Example of that just above?

IMO if you love something it will last for a long time and trends will come and go often during that time I have been accused here of posting pics of my spaces that are older i still love the choices I made so if it ain't broke don't fix it. I tweak smalls things from time to time I purposely bought furniture that is easily rearranged so always a bit of a fresh look . Sometimes I remove the rugs in the summer . But the basics stay the same . Our art has been a ongoing collection for the last 30 yrs so each piece has a home in this house that was planned . When i do work for clients I try to bring that same sensibility to their spaces I love it when clients tell me their guests say" oh this is so you" that tells me I did a good job. I dislike spaces that scream so and so did your room that is IMO not good design

MY RULE?

Don't design if you're feeling bored.....boredom is often fleeting

Don't design on a really recent divorce.......!!! Do NOT do it.

Don't listen to your kids, UNLESS it is their own bedroom

Don't listen to Becky next door.

Don't believe in "compromise" to a fault -nobody will get what they REALLY want.

Don't attempt to build Rome in a single day, a week, a year.

Don't discount shop when you are bored - you can fill a landfill and your basement.

Don't buy seasonal decor like the "holiday" is a damn six months! Less is more, and more money for the other 52 weeks of the year.

That covers it? Pretty much!

So true about holiday decor!!! A tree and a wreath, garland maybe figurines. But there’s so much out there it’s ridiculous.

Love this thread! - my dining room is a knocked back lavender that I love with all my heart, people look amazing in that room at night

and yes stay out of Home Goods

Jan Moyer drape towels over a tub and over cabinet fronts? No way. I'm going with #3.

Joe.........

lol....... Wrong babe,, on # three but you are correct in that I am the neatnik who drapes nada in the bathroom : ) save a bathmat over the tub edge, which, as long as it is immaculate? Bothers me not!

Do I know myself? I'm pretty sure I do. I grew up in a very non-decorated and mid-to low income house. My mother loved Early American furniture, but had a black 'naughahide' sofa, go figure. All of our stuff, except for my bedroom, was mismatched and pretty ugly. I dreamed of beautiful, fine things that were always well beyond my means. I married a man whose background was quite different (lots of money and good taste). We both liked traditional design, so our purchases were good quality, cherry, carved, lovely wood pieces, persian rugs, etc. (this was 46 yrs ago). Eventually, we inherited several extremely high quality pieces (hand-carved baby grand (custom-made for my mother-in-law), a lovely secretary desk, even a reproduction Louis XVI desk). All of these fit in with our own original, less-custom pieces (which we still have), giving our rooms a more eclectic and curated look. I know that our china cabinet is not 'current,' but it is a beautifully made piece and I still love it. The woods don't 'match,' as the piano and the secretary are of lighter woods, but I like that about them. I am not a designer, but have a degree in design (artist, former teacher), and I am sure that a designer could improve on my home, but it is my home, and I pretty much love everything about it!

To that? I'd say good for you : )

I would probably love your house, decorpatti!

Diana and Jan: I am sure you both could give me some tips, but at my age, I am not looking to buy new stuff. We remodeled the kitchen (in 2009) and baths (2010, 2013), but they all still seem new to me. Unfortunately, our home is a southern California tract home, built in 1980, so it doesn't have much inherent 'charm,' but it is in a great neighborhood (lived here 33 years), has a pool and large yard, we've upgraded much of it over the years, and it is only one story, so we plan to age in place here. I so love beautiful old homes in all styles, so that is my one regret!

My daughter is looking for a home in the San Diego area--SO expensive!!!

Yes, and while things are super expensive now, even when we bought so long ago, southern California was overly expensive, but we are both from here, so it has just always seemed so. Good luck to your daughter; just know that $$$ doesn't go very far, but there are many advantages, too! San Diego climate is one, of course.

We have a saying here, on a ( rare^%%$$# ) cloudless, 72 degree, low humidity day of absolute PERFECTION........

"If you don't like today?? You better get a move on to SAN DIEGO!!!"

