I guess it is only $250, but I am a little leery with sending money to something/someone I can't see/touch/physically complain to! :)

Wow, some of those places give a lot of info for under $300.

I guess it depends on how easily you can part with the money. I'd feel more comfortable buying something if I could see pictures of the designer's prior work.

You do get a lot of opinions on some threads here, but people do not hesitate to express opposite opinions. This should keep any "off" suggestions in check. When you talk to one designer, you get one opinion and have only your own opinion to "check" what you have been told.

I think the greatest value of getting help here, is that you get so many opinions and when a substantial number of people agree on a point, you should be comfortable that the issue they are agreeing on is important to the outcome of the room.

I think that whether you use a pro or not, nothing beats getting as many opinions as possible!

Thanks for sharing that article, I may consider some of those sources myself!

I haven't used the internet design service yet - but I do use Houzz where real designers, architects, and GCs answer any quesiton you have. Tons of great ideas and real professionals answer your questions. To Cindyloo123's point - get as many opinions as possible. There are so many great resources out there like this one, might as well :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Houzz.com