Decorating/Colors And Design

Updated on February 23, 2010
K.B. asks from Olathe, KS
21 answers

Hi ladies,

I am wondering if any of you have a great easy website to skip through looking for different room designs, styles & colors. Basically we are planning to move in to a new home and I am ready to go all out on all... in a very money saving way but will buy new. The problem is I have no skill at this really and hoping to just see a room picture and go w/ it! Hope this makes sense!
Also, has anyone had experience with Direct Buy.com? From what I understand they are an online only warehouse where you can buy good quality for a fraction of the price. Seems a little to good to be true and looks like you have to buy a membership.
Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks so much!

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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

Buy some decorating books or look through magazines. Even if you start with ten decorating mags, you should get a good sense of what you like. Pull out all the pages with things you like, and you will probably see a pattern emerging. And if you see a full room you love, just copy it!

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M.S.

answers from Columbus on

In reference to Direct Buy...there are lots of locations throughout the US. When I joined the membership fee was $4,500. The people at the columbus, ohio location are very good. You can buy some things online from them but mostly through catalogs. What I have done is go to stores, find things i like, and then go to Direct Buy. I find all most everything there at half price or less. if you can afford the upfront fee and you are close to one of their showrooms it really is a good deal.

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D.N.

answers from Chicago on

If you are looking for money saving, DirectBuy is NOT the way to go. You have a high membership fee (about $5000) and the products are high end which is kind of the only way to save money. Plus, in my area, you have to sit through a talk first and then you can check out the showroom. If you normally pay $6000 just for a dining table, then you might save money. A friend did join, and was not happy about it. She paid the large fee because they were remodeling but when she saw the costs, she ended at Home Depot where she got good stuff but much cheaper. She also found a sofa very similar to the one she considered through Direct Buy but $3000 less. And that was after the "discounted" price. If you check it out, make sure you are thorough and will really use it.

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G.B.

answers from Boise on

Be smart.The economy is still not out of the woods and It won't be getting better any time soon.

If you must decorate now, go to Barnes and Nobles every week and grab a stack of decor magazines and sit down and look at them right there. Don't go buy a huge amount of magazines which can really cost a chunk of cash. When you are all done you just end up throwing them out anyway.
Take some time to look over a decorating 'book', which should have a section that will give you some basic understanding of styles and lines of furniture. For example, I chose french furniture with its lovely cabriole legs and country feel. So I also picked fabrics that are french country in feel, roosters, small plaids, florals, vegetables, and old country crocks, watering cans, rod iron, etc. If I were to choose stark furniture like scandinavian, which is more modern, I would also choose modern , bold large patterned fabrics, possibly more solids, box pleating, simple lines and not anything too foo-foo. If I liked British furniture, and maybe the darker woods, I would be comfortable in traditional decor, with ruffles on drapery tops and bottoms of chairs, wing chairs, toile fabrics, Ceramic dogs on the mantle, classic paintings, maybe a chinese urn thrown in for flavor.
Another place to get a free magazine of "styles" is Ethan Allen. I am not suggesting you go in and immediately buy their furniture, but go in looking interested, and ask for a catalog to take home. Then study it. Study the colors and fabric patterns they used with that style of furniture in the room they pictured.

Hiring decorators can be SO expensive. So can making mistakes. That is why I suggest buying used goods to save money- then if you decide it was a bad purchase you dont loose thousands. YOU can be your own decorator if you just open your eyes and study their work.

I 'eyeball' shopped at ethan Allen for years. I recently purchased a big Ethan Allen armoir, but not at the showroom, at a second hand furniture resale store, where the price was $300, instead of $2100. Go to stores that sell people's used furniture for them. I got some wonderful new looking pieces from these places for a fraction of the new price. When I had to downsize and sell pieces, I only lost one tenth of the amount of money I would have lost if i tried to resell a brand new piece.

Also look on craigslist.com. A LOT of people right now are loosing their nice homes. These same people are selling their newer case goods and furniture that were in those homes at bargain prices. Trust me, you will start seeing a lot of REALLY nice stuff saturating the markets. Just be patient, and have fun in the hunting process.

You might not be able to find an exact copy of that rod iron sofa table in your picture, but you might find a comparably sized one that has slender wood legs with rod iron decorator inserts which would give you a similar feel.
When you look at the color in a room (in a picture) try to find a paint chip that looks close- then you might want to go two or three shades lighter. For example I wanted warm gold walls, and when I bought the color I thought was on the magazine page- it was SO dark. I ended up having to do a light gold paint to wash over it to tone it down. What you see on a paint chip can look quite a bit darker on a big wall. Colors also change depending on daytime or nighttime lighting. One paint job I did years ago was a lovely "beige' during the day, but at night it almost looked butt pink! So before you invest in many cans of paint, order one small can and try a wall, leave it there for a few days to see if you like it.

