She didn’t like it suddenly.  In disbelief, she went back into the family room to make sure she still liked the color.  She was dumbfounded when she realized she still loved the color in that room.  Sunlight, changes in flooring, ceiling colors, and different types of lighting can change a color dramatically – even from room to room.
  6. Designers understand scale and how it relates to color.  A vivid yellow can be outstanding in an accent color on a vase, but make you irritated on the walls in a room.  Patty wanted a happy yellow for her second bedroom.  She planned to sew in the room, but also accommodate overnight guests from time to time.  The yellow colors Patty was drawn to were too vivid for the wall color in this room.  Her guests would have never gotten to sleep!  We picked a more neutralized yellow instead.  By the way, yellows are probably one of the most difficult colors to master without experience.
  7. Colors have long lasting appeal when they are complex in nature.  Complex colors have movement and will change throughout the day.  Can you pick out a complex color?
  8. Greens, blues and purples that are too true can be too elementary and immature.   A designer can show you how adding shades of color to these colors can make them more pleasing and long lasting.  We selected a wonderful green for Patty’s bedroom with this trick.
  9. Have you ever had to paint a room over because the color you selected wasn’t what you intended?  A designer will give you piece of mind that you will love the color.
  10. A pleasing home palette works best when each color relates.  If you have done a good job, you should be able place all of your wall colors side by side and find the palette pleasing, never jarring.  Do they get along?  When we completed Patty’s consultation we sat back and admired the cohesive palette.  It reflected Patty’s personality and taste and it was uniquely hers.  That is what it is all about.

A color consultation with an interior designer is a great investment of time and money.  You might be surprised how easy, liberating and relatively inexpensive the whole process will be.

This guest blog was written by Angela Todd of Angela Todd Designs, www.nwinteriordesigner.com

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 10:52 pm and is filed under Tips & Trends, Your Designer & You. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Interior Design Before and After Gallery

March 30th, 2009 by angela

I admit it.  I love to reveal rooms to clients that leave them speechless, well their eyes with tears, and stir their senses with excitement.  It is the biggest joy of designing interiors.

What if you could feel this way about a room in your home in less than one day?  Allow me to introduce you to a new concept, a one day room transformation.

In February, I had the opportunity to transform a great room for Dylan and Tiffany who are the proud parents of three two year old triplets.  We needed a space for the girls to be toddlers, while still allowing Dylan and Tiffany a space that was worthy of entertaining.  The day Tiffany and I met, she said something to me I will never forget, “I am hiring you because I don’t want to spend my free time shopping store after store, and re-arranging furnishings in my new home when I should be spending this time with my girls.”

A one day room transformation, or redesign, utilizes your existing furniture and accessories.  In only a few short hours, my team and I transform your home for a fraction of the cost of redecorating.  The end result is a personalized, artfully decorated space that is functional and highlights your style. Since I don’t want to ruin the element of surprise, I tell clients very little about my plans for the final room.  The pre-appointment starts in the room to be redesigned and includes a walk through the home.  This not only gives me an idea of a client’s style, but I mentally shop each room for pieces that may work well in the redesigned room.

Dylan and Tiffany’s finished room features four distinct areas: a dining and craft area for the triplets, two club chairs that give a cozy space by fire, and a place to watch TV and curl up on the sofa. We added some family elements including hanging Dylan’s guitar for easy access when he feels inspired to serenade his girls, placing the couple’s first anniversary wine bottle on the mantle, using wicker chairs from relatives, and utilizing an antique family trunk for storage.

We organized the triplet’s play area, so the girls are ready for coloring, story time, puzzle solving and goofing around. Last, another opportunity for the 24 month old triplets to drink tea and play house by the garden windows. My favorite was unwrapping and setting up a tea party for the girls – a gift their grandma recently purchased for them.  The set was placed on a table Tiffany used as a little girl.  We found the table in an upstairs playroom.  To complete the look, we added a few new pieces to the space including three lamps, a throw, two area rugs and 6 custom made pillows.  We also added woven woods to the windows that brought both texture and color to the windows.

The client gave a glowing recommendation after the project was completed. “We recently moved and with two year old triplets, we  had a new house without a single room that was truly put together. Angela has given our family a room that incorporates all of our needs which is comfortable and we are proud to show off…a place for my husband to kick back and watch TV, a space for the girls to play and neatly house their toys, and a room for us to entertain in. She is a delight to work with, has fantastic ideas, and I look forward to working with her again!”

While you may not have triplets that need your full attention, you undoubtedly have something very important and special that you’d like to give more focused attention.  I can help you achieve a space that is uniquely yours that will leave you speechless, move you to tears and stir your senses.  And if we are lucky it might do all three at once.

This guest blog was written by Angela Todd Designs.

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Before & After, Redecorating & Redesign, Your Designer & You. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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