After reading your rule list, I can think of the top one on mine:

Spend less than what you can afford.

I always do and it has never once left me with regret. Nor do I purchase shoddy or cheap anything.

"Spend less than you can afford"........

Had to think about that one!

Designers probably can not help having a slightly different perspective. Nobody should ever spend themselves into "house poor", approach projects knowing full well you can't really afford to do anything. We all understand wanting better/prettier without breaking the bank.

I'll take just one common (and very difficult ) category of merchandise. The sofa! Call it a minefield.

There is: What you want to spend. What you can afford to spend. What you should spend. Three numbers.

This opens a can of worms, if only because there are so many things that factor into a price. Quality of construction, the fabric or leather. How LONG you would want it to last. The style. The comfort - certainly the most personal of all these things.

A designer's client is not a typical Houzzer. But even we meet with resistance on this item. We don't source a sofa on the internet, but I'd be a liar if I said there wasn't a difference in the many brands that can't be had by John Q with a tap on a keyboard.

Has this entire category of merchandise become "over priced" ? Yes/no and as compared to what? The processes that go into an upholstered sofa are not too different from what they were thirty or more years ago! This isn't an automobile, where manufacturing advances and streamlining an assembly line make for cost efficiency. The springs may be imported, even the fabric is likely to be imported; especially the "performance" category, but the factory is much the same. Ask what IS realistic, and the answer is very often, no matter who ....

The BEST/most you can afford- IF you have a designer, and IF you are not forced into "add to your cart", because you've access to a very decent brick and mortar furniture store.

The caveats mentioned just above are for many, inaccessible . The brick and mortar options for huge swaths of the population are Pottery Barn, RH.....West Elm...Arhaus etc. Still out of reach in pricing for many, and no, they are not good. Call them Tragically Overpriced for what they deliver in quality or long term comfort. It's the couch saga of our time.

For designers? Short version here..........: )

Dearest Client with the his/hers B.M.W's and two or three homes:

Pleeeeeezee buy this one, in this fabric. It is well WITHIN your budget. Yes, it is three/four grand more than this "cloud" thing you are showing me on your phone. It is twice the price, but is FOUR or five times the quality. Designer then rattles off differences unseen by client, and the battle can go on for weeks!

Finally? The wish list prices stuck in the heads of the consumer; the posts here on Houzz - "is this pick a brand couch for 1400.00, 1899.00 all the way to 4,000 ish a good sofa"?

Tragic answer? No.

We could write novels on this topic in most any category of goods related to home, from lamps to you pick it. But as to the happy factor, I will end with this, no matter who you are.

Not for every item, not every single time, but as to the something that simply makes your heart SING and you can't stop thinking about it - where everything remotely similar pales in comparison.

Have. That. Thing. No, you will not regret it.

I think the problem is that most people can't afford what constitutes good furniture anymore.

Because there used to be some relatively affordable furniture that was at least sturdy and well made like Ethan Allen.

My family has most of my parents furniture (Lots of Baker, Henredon, a couple customs sofas and such) but my bedroom had Ethan Allen custom room plan, and my sisters had Henry Link or something like that, the vaguely historic styles with the laminate tops, which was not expensive. But they still have their bedroom sets 50 odd years later and they are still in good shape. And that wasn't considered fine furniture. My parents furnished their rooms with that because they were teenagers and going to be out of the house in a few years.

Also my parents bought less House than they could afford, although it was nice, and they drove much more basic cars than they could afford.

Adjusted for inflation, (and I bring this up repeatedly I know) the sofa in my LR now, my parents paid about $10K for adjusted for inflation, and it was on deep sale.

My father got an Entire job on top of his FT job to pay for the furniture. (And my dad was a physician).

People don't do that now. People can't do that now, most people get the highest mortgage amount that they can--in a HCOLA it can't be avoided, but people do the same in LCOLA too. And the price of cars has outstripped inflation, as has college tuition. The top of the line Lincoln in 1962 was about $5000, or 52K today. People buy pickup trucks that cost that much. They don't have money left over for furniture.