Examine fabric patterns in the pictures. Notice that they will mix large scale with small scale. A large floral with a small plaid for example. Or a large stripe and a small floral. The colors in your fabrics should be similar. Pick one color to be a dominant color. If you love a burgundy floral, try to use it in 3 places "around the room"... on throw pillows of the couch, on a corner comfy chair, and maybe an edging on the drapery topper on the opposite wall. Maybe it should be 40% of the coloring in the room. Pull the sage color out of the leaves of that fabric and find a plaid,and try to use this around the room too, maybe in barstools covers, and the drape side panels. but only in 20% of the room in that color. You get the picture.

For example, in my recently sold home, my wall were washed gold, I had gold oak hardwood floors, and sofas were (always solids) in golds and beiges.Burgundy was my dominating "color" (in my paisly fabrics Pillows and easy chairs). I also made companion pillows out of a plaid burgundy and sage fabric, and also made a buffet runner and barstool covers. I did one pillow for the middle of my sofa in a Tapestry, (in black background) with a chicken on it. (I was doing country french). Black can act as a neutral when mixed with other colors and help break up monotony. Black is especially nice with golds and reds/burgundies. But I use it sparingly. I also had the black of the rod iron bar stools to balance that color on the other side of the room.
Anyway, just some things to consider. Have fun.

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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

forget the decorator....it'll be their "look", approved by you.....& that's it. Several of my friends have gone this route & were very disappointed in how their home was lacking in personality until they added in their own treasures. & Decorators out there, please do not take offense....!

For a more personalized style, just hit the magazine section of any store & buy a whole handful of mags....whatever catches your eye. Take these home, tear out the pages/pics you like, & put these into a binder....room by room. From this simple, inexpensive resource....you will be able to determine which "style" you prefer, which furniture & accessories really appeal to you, & how to achieve that "look".

When you begin your shopping, have no qualms about taking along your idea book. Enlist friends/family & make it a day! You can also hit ebay & craig's list regularly....planning ahead to that move.

Soooo, confession time, I've been using an idea book for almost 20 years now. My husband has difficulty visualizing concepts, but works well from my idea file. It eliminates the feeling that he's trying to read my mind! I update this regularly.....& love how my sense of style evolves through the years...... Good Luck & make it fun!

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K.M.

answers from Kansas City on

How fun!!! My advice is simple. Get organized. Buy a really durable notebook, notebook paper and some page protectors. Then get dividers and label them for kitchen, bath, bed, etc.

Go room by room and start making lists. Go from the big stuff like furniture and them get detailed, down to throw pillows and accessories. Be sure to include room measurements and number of windows, etc.

Every time you are in a Home Depot or Lowes, or any other paint store, pick up paint chips and leave them out for a day or two. Look at them in the evening, morning, all times during the day. Then put the ones you like in your notebook. (Use a page protector for an "envelope", this way you can see the colors at all times)

Any magazines, ads, pictures on line, print or tear them out and add them to your notebook.

This may sound like a dorky thing to do, but you have alot of work ahead and staying organized may prevent you from making mistakes, and it can help keep your budget on track, too.

Good luck and have fun with this project! Thank you for helping the economy!! :)

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V.C.

answers from Dallas on

I would also have to say Direct Buy is not a good deal.

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S.S.

answers from Dallas on

Most magazines have decorator sections online, I have found most of my inspiration rooms for our new house at better homes & gardens and country living web sites. You can even sign up for decorator emails at both sites.

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M.C.

answers from Kansas City on

I can answer your question about Direct Buy. We were members about 6 years ago - I think we paid around $2000 for our membership. We became members in Illinois before we moved here and I bought a few small things like a Delonghi toaster and Waring blender. Then when we moved here we bought everything! Flooring, furniture, appliances. I feel as though we made a great investment in...things. What I figured out was they carry top of the line so as long as your willing to spend the money you will get good, quality items. For instance our dining room set is a Hickory White set that cost $7000 but would have easily been double that at a store. During that time money was not an issue - and I feel extremely blessed to have been able to purchase such finery. This is furniture that I will be able to pass down to my children - does anyone still do that? But the reality of it is they are just things and I would have been just as happy had I purchased elsewhere. Wow, I followed that rabbit trail - I feel as though I have been through a therapy session! Back to the issue - you have to be willing to do your homework to find out if your getting a good deal. We had a hard time finding some of the things we purchased in stores so we never felt like we could compare apples to apples. Did I feel as though it was too good to be true - no! And for some reason I think they have relaxed a little bit on certain things - like maybe the membership is not as expensive? And I think you used to have to be "invited" to a presentation - now you can just call and say your interested in seeing what they have to offer. Good luck!

