OK, I just hit the 1000 mark.

Does that mean my house will finally be completed correctly and our builder will do right by me? LOL.

If you are using natural stone, or a man made product with a pattern for countertops, insist on seeing the slab...and discuss any seam positioning ahead of installation for any product.

It adds up so fast.

While I missed the final interior solution I did see and very much liked the new exterior. Congratulations! It looks great. A big improvement over the original.

I will see what I can find out. I also have to find a way to explain to my husband why I want to pay someone $50k for design. He’s not going to believe money should be spent on window blinds.

Our current house is 4450 sqft, the new one will be same size. We currently have furniture in every room. We bought truck load of stuff from RH and pottery barn when we moved in to this house, so our furnitures aren’t that old or dated. Never spent much on window treatment because the homes we bought already camen with shutter/blinds. $50k still sound like a lot to me, unless they let me slowly spend it in the next 5 years

I will see what I can find out. I also have to find a way to explain to
my husband why I want to pay someone $50k for design. He’s not going to
believe money should be spent on window blinds.

Well, for the bathroom windows, just explain the popularity of drones with cameras and kids with bad senses of humor and access to the internet (or creepy neighbors). That should help explain the need for blinds.

It adds up so fast.

The posts in this thread or money for decorating?

No matter what I would start looking and pricing window coverings they add up very quickly when you realize how many windows you want covered and if you are like me you want them all to look the same from the outside. Not saying its $50k but its going to be a lot more than you think and its not something you want to wait on (or I wouldn't).

Amy, I agree that working with your own designer makes a great deal of sense. However, since you already have a great of furniture, it doesn't make any sense to me that you would commit yourself to $50,000 in new furniture just to have a second opinion. That seems really steep to me.

See if you can visit the design center in advance of the big decision day. Come prepared with a vision of how you would like your home to be.

Tigger- I think the longer it takes the builder to sell the homes next door, the longer I can wait on window treatments...

i found a designer who will work with me on hourly basis. The lady at the design center loved chatting with me last time I stopped by, I’m sure they won’t like it when I bring an outside designer to “challenge” their design advice

i found a designer who will work with me on hourly basis.

Terrific. Will she work up some mood boards or do room sketches to show you how it all will work together?

After a couple of experiences with people making recommendations for selling a home, they do tend to remove more items than I thought was necessary. But they have lots of experience so should know best.

Darn, I wasn’t the 1,000th commenter. Oh well, there’s always 2,000.

Don't look at it (or treat it!) as challenging their design advice. Present it as advice from someone who shares your aesthetic and has experience in the field. You're getting help to make good choices so everyone can go forward with the most satisfactory job possible.

A great designer share EVERYONES aesthetic (within reason )

The only thing I won't touch is ....... commercial cubbies that are upholstered in carpet . Gag and not my bag

When you look at portfolios you are looking for execution. Not the exact room you want!

Translated, that simply means the help to get what YOU want and far better in result than you'd get on your own. Period . Stop.

If you can drive and drive well? You can drive a Mercedes or a Chevy truck or a dang SCHOOl BUS. The "driving skill" is what matters

You can't crowd source interior design any more than you can crowd source architectural design.

Now that you have found a designer with whom you can work, just spend your time working together to get what is appealing and available to you.

Good luck on your journey! :-)

Amy - call Rachel Greathouse! She will work within your budget and is AMAZING!!! She is on Houzz!

OMG...I know her!!! I went to college with her! She’s in ATL!

I hope you can use most of your furniture in new home. Not sure what people saying about 50,000 furniture budget and how it sounds reasonable, really?

Most people allocate 10-20% of the home purchase price for window coverings, new furnishings, and some after sale upgrades when keeping existing pieces. Not under 6%. You’re paying more in sales tax than you are to make sure your new house is a cohesive and comfortable home. That’s disproportionate.