I drive a Mazda instead of a Mercedes. It is just in my DNA and how I was raise to spend less than what you can afford.

It is true that the spending less than I can afford has a quality caveat. I never buy cheap stuff. When cheap was all I could afford, I still scoured craigslist for great deals on quality furniture. When I could not afford what I can now, I'd rather throw a new off-white drop cloth on a stained sofa and save up for quality than run out and get cheap.

I still purchase most of my furniture second hand because the old stuff is better made. And, it is not inexpensive even then. But, I know it will last for decades because it has already lasted for decades. I get free sofas off of E-Bay or Craigslist and put in to recovering them what a crappy Pottery Barn sofa would cost. But I know my tastes and can get 15 years out of a fabric, whereas the Pottery Barn sofa would be uncomfortable and sagging just a few years in.

In my kitchen, I could have knocked down walls and gone all out with expensive appliances. I got a subzero (splurge that I could well afford and will last for a long time knock on wood) and used the other appliances that the previous owner put in. I could have purchased stone but went for Corian. It made sense for the space. Could have put in two new bathrooms but instead got super clever with paint choices and shower curtains and new mirrors and the spaces are completely revamped.

I think in a number of ways status and appearances have become more important, or what the earmarks of "status" are have changed.

The houses of my parents' professional friends were on the nicer side and they were nicely furnished and such, but they were not enormous. Many of them were small by today's standards. They are currently "starter" houses for most people where I grew up or bought by regular working people even though the economy where I grew up is Much worse than when I was living there.

I worked one day a week in an office, and the boss's house is over 7 times the square footage of mine. And he does not make 7 times my income. But people ooh and ahh over the sheer scale of it. The fact that it is filled with really cheap furniture and if they put a table cloth on the table (underneath the foil containers from some caterer, they don't even put it in a dish) that's probably from Bed Bath and Beyond and 100% polyester (and will probably be thrown out instead of washed at the end of the dinner) doesn't really seem to make any impression. It's the volume of the house that impresses.

I agree about quality sofas. When we bought a new fabric sofa and a leather chair for our family room, we scoured all of the fine furniture brick and mortar stores in the LA area...there used to be so, so many, but not many now. We eventually went with Taylor King, and had to wait several months (2020...pandemic!) for it to arrive, but I love that I got to choose the upholstery, from thousands of choices, not just black, tan or grey. I KNOW that neither of my kids and their spouses would even consider that cost and inconvenience, for various reasons...I guess there are some advantages to being old!

So well said @palimpsest - my parents front living room was empty for 2 years while they saved for quality furniture - no one blinked an eye and they certainly never apologized for it

In the end....it undoubtedly comes down to making home, versus the somewhat necessary tasks of just furnishing, or even decorating, filling spaces, niches, and some odd corner, a blank wall, as the dilemmas here often prove.

What may appear as the urge to quickly create "real home", often isn't that at all. Impatience is just that, and usually gets you anything but the real you home..

There's a book I've had on my shelves for a few decades. It is stilllll so relevant. What got me? The author's description of something I was encountering over and over again in the nineties and I'll call it........"Mc Mansion Void of Life". The real life. Sub Zero's with nary a bite to eat - a lazy factor. Miles of hardwood with no FURNITURE - a case of the house having already broken the bank, except for the luxury cars in the driveway. Today? It could easily have a substitute in "Modern Cookie Cutter Farmhouse"

Highly entertaining! Particularly those aspects that drove her to write it: )

I always have a fresh copy for chaotic homes, and I am NOT talking about the decor lol.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Comforts-Science-Keeping-House/dp/068481465X/ref=asc_df_068481465X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693352901730&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11536735745646112785&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005590&hvtargid=pla-571228274075&psc=1&mcid=c92fff26f80f3b188997e971a7a69875&gad_source=1

Do I know myself? Today, I will say "yes"; tomorrow, I might say "no" because of something which took place in the last 24 hours which has put a different spin on things. Self-discovery should be ongoing; self-discovery is a journey. I'm 80 years old and haven't shut my mind down to new beginnings.