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

You might try hgtv.com. They've got all kinds of ideas from "rate my space" where you can look at other people's designs and rate them, to designs they've done on their various television programs, including "design on a dime" for inexpensive ideas. I think you can even sign up for an opportunity to be on a show and have one of their designers design your room for you. They also have a page help you find your design style.

Direct Buy is not just online. I'm not familiar with Olathe, but there is a Direct Buy showroom in Liberty, MO, where you can go in and look at some of the things they offer in person. I'm not sure if Direct Buy is the way to go if you only plan on designing one room. If you're going to do more like replace cabinets or remodel your kitchen and baths, etc., then direct Buy might be the way to go.

Congratulations on your new home and good luck with your designing.

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L.P.

answers from Wichita on

Hi K.,

I love to decorate, it is so much fun! I am fortunate to work with a company called Celebrating Home...don't know if you have heard of it but, we have pottery for your kitchen, dining, entertaining, wonderful prints for your home, tables for your rooms, lamps, the list is endless...I would be glad to send you a catalog and offer you the chance to decorate and save money at the same time. In addition I would be glad to help you with choices that you are trying to make. You can also visit shop online with me at celebratinghome.com/sites/lindashgp

I know how overwhelming it is when you are trying to decide things so feel free to contact me at ____@____.com

Just have fun and make it reflect you and your family:)

L.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

First, to weed down choices and time... you need to decide what "style" of decor you like?
Modern, industrial, country, eclectic, clean lines or not etc.
From there, you then look at only those styles. Thereby cutting down on getting too all over the place, and keeping things cohesive.

Then you decide on what colors you like... with respect to those styles.

You could try the HGTV website... they have many shows on interior design. Or Martha Stewart, pottery barn, Ikea, etc. Their magazines/catalogs have "schemes" already made out, in their photos in the magazines. You could just "copy" that and get whatever is displayed in that room in the photo.

There are so many websites... or, buy magazines... then cut out the styles/furniture/colors you like... then tape them to a big poster sized board... and hang it on your wall. Then, you look at it and decide/narrow down what jumps out at you. "Imagine" you living in it. And then, cross off or circle those that you don't like and those you like.
It is a process.

But the main thing is, you need to know what style you want for your home. Or, if each room will just be whatever. But then the home or the rooms will not look cohesive.

Also if buying online, you don't have the privilege of trying it out... ie: sitting on the furniture and seeing if it is comfortable or if it fits your proportions etc. And, shipping could be very expensive.

All the best,
Susan

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A.S.

answers from Denver on

A good interior designer, color consultant or home stager is worth their weight in gold. They can pull together a room in no time with the right colors and styles to match your needs. They have access to design houses with remarkable discounts.

Firstly, look in your closet: what colors do you wear? Thats the color palette to start with. (I'm assuming your not a NY fashionista who only wears basic black :) It's fine and good to look in magazines but if the colors are foreign to you, your home won't feel right. Are you neutrals? Brights? Pastels? You get the idea. Find a couple colors which speak to you and build from there.

Secondly, go through model homes and take pictures of rooms you like. You can also ask to consult the person who created the room. The model homes will give you an idea of things you like and can pull together.

Thirdly, Don't go overboard on trendy colors. It will just make everything look outdated in 5 years. Think back to the 80's with the neon thing, or the pink/grey combos. Or the 70s with gold/avocado. Going back to colors and styles which fit you will last a lot longer.

GL!! And Happy Hunting!

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D.B.

answers from Wichita on

Hi K.. If you need help with curtains, pillows, bedding or any other home decor please check out my website, www.shabbystitches.com. I'm in Wichita and do custom sewing.

Regarding design ideas, a great website is www.getdecorating.com
It has TONS of ideas. Personally, I like to pick out fabrics that I'll be using in a room and design around that. Good luck with your move and home projects!
D.

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H.H.

answers from Kansas City on

on Directbuy. Unless you are buying a lot of furniture or appliances you probably don't want to invest into it as it does cost a fee. If you are building your own house then it would be good to buy into for a year or 2. My brother did that when he built his house and he bought appliances, kitchen cabinets, some furniture but not all, flooring, bathroom sinks. He did shop around and found some things were cheaper at Home Depot, Lowe's, and Nebraska Furniture Mart. They do feel they saved several thousand dollars on big ticket items for their house but most people don't buy that much stuff unless they are building a house or totally remodeling one with replacing all flooring, roofing, appliances etc.