LOL re costs. Our current home is pushing 7 digits. We moved in 3 years ago. Bought 2 couches new and an extra bedroom set off Craigslist. Lol lol we are quite cohesive and comfie lol lol. If it had needed blinds, we'd have put them up ourselves. It isn't rocket science.

I don't want to challenge the Great Sophy, but gee, we spent nothing like that when we moved into our new house. Almost all our furniture came with us, and since our previous and current house are about the same size, and both have a contemporary vibe, it all fits reasonably well, both spatially and stylistically. Oriental (well, tribal) rugs and art came with us. We did buy a new entertainment unit (at a floor stock sale), two Stressless chairs and a sofabed. Oh, and a few small IKEA bookcases for our CDs and such. Blinds and two lamps. Still mulling over a chandelier. Have had a couple of pieces of art reframed by our local frame shop, if that counts. Total would have been around 1 to 2% of the cost of the house.

Admittedly, we're older, so a little less interested in what the world might think of our decor. And we have made a point, over the years, of buying good quality furniture that suits our tastes, so why would we replace it when the furniture is in fine shape and our tastes haven't changed?

I do realize it's entirely different for a young family who are earlier in the acquisition phase, and I certainly think using a designer is a great idea - especially if she can give the OP both immediate advice and a longer term plan without a forced furniture purchase requirement.

I will say the concept of buying new furniture with a new house is foreign to me. Sure you may need to fill in a piece here and there and of course you'll need new curtains or blinds, but the decoration of my house is primarily in the furnishings I take with me from place to place.

I don't have the same taste that I used to. I've lived in contemporary, transitional, and traditional exteriors/architecture. My interiors have changed accordingly. I look at pictures of rooms I did (well my Mom actually as she was a designer) and they are still beautiful, but not the look I'm going for today. If I was still incorporating the same style, that room from 30 years ago would map beautifully.

If the pieces map well to the new home, great!!! If taste is constant, then the curated pieces will work provided they scale to the new rooms. Otherwise it may be more than a piece needed here and there. I don't have a "home in a box" and pieces have never worked perfectly in one home to the next. Scale has always been a consideration and the reason why the nicest pieces haven't always worked. It comes down to the philosophy of buying a home and it varies from buyer to buyer. Some look to see if their existing decor and furnishings will work. Others not so much.

The friend I mentioned earlier, spent $200k on furnishings and decor for an $900k home because she started from scratch. This home looks nothing, zero like her primary residence. Even the artwork has totally a different look. She was a designer's dream. And that's why she was a dream, because it's not the norm for "most." Most certainly don't put 20% into new furniture when they have existing pieces that will work.

It seems to me that the designer assistance Amy needs now is in choosing not the furniture, but the more permanent fixtures of the house: flooring, tiles, faucets, lighting, window coverings, A sofa can be easily replaced; shower tiles cannot.

Actually it seems what Amy needs is help with those things that can't be replaced but also with using what she has and filling in with other pieces. She needs help coordinating the full look.

How many times do we see in the Decorating forum someone not knowing what to do with their humongous couch in a too small living room or the opposite, a too small sofa and chairs in a huge living room? And they find that the Oriental rug that worked perfectly in their old house now looks out of place?

We absolutely kept all our old artwork since it's all originals. We were able to keep all our antiques, our bedroom furniture, the dining room furniture, the unusual tv stand and the sofa bed that is in my studio.

However DH's desk didn't fit the style or size of his office. My desk in my condo was built in so I needed new and now I had closets so didn't need the shelf units from the old place. We went from bar height to counter height, so the stools no longer worked. And both of us hated our old sofas since they were uncomfortable so bought new sofas along with a new rocking chair for DH. Plus the sofas wouldn't have worked because they were at the same time too bulky and too small. Our guest bedroom now doubles as an exercise room, so we needed a murphy bed instead of the headboard we had. We kept the mattress though.

