What Can Hourly Design Do For You?

I think most people in general think it’s all or nothing with designers. Either you hire them to work on your entire space or nothing at all! Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact most designers provide hourly consultations and the hours can be used for whatever the client needs assistance with. A good portion of my business is hourly consultations, especially in this economy where hiring a designer for full design is a luxury most cannot indulge in. I have clients who have me come to their home for just a few hours, to get them moving in the right direction. I have others who will work out their entire design themselves and then just consult with me before making final purchases in order to eliminate mistakes. I’m their little insurance policy! An hour or two of consultation can be a lot cheaper than having to re-do bad design choices.

Let’s take a look at a bathroom for Meg Sexton, a client for whom hourly consultation was a great help. She had a general idea of the look she was going for but was overwhelmed with finalizing all the details and needed a little guidance. She had already chosen white subway tiles for the shower walls as well as the vanity. Yet to be decided was flooring, an accent for the shower walls, faucet/lighting fixtures and paint. We started with the floor tile. We found a dark brownish-taupe tile that had an almost metallic overlay on it. The metallic is subtle but just adds a touch of polish without the floor becoming glossy. Next, I found her a limestone mosaic that we had installed as a border in the shower. We originally wanted something with less beige in it but I found this as a remnant and it had the right price tag attached to it. It turns out I actually like the mix of warm and cool tones in it. It helps tie together the mix of them going on in the rest of the bathroom. Before we move on from the tiling, please take a look at the tile on both the floor and walls. In the shower, it’s installed all the way up to the ceiling. Always run your tile to the ceiling….it just looks better! As far as the floor tile I like to use the largest tile the space will allow for. Here is the rule, “The larger the tile, the larger it makes the area look”. It’s an illusion for your eye. I’ve gone head to head with clients on this one. I’m not generally a bragger but on this topic, I’ve always been right! Plus…think less grout…less cleaning. I never use anything smaller than a 12×12 for flooring unless it’s a mosaic and if a 12×12 is chosen by a the client I advise them to use a 12×18 instead. You’ll get the same full amounts of tiles laid side to side as a 12×12 but a 12×18 just seems to have a more updated look to it.