I really love shopping at Nebraska Furniture Mart, they have just about everything you can imagine for your home and sell high quality furniture. They have a lot of specials throughout the year like no interest for 2-3 years on anything priced over 300.00. We have furnished every room in the house there, bought electronics, flooring, and washer and dryer. We have paid off over 10,000.00 in products from there in the past 4 years and didn't pay interest on any of them. As soon as we pay off these last few items we plan to remodel our kitchen and purchase new kitchen cabinets when we see the next no interest for 3 years special. Most of the time the special is no interest for 18 months and if you work on 1 room at a time it is easy to pay off those items on time but you have to pay more than the minimum payment to do it. What I do is figure out the payment by dividing the amount of the product by the number of monthly payments and pay that amount as my minimum payment so think ahead and go with what you can afford. If a couch and loveseat cost 1500.00 and you have 18 months to pay it off then you need to pay at least 85.00 a month.

As far as decorating, that is a personal thing. I like to faux paint but some people don't like it. I painted my living room really easy with a double roller/faux roller. I did it in taupe and white and it looks sort of like marble looks with the white lines going through the taupe. Then I put a nice border at the top. Everyone that comes to our house for the first time will touch that wall to see if it is wallpaper and when they find out I painted it they are amazed that paint can look that good. Faux painting is good for those rough walls that show every shadow or flaw in the wall with regular white paints. I painted my daughters room with blue and a lighter blue together and put a dolphin border up in her room. I bought those contact paper type stickers and put dolphin stickers on her ceiling fan to match. I am planning to strip the bathroom wallpaper and do it in dolphins as well.

Good luck with all your decorating ideas and hope it all works out.

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L.Y.

answers from Springfield on

I would check with a Partylite rep and Uppercase Living to have them help you plan your rooms!!

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C.D.

answers from St. Louis on

Whether direct buy is worth it depends on what fee they charge (not only up front but also yearly) and how much you are planning to buy. If you are buying furniture for a whole house, it may be worth it, but not for just a few rooms (but they don't just sell furniture..you can also get appliances, baby gear, flooring, roofing,...probably about 30 categories. Not everything is cheaper there though. Electronics and appliances don't get marked up much at stores, so if you get it at direct buy, it probably won't be worth it by the time you pay shipping and handling charges. Furniture, lighting, cabinets etc are marked up significantly though, so you'll save on those. Visit a center and ask what categories see the best discounts. Think about how far you have to go to a showroom, because not everything can be bought online and you usually pick items up at the showroom. As far as getting ideas, the direct buy showroom is basically a room with a bunch of binders with sell sheets from various vendors...so you're not going to see bedrooms set up...just pictures. They do have samples of cabinets etc. You'll probably want to go to furniture stores to see if you can find something you like, and also to see the quality of different furniture brands in person (how the drawers glide etc) and then see if DB carries it. Also know that you may have to make a decision on the spot about whether to join--we did. They may have changed that policy, or it may depend on the location.

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C.T.

answers from Denver on

If you're going all out, why not consult a decorator? Most, if you tell them you want to take an active part and give them your budget, are more than willing to help you. some will even accept a flat fee or hourly rates. Part of the expensive part is when you have them shop for furniture and fabrics, etc. for you. They can help you with color ideas for fabrics and paint as well as help you choose furniture that is a proper size fit for your room and with furniture placement.

just a thought . . .

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R.J.

answers from San Diego on

Behr, Benjamin-Moore, Shemin-Williams and other paint companies all have "paint a room" virtual stuff. All have sample rooms, and some let you upload pictures of preexisting rooms and then you paint them online.

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J.M.

answers from Lawrence on

While Direct buy saves you $$ on high priced items they do require a membership and its Very pricey. We did that and ended up not going through with the membership...Its more for people who purchase all the time, I would say. I would not recommend them...

I have recently ordered furnature from Overstock.com.... Prices are very nice. Have not received my order yet, so no comment on satification of the material yet. But I am happy with what I paid thus far, until I see the material in person I can not be complete on that yet. ;)

On pictures of rooms or decor...I decorated my daughters room from the back of a border package (the border you would put around a room after painting), they have a tinkerbell room ;). You might want to take a walk around a hardware store or a store similar and check out something like that or just look through home decor magazines. I love to do that.

Sorry not to much help on the room decor topic, but wanted to let you know about Directbuy.

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G.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi K., you might want to try Color Scheme Designer 3. It was very helpful when I was trying to decide on a color scheme for my website Good luck and have fun with your decorating. Have a wonderful weekend. G.

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