Decor wise? I don't put that much thought into it. I have what I like; I like what I have. But, I am open to change. I never say "never".

I love reading this thread and while I think I ultimately know what I like and what feels comfortable in my home, I have to say it is sometimes hard to make so many decisions in a short period of time when projects are moving forward, but I love all 3 of Jan’s bathrooms in the original post! If I can achieve anything close to the 3rd picture I will be thrilled! I want to be open to changes that make life easier, more efficient, and less fussy for my grands and family.

I am very "late to the party" - but I selected the second bathroom and first bedroom. I have not read through all of the posts because I didn't want to spoil the fun of making my selections!

Recently (= a few weeks ago - not sure exactly - it's been a crazy month), I saw a couple photos posted by a well respected designer on here where she showed part of her home (staircase - updating a 90s staircase). She was trying to show an OP how to embrace the style of her 90s staircase = make few changes without structurally making any changes. It was a perfect response - especially when the designer invited us into part of her actual home (vs. posting photos of someone else's home that looked similar).

There have been a few times that designers/posters who regularly comment on Houzz who have shared actual photos of their homes (or prior homes). I don't think a single regular user on here hasn't seen Patricia's red IKEA kitchen from a previous home (she's posted it to make a point about the quality of IKEA cabinets). Chispa has shown some photos her (maybe prior home(s) also?) - I am in love with one of the bathrooms + have really enjoyed the other photos I've seen. I'd love to see the entire home!!

The recent post of the 90s staircase, made me think about how much I would LOVE to see more photos of designers (and those extra knowledgeable non-pro designated users) homes. I've actually thought about starting a post in order to encourage people to share some portion of their home. However, I realize that this request may be viewed as an "invasion" of privacy - BUT regular OPs do that every day (even though it can feel "uncomfortable").

I would really love to see some rooms (as many as people feel comfortable sharing) - but I don't know how you all would feel about it. . .

Seeing designers homes might not be what you'd expect.

Not a designer, but showing my home on the Net is something that I don't do.

However, I did share my BM Merlot Red dining room(someone asked about vases) - once.

I can't speak for others. I do know one thing. In this business, client relationships morph due to time lengths for completion such as a build or huge remodel , and due to repeated projects. It can be VERY hard to keep a business/personal line in the sand. Some clients do become great friends, but many many of us work from home. We know an awful lot of folks in our own locales, and they know US. It admittedly may seem unfair! We invade your space , we need to know a lot about you to create a space you love. But no matter how much I may love a client? No....I do NOT need you dropping off a wallpaper memo sample as you pass on the way to the gym, while I am still on the computer in my jammie pants! NO. lol nooooo.

It is far less personal, far easier, to grab a relevant and well done concept to illustrate a thought, right from the very impersonal internet, for virtually any op on this site, for any variety of issue: )

I now have this comment below on two threads. On purpose. Why here? Because........there are some things no amount of money will ever buy. This is one of them.: )..........replying to @ Liasch

________

"You will love this. Turned up on X ( twitter) the other day. I nearly cried, it was just so darn sweet, so imaginative and innocent - a mind only a kid can possess.

If my child created this? It would hang forever and then ? It might be buried with me.....: )

The essence of her home, I hope, it sure would get prime real estate in mine.

Read that tiny text...."

"I "framed" it for her- job jar, job!!!"

You'd be surprised how many designers I have interviewed who put their own homes on their project pages. They don't say it is their home but you can tell over time and conversation. Don't know that it is wrong. Perhaps misleading to say it is a client project.

My husband and I have purchased two homes. Because we have horses, the land was the always deciding factor. The first purchase had a “neglected rental”, which took A LOT of money to clean up. We also built the barn, ring and paddocks. In our current situation, the house is lovely and bigger than we need, but the land is spectacular. The barn, paddocks, electric fencing and high quality riding ring were all there.

