Our homes are important - they are not only the largest investment many of us will make, but they're where life happens. Parties are thrown, pictures are taken, meals are cooked, laundry is folded, and we can confidently say that good design matters in the big and small moments lived at home.
It's a great time of year to start thinking about home improvements! Whether you are building your dream home or you're ready for new living room furniture, the process of making selections and having everything come together the right way can be daunting. We thought we'd share a few reasons you should consider hiring Michelle Erin Interiors for your next project:
1. Make It "You"
Everyone has a vision of what their dream space feels like. We can help you realize the best version of that, tailored specifically to the needs of you and your family. We love to learn about your routines (and potential pain points) and design your space in a way that makes those routines more beautiful and easier to manage. We'll ask about your favorite art pieces, favorite places to travel, and the aesthetics you're drawn to in order to create a space that is inspiring to you. When your project is complete, we want it to feel totally "you" - not based on current trends or the neighbor's house.
2. Pushing Boundaries
We will help you get out of your comfort zone to create spaces that express your creativity and interests. Often, clients tell us that our ideas that felt the most "out there" were the things they were the most excited about and would run to show guests who visited their home later. Incorporating unexpected, fresh, and dynamic design elements can be difficult to do without the help of a designer!
3. Professional Training
We're professionally trained in interior architecture, and with eight years of experience in the industry we've seen a lot of mistakes, learned a lot of lessons, and have fine tuned our process to make what can be a long and difficult process easier for you. We'll help you find furniture that is the proper scale for your room size (hint: you're probably going too small), we'll help with lighting, paint selections, mixing patterns and materials within a space, communicating your goals to your builder and subcontractors, setting a budget, and more. Don’t know which paint colors are complimentary? Don’t know how to incorporate color at all? We can help with that. And we'll make sure the sofa fits through your door before placing the order :)
4. Vendor and Trade Relationships
Sourcing furniture and finishes can be exhausting, overwhelming, and can take a lot of time. We've accumulated a list of hundreds of vendor partners with a variety of styles, price points, timelines, and quality. We spend time every day researching and reviewing new collections with vendors to source and find the best pieces for our current projects. This will save you the time and effort hunting for the perfect pieces. Our trade vendors are often not open to the general public, which means your pieces are going to be unique to you and not something you’ll find in your neighbor’s house.
Photo from Las Vegas Market - a biannual home furnishings show to view and learn about the latest offerings from vendors.
5. Keeping it Timeless
Clients are often concerned with things being "too trendy" and typically want to invest in timeless pieces they won't have to worry about replacing in the short term because of changes in current trends. The best way to keep things timeless is to really hone in on your own likes and dislikes, regardless of trends or anyone else's opinion, and focus on that! We'll guide you through some self reflection to think about what pieces and colors and styles you really love. We'll also steer you toward choices and furniture silhouettes that will last, and away from trends that we think are on their way out.
6. Avoid Unnecessary Cost
We can help you make meaningful updates to your home when a full remodel or new construction isn't an option. Sometimes if you’ve lived in a space for a long time you lose sight of the potential, and we can help you visualize and realize new possibilities for your living spaces that don't include a drawn out construction project and a large price tag. We can advise on improvements that will add value to your home. We can help you avoid mistakes that will eventually cost you more money to fix, and we know how to pick and choose your save vs. splurge items. Because of our relationships with trade vendors, you'll have access to better pricing on furniture items than you'd get in the store.
Here's an example: this client was ready to tear out their stairs and replace them altogether. During our consultation, we suggested instead just replacing the handrail and removing the decorative copper accents for an easier and less expensive update - they loved the finished look!
7. The Big Picture
We often hear clients say they have a hard time visualizing a space, or they don't know how to pull a room together. That's where we come in! We like to think we're experts at assessing a room and determining what's missing to get to that sweet spot of balanced - but interesting. We'll help you visualize with drawings and room mockups so you're comfortable with the design before finalizing orders. While designing each individual room, we'll also think about your home as a whole to make sure the spaces flow as you're traveling from room to room.
8. An Advocate in the Building Process
If you're taking on a large remodel project or new construction, your designer will be your new best friend! We can be your eyes and voice with builders or subcontractors on the project to ensure installations go according to plan. We can help during the space planning phase with things like making sure you take advantage of potential space, lines of sight, symmetry, walkways, window placement, and more. We can make sure you have a floor outlet right where you need it for that family room lamp. As construction progresses, there will be many, many choices to make that often feel overwhelming, and we'll be there every step of the way!
9. Making the Process Fun
Building, remodeling, and buying new furniture can all be stressful. Money, time, and emotions are all at play! We think the process should be fun - and we'll try to make it as enjoyable as we can. Our streamlined processes are designed to keep stress and uncertainty to a minimum. We try to be as clear and transparent - setting budgets and expectations up front to avoid any surprises down the line. We try to make the design part of the process fun! We'll have regular design meetings where you can feel and see what's to come and get excited. We'll try our best to incorporate things that are inspiring and fun for you and your family - and we'll have a friendly attitude and sense of humor throughout the process as well.
