One Hour Design Consult Review

Hi all,

I hope you had a great weekend.  Did you do anything fun?

Today I thought I’d share a great experience I had with hiring the designer Kirsten Krason to help me with my entryway/hallway.  I’ve been having a heck of a time trying to figure out what to do with it.  When Kirsten announced that she was offering a one hour consult by email for a reduced price I jumped at the chance to have such a talented interior designer help me with my vision.

The first step was to answer some questions that she emailed me about the space.  She wanted me to let her know what areas were a priority and what areas she could get to if there was time.  Then I sent her the pictures.  I know, Yuck, right?

The entryway/hallway is actually much darker than the pictures show.  I lightened them up so you don’t have to squint.  Basically when you walk in the front door you see that curtain to the Laundry Room and the rust colored focal wall.  The coat hooks are to the right.  When you walk down the hall toward the bedrooms there’s a long wall on the left where I’ve hung my grandmother’s watercolor paintings.

After a couple days Kirsten emailed me a Pinterest board full of ideas based on all the things I wanted for the space.  She also gave a verbal description of what she was recommending and why.  Then I incorporated her ideas with my own and came up with my design board.

1. Behr Aqua Breeze paint on all the walls (except that I’ll use Valspar paint)
2. Royal Design Studio’s Ornamental Flower Wall Stencil in glossy white for the focal wall
3. Gallery wall (where my grandmother’s paintings are now) using white frames to bring in more light in the hallway
4. Multi-colored coat hooks-these match the George Nelson inspired ball clock I have in my family room
5. Ikea Shoe Cabinet with three compartments-perfect for a small space
6. I love this rug from RugsUSA.com.  It looks a bit Scandinavian to me and the colors are perfect.
7. This is a tutorial from The House of Smiths showing how to beef up your floor molding.  I’m all for doing this project since our moldings are puny and look like fake wood.

I need to figure out what color curtain I want since I’m going to replace the cream colored one.  Maybe I’ll pull one of the colors from the rug.

The One Hour Consult is the perfect solution if you have ideas about how to design your room, but you’re not sure how to pull it all together.  I would not have thought of using aqua on the walls until Kirsten showed examples.  I also wouldn’t have picked out that rug.  Some of the ideas like using stencils, the shoe cabinet and the gallery wall were mine, but for each, Kirsten gave multiple  suggestions.  Knowing that she’s a professional makes me feel more confident in my decisions.

Have you hired a professional to design your room either in person or by email?  What was it like for you?

If not, have you considered using a professional interior designer?

I’ll be back on Wed with an interview I did with Kirsten Krason.  You’ll be surprised by the color she wants to paint her baby’s room.

Your Fellow DIYer,