I love my house. I’ve been designing it to my taste for 10 years but I started with large windows, tall soaring ceilings, a one level layout and a porch with a drop dead view. When people ask why we have such a big house, my answer has always been “Because it came with the property” and if it had been a sweet little Cape Cod, we would have loved it too.

The previous owner loved gray and beige, and I don’t. The house is is "my project” which keeps me on Houzz and other design sites. I am putting the “me” in my house as @JAN MOYER would say.

And I thought the second bedroom was yours, Jan. Neutral with a wink of one spectacular color looked like you as much as Bedroom #1.

^ that sounds so lovely Red Ryder - my son rode for several years and I miss the horses, barn smells and even mucking out the stalls ❤️

Don't worry, designer, if you don't feel comfortable posting your own home. I don't want to see my designer's home, because it might influence me away from "me". I do love to see your portfolios. Please keep them coming. I am attracted to a portfolio that shows diversity of style. That tells me the designer can take what I have and what I want and create the space that makes guests say, "Oh, this is so you!" I "married" my current designer when, after several discussions and a tour of my home, she showed me a picture at our next meeting that she said made her think of me, and I thought, "Oh! She GETS me!" She really goes all out in her work and I sometimes wonder how she can be different things to different clients. I wonder how she is not exhausted from it.

ME: I liked the middle bedroom of the three and would like to carry the colors of the bedroom into the bathroom to create a larger mental map of the space without having a ridiculously large bedroom and/or bathroom that would scream of an insecurity I don't happen to have. I have enough other insecurities. I like imagining what is around the corner and in that nook and alcove.

For a space to remain attractive to me for decades, it must have secrets. I've had my home for over 20 years and am still learning about it, how the light shines in certain angles at only one time of year and for only a few hours, offering so much potential. I love vignettes and use the term to mean an augmented focal point. It has potential to tell a very short story in addition to being something nice to look at.

I like all three! I would expect any and all of your work to be done in an excellent and very tasteful manner, Jan!

@ Norwood Architects

I like all three as well........but the cozy feel in # two? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah............totally "MOI".!

I love cream and white rooms.

IMHO the thing that makes #2 better than the other 2 is the color scheme. Definitely prefer the gold/bronze hardware over chrome with cream. The darker frame around the mirror, the darker window treatments and the carpet add depth and richness and I love the contrast between the white and the cream. The only thing I am not crazy about in bathroom #2 is the white marble floor. I don't know why, but it feels too white or too much white.

The other two are just a bit bland in comparison.

I think the room needs a dilute calico kitty . . .

Colors are perfect together. .

As kids my mom told us we could only wear colors together if we could find where mother nature put the colors together. Kitties often give me inspiration.

I think my adjoining bedroom would have to have to be the same colors with a few peach accents.

I completely understand the desire/need for privacy - and would never imgaine that you would provide clients with your personal addresses. As an attorney, I wouldn't ever want a client to just "stop by" in order to drop off a set of signed documents. I had a difficult time (many years ago) when our firm decided to include our mobile #'s on our business cards - it felt like an invasion of my personal time because some clients decided that the inclusion of my mobile # = permission to call me whenever they wanted. When I started receving phone calls at 9 p.m. - or on a Saturday afternoon while I was watching one of my daughters' soccer games - it felt very intrusive.

I just have enjoyed seeing some glimpses into some of your homes - HOWEVER, I completely understand your desire for privacy.

I felt exactly the same on the cell phone, Dani........until the text capability became so ridiculously all pervasive. I get those? You really don't want to know.....................Sunday, 6:00 am? You know she's in bed and hubby is still sawing wood. "See this chandelier I found??"...Oy.

I remember when I owned a mobile pet vaccination service and carried a pager that patients could call if their pet had a vaccine reaction or was acting sick after getting vaccinations.

I ended up hiring a call center to screen the calls and only notify me when it was an actual emergency. I remember one man calling me at 3:00 in the morning. Told me he knew that his cat had tapeworm and that we had a clinic the next day, but he can see a worm coming out of his cat's butt - what is he supposed to do.