And once we moved in, we realized the rug that was in the living room wouldn't work and was moved to the bedroom. Instead it was replaced with a larger and lighter rug that worked better in the room.

Add those things up along with shades in all rooms and yes, I'm between 10-15%.

Amy Houzz just posted an article today about working with a designer. Here's the [Link[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-work-with-an-interior-designer-stsetivw-vs~3293842) to the article

Except for a few pieces of art we are furnishing our new <2,000 finished sf home mostly from “scratch” because we purged much of our furniture when we moved cross country several years ago...we have very little in our small space now, nor even a sofa or loveseat, and our table is a two-seater.

New furnishings including furniture, rugs, window coverings, light fixtures, and other assorted items - are probably running close to 8% and have not even dealt with office yet or some other areas or the big piece of art we want to add. I am sure we will hit 10% in next year or two for interior furnishings, but we have the major needed stuff out of the way. Would be a lot more if we had a finished basement already...but that itself to finish is going to be another big budget item down road.

Admittedly we did pick some nicer furniture that can last decades but we also took advantage of a 20% VIP sale and such so saved where we could.

If you can move to an entirely new house and all your furniture still works in space and actually fits (neither too big nor too small) that is great. But if not...it really does not take much furniture and such to eat up $50k whether over two weeks of purchases or five years! Especially so if you are as you said in a higher end house.

Are we missing the immediate point here? Sure furniture is important. And sure, there are many examples where existing furniture may, or may not, be a good fit in a new house.

But...I thought the immediate need and point of the OP's discussion was for help with making good design decisions and informed choices about features, finishes and fixtures which are provided by the builder (or not).

These features, finished and fixtures have to be selected so as to be installed by the builder during the construction phase, long before move-in and occupancy.

When move-in and occupancy time comes, that's the time to start thinking and evaluating furnishings. But the features, finishes and fixtures come long before that.

Let's keep first things first. And last things last.

Hopefully the designer understands this full well and will properly advise the OP...

Well, it was a more-or-less logical segue. The OP mentioned one of the design houses wanted a commitment to buy $50K in furnishings to engage their services. So, various and sundry were pointing out whether or not they felt this was a reasonable expectation.

Since that's a matter of priority, only the OP can decide what is "reasonable." Although I suspect she has moved on to another firm that better suits her needs.

I do recall my designer recommending that I treat the hard finishes of the house as its "little black dress" - to be kept classic and in keeping with the style of the home. And then to treat more changeable things like furniture and soft elements as jewelry and accents. THOSE things can be modified more easily and changed out at will. So this is where the OP really does need that design advice.

Excellent analogy, Holly! :-)

Interior designers, decorators, furniture and kitchen folks generally make their money in one of two ways:

--A commission on what they specify and purchase, or;

--A professional fee for services, regardless of what's designed, installed or purchased.

I'm one of those folks who believe the second approach is always the best approach, since they are not trying to sell anyone anything...just give good design advice.

Someone that requires a minimum purchase of furniture (or anything else) is making their money from the first category. Personally, I wouldn't go there...

Have fun with your designer and work to your comfort level. It's easy for people here to throw around numbers when it's not their home or their money, and you and your spouse will need to decide your priorities and what's important. Also, beyond the cabinets, counters, flooring, etc.etc. you can take your time on the other things. Live in the house a while with your own stuff and then decide if you need to mix it up. With young kids, I am not sure that I would put $$$ into furniture. And with kids sometimes you have priorities other than furniture too! Enjoy your new home!

If anyone knows how I can unsubscribe from this thread, please do me a kindness and let me know. :-(

If I just have to "mark all as read" in my notifications, after reading everything else and skipping over this thread, please let me know before I drive myself nuts trying to avoid this junior high drama mess. :-(

Thank y'all. <3

At the bottom of your email, you can unsub

Frosty, you do realize that Virgil was the dean of a well known architecture school and an architect? I would think he has a clue as to what he's talking about. And he's lived in multiple homes.

