DECORATOR BOOK - Part 3

A decorating book can be as simple as a big brown envelope to a very elaborate, beautifully decorated book. (What a way to use your scrap booking skills!) The nice thing is that once it is done it will last you for many years. It is up to you to decide what all you are going to use it for and how involved you want to get. You may find over time your needs change, so it is ok to start out simple and after you have made your choices you can put it in a nice permanent type organizer or binder. There are companies who sell decorator files which are great for ideas, but are rather expensive and you can put one together which will fit your needs for a lot less money.

If you are starting from scratch developing your room you can now start by laying out your samples and start putting together what all works well for you and the look you are going for. Make a list of the things you are going to need for each room. Sit down and sort them out by rooms if you are doing more than one room. The idea is to develop your color palette before you go out and buy.

If you already have a start on decorating your room round up samples of your décor and organize for new purchase or redo. When it is time to repaint or buy new furniture, etc. you are ready to go!

IDEAS OF WHAT TO USE:

It is best to make it portable as possible because you will take it shopping with you. The easier it is to grab and go the better!

Large brown envelope for each room. On the outside you can tape or glue the floor plan and other pertinent measurements.

Portable file box with hanging files to keep all the envelopes organized.

A tote bag works too.

Accordion file sorted by room or have a small file for each room and use the dividers for different things as paint samples, flooring, pictures, floor plan and ideas.

3 ring binder or Day Planner or organizer
Add pocket pages and page protectors for your floor plan, pictures, or pages you feel would work well for you.
To hold carpet or flooring samples you can use large baggies and punch holes in the side of them. (I suggest putting a strip of duct tape on both sides of the baggie to strengthen the holes.)
With this style you can add graph paper and note paper to keep all kinds of info.

HINT: If you are using the same paint, carpeting through out your home, you can have one envelope for the common items.

Rather than repeat what someone else has said, I am providing you with the sites and a few comments from my experience as a decorator/redesigner and former sales person.

About.com has great articles on decorating; how to put together a decorating book and starting the project .

FLOOR PLANS: It is essential to have a floor plan of the room, even a quick rudimentary drawing is better than nothing. One of the best sites I have found to show you how to draw a floor plan is from the interiordezine site, which has a lot of wonderful information.
There are a number of website on which you can do a nice neat floor plan online, save it for later or print it out. You will still need all your measurements to use their floor planners. So get your tape measure out and go to it!!!

Hint: If you do not have any ¼” graph paper you can easily make some in Excel by clicking the upper left corner of the spreadsheet to highlight it, then using your curser on the top move the columns to 24 pixels, then the rows to the same. Set the print margins to .25 with no headers or footers. Highlight a one page area and use the border tool to make the grid lines and print.

Samples, Swatches and Chips:

Above is an example of my upstairs bathroom pages. The left is a piece of the wallpaper boarder, to the left is the fabric for my window and shower curtains, a paint chip of the wall color and a small sample of the tile.

PAINT SAMPLES:

HINT: It is easier to pick a paint color after you have the chosen the furniture. You also need to see how the paint will coordinate with your woodwork and flooring. Your paint and fabric samples should be large enough to give a good indication of color, pattern etc. A little paint chip is not really big enough to give a good idea of the real color, so paint a sturdy piece of cardboard at least 5”X7” with your wall color. (Use two coats if necessary, to have the true color of the walls. This is essential for each room in your house book.

FABRIC SAMPLES: If you are able to get fabric samples of what you have chosen. If you are buying new furniture or using furniture you already have, I would suggest you get samples of the fabric, or take a cushion or arm cover with you to pick out paint, other furniture etc.

FURNITURE: It is great to look at on the web, but I do not want to buy anything I have not actually looked at and sat on. Fabric quality, construction and size is important. Look at the websites of your local stores and find out the brands they sell. Usually they have fabric samples to check out or will let you take home an arm cover or cushion. Use all your samples to eliminate what will not work!

Measure your old furniture to determine what sizes will work for you. You also can make little templates of them to use on your floor plans to arrange your furniture without moving it.

WINDOWS TREATMENTS: You will also want the measurements of your windows if you are going to do window treatments. Ready-made draperies come in standard lengths of 54", 63", and 84". A catalog, as JC Penney’s had a great section to help you do this. If you have window treatments you will want to take a valance or some sort of sample of the color and texture, even a matching paint chip of the color is helpful.

FLOORING AND WOODWORK SAMPLES: Make sure you have a flooring sample when purchasing furniture and paint etc. If you do not have a woodwork sample, use a stain brochure for an example. If you have an area rug you will be using, take a picture of it. Several of the rugs I purchased had a picture of it on the label so I saved it for the book.

PHOTOS & PICTURES:
When buying furniture and accessories it is good to take a few of the pictures you have collect of the look you are going for. This will give the sales people a good idea of what you are doing. This makes it much easier than trying to explain.

Sometimes it is good to take pictures of your room from all angles or of the furniture or other furnishings you are already working with.

You will have all the tools you need to shop. Please enlist the aide of a salesperson to help you. If you do not feel you are connecting with the salesperson….find a different one!

Sort and put all your samples into your decorator book and get to decorating!!! If you have any questions, please leave me a comment or email me.