I wanted to know why he was looking at his cat's butt at 3:00 in the morning! Just WHY!

I would get calls from some random person in some other state who is calling me because their dog is sick. Never came to one of our clinics, nothing to do we getting vaccinations - just call a number we found on the internet. Really???

Even without publishing my address people found my home. I had people drop by to see if they could get vaccines for their pet or flea control. Worse were the people who left their pets tied to my fence or in a tote at my front door. You cannot imagine the number of animals that were abandoned at my home over the 25 years I ran that business.

Jan Moyer ~ my mom had the same book. And when we were clearing out our childhood home I snagged that right up. I refer to it, and enjoy what my mom wrote in it etc…

How about emails. I send those at all times because I assume my designer doesn't check work email after hours. But everyone is different. I don't text her or call her unless we arrange it in advance. Although, in my work I make myself available all the time, I don't expect it of others.

lol I have the vanity in pic #1 but I love pic #2 even more! I got my vanity here on houz. FYI seal the marble top. They don’t come sealed

Jennifer, your post had me and my daughter and husband doubled over with laughter! I almost couldn't catch my breath--had to be the funniest story EVER on this site!!!

OMG! How did I miss that yesterday? "Just WHY"? indeed! Hysterical.

Being a former cat owner, I would guess the cat woke him to show him. I still remember my cats gently pawing our faces to wake us up. I never let my cats in the bedrooms, but dear hubby couldn't do that, so they ended up sleeping with us. No more cats for me. My pets now are Roombas and Braavas and my wild critters outdoors.

Cats love to show off! As a teen, my bedroom widow looked over the garage roof. Mere inches above it. With no A.C? The screen inches from my bed against that window?

PING.....SCRATCH, SCRATCH, pinggggggg!!!! pinnnnngggg!

This, at dawn...where until I got out of the bed, descended the stair and greeted Norman, (who'd scurry off the roof to the extension below, around the corner , through the back yard and to the kitchen door.....)

"Look at what I brought you!!"

Yes Norman, I see it you pain in the ass, it's a very handsome freaking MOUSE. It is yet another mouse, but goody goody for you!

"Normie" just loved those summer nights, would not spend them indoors: )

Back to that "you" thing.....Had lunch with a client the other day. We're sitting in her kitchen laughing about whatever....

'Should I bomb my place? " ( nearly 27 yrs now)

Do you want to bomb it?

"No..... I love it to this day....."

"Well...? Then don't you have your answer?"

"Everyone my age is bombing theirs..."

" Are you everyone?"

"So I guess it's okay to still love it?"

"Yeah......: ) that it is. Nobody here but you, so maybe BOMB that idea though I shall be happy to spend your mooolah. ?". hahahahaha

COLLECTED/OLD WORLD · More Info

COLLECTED/OLD WORLD · More Info

Interior Design Work · More Info

COLLECTED/OLD WORLD · More Info

Interior Design Work · More Info

Interior Design Work · More Info

After our dog died in 1987, my parents refreshed their house with new textiles and wallcoverings and such in most of the rooms. They were perfectly happy with the original color scheme from 1969 (it was conservative for 1969) but in 1987-88, those colors were just not readily available to redo only what needed to be redone, so they ended up changing the color scheme overall. (The basement remained 1975 until the house was sold). Around 2000 I asked my mother if she was ever going to redo things again and she said No, she liked what she liked, she wasn't a different person than she was and she was not fickle and not easily bored by things and she had much more interesting things to spend money on. And so it remained until the house was sold in 2015.

I have much of the stuff now and a lot of it is redone in fabrics much closer to the 1969 color scheme. I have identical color wool velvet cut carpet (waterfall) on the stairs and landings just like they did in 1969-87.

@JAN MOYER - Tell your client to sell her house to me - fully furnished - before she bombs it. What stunning rooms! Classic and classy….😍