What on the other hand are your credentials?

At the bottom of your email, you can unsub

Thank you, but I don't have email notifications set up, lol... Just my GardenWeb account (I basically never log out, and look forward to the little green number next to the Notification Bell at the top right side of the page, lol).

Dame, there may be a link in your view toward the bottom that allows you to stop receiving comments.

Thanks for trying to help me, Frosty, but I'm either too sleepy or too dense to find anything, lol. I'll just "mark as read" without coming back. ;-)

Y'all have fun and don't kill each other. OP, good luck!

Dame.... from the FAQ section.

How do I stop new comment notification emails?

Mar 23, 2018•Houzz Support

Scroll to the bottom of the notification email, where you will see two links. The first stops notifications for new comments on just that discussion. The other stops notifications of new comments on all discussions. Click the appropriate link.

You can also turn off notification from within a discussion on the site. At the very bottom of the comments, there click the link that says "Click to switch off notifications about new comments.".......it's in green below the Houzz story ads at the bottom of page.

Click to switch off notifications about new comments.".......it's in green below the Houzz story ads at the bottom of page.

OhmyGOSH, I love you!!!!!!

*click*

As I sit at lunch outdoors in the breeze, and remember that life is too short, I deleted all the recent posts and I will try so very hard moving forward to ignore the temptation to respond to those who attacked the OP and her home before, during and after the resolution.

Im outside in a breeze. Who said anyone has to open a notification which is btw titled ?? And one you would like to avoid? :)

Ff- why did you delete your posts? Your opinion matters.

Does that mean that Cpartist is not number 1000 then? Who is?

Amy - did you have any luck finding a designer? I certainly wouldnt hire one that requires purchase of 50k of their furniture. You already have some very nice pieces from what I can see.

Not sure what happened on here this weekend, but it didn’t look like there was any pleasant conversation. Now that my original question was answered and my subsequent design questions are going to be solved by the designer, i think it’s best that everybody stop the hostile verbal exchange on here and move on to other posts.

FF- I’m sure Pros will always criticize my home, and other people’s home, and I’m okay with it. This is obviously their style of communication. Not sure if all designers are this “blunt” but I do hope the designer I hired can remain professional when we speak in person.

Rockybird - yesI found a designer that I’m meeting with this week, we will see how that goes.

Amy, don't know if you'll see this. Appropros of not much, I am a retired attn, my husband still practices. Anyway, last month we decided to take a quick getaway and picked Atlanta. We had the greatest day at the Botanical Gardens, including a lunch at the cafe there that was so wonderful we're still talking about it.

Best of luck with your build and remember The ABC when it gets nuts.

Just to be fair, "everybody" wasn't involved in whatever hostile exchange took place. Most of us simply did our best to give sensible, non-judgmental advice and tried to avoid the catfights. Anyway, it looks like you've handled the whole situation really well, got that acceptable compromise everyone wanted to see, and are on your way! All the best with the rest of the build and then the fun of decorating.

Amy so happy things seem to be working out great for you! I wish you the very best with everything! Working with a designer will be so much fun. Enjoy!

Amy, I'd love to continue following your journey as you begin working with your designer and with the design center. And, I especially look forward to seeing photos of your improved master bath as the builder reconfigures it with the new dormer. Kudos to you for staying true to yourself and always moving forward with exceptionally good humor.

I don't know where these figures come on the amount allocated to furnishing a home.

In my experience, if you are buying your first home, you are going to be strapped for cash - at least for the first year or so. Most people I know made do with donations; thrift store acquisitions, odds and ends accumulated along the way and disposable furniture from places like IKEA - or they made do without.

If one is moving to a second or third home, surely one has acquired furniture along the way and doesn't immediately discard it. Again, in my experience, most people with middle class incomes make do with already existing furniture and augment as needed. While it's nice to get new stuff, most people I know bought furniture gradually.