Designing a Home That You Love || Part One

How to design a home you love | A Fabulous Fete

If you follow along over on instagram, then you probably saw a few peeks from our visit to One Kings Lane. Besides wanting to get a look inside their drop dead gorgeous headquarters, we also scheduled a meeting with one of their designers, Chelsea, to have a look at Alison's (the newest member to our team!) new house. She just relocated to Joshua Tree and is creating her space, basically from scratch, with a few of her favorite collectibles thrown in. With a tricky floor plan and having a pretty solid idea for the use of each area, it was a design job suited for a professional.

I love a good interior and am in the process of beginning renovations on our own home. So documenting this process was the perfect way to kick off a series of some inspiring, informational, and hopefully resourceful posts for you guys here on AFF. We really wanted to share an approachable way to working with an expert to design a room you love.

What were the top priorities in creating an approachable space?

No. 1 - We must have a mix of high + low items. We know there are times to spend (ie. items you will keep for (almost) ever) and times to save

No . 2 - Nothing happens overnight. It's pretty pricey to outfit an entire home, so we wanted to show you how rooms can evolve over time

No. 3 - Deciding what is important to you in the room is the first step and what you should always base your design around. This was the biggest driver of Alison's design

These were all clearly expressed to the designer we worked with and will always be at the core of decisions made in decorating any space. So, read on as we dive into Part One of Alison's living area design!

How to work with an interior decorator to design a home you love | A Fabulous Fete

Designing a home you love | A Fabulous Fete

How to work with an interior designer| A Fabulous Fete

Process, what to bring/prep for a consulation:

Images of your room
A drawing of the space with dimensions
How you plan to use the space
Problem areas
Lighting needs
Pinterest to show your style, include what you love AND what you hate

Goals in Alison's new design:

Creating a space built around entertaining and hosting weekend guests
Creating a space that is inviting
Creating a space that is inspirational
Creating a space that is that houses our favorite things
Creating a space that is where people want to spend their time

Hi, I’m Alison, the new Creative Brand Strategist at AFF! My husband and I recently bought a house in Joshua Tree, California, and while I am very excited about this, it’s a bit overwhelming. This is our first actual house. I’ve lived the majority of my life in NYC and always lived in apartments. I’m hoping to have a lot of friends and family visit so I need a space that is good for entertaining and hosting people. It’s also definitely time for a refresh and to purchase a few “investment pieces”. I’ve decided to begin the redecoration process with my living/dining room. It’s a bit of a strange shape so I wanted to get some help designing it. Lauren and I recently took a mini vacay to New York City and I decided to seek out some professional help from One Kings Lane. If you aren’t familiar with this company, it’s a home decor e-commerce site that also offers in house design consultation at their studio in Manhattan, and the first visit is FREE! I want to share my entire experience with you from start to finish and hopefully encourage you to seek out professional decor advice, it doesn’t have to be intimidating or super expensive.

How to prepare for the appointment

The first step is pretty simple- make an appointment! I booked it online here. The initial consultation is approximately 1 hour and you are asked to prepare by uploading images of the actual space to a link provided in the confirmation email. I also created a pin board (see it here) with inspiration images and took measurements of the room.

During the appointment

I was paired up with Chelsea, who was welcoming and made me feel comfortable instantly. She began by asking me questions like where do I shop, who are my favorite designers, what will the primary use of the room be, if I had any pieces that will definitely be staying in the space and lastly, if there was anything that was off limits (for me anything animal related-fur, leather etc). I also explained that what I wanted the most help with was the placement of furniture, since the space is an awkward shape. We then took a look at my Pinterest board and I explained what I liked about some of the pins. At the end of the appointment we took a walk around the studio, AKA a place you wish you lived, and I felt even more excited about what was to come.

After the appointment

The following week I received a pin board (see it here) from Chelsea which highlighted pieces she thought I’d like and images to confirm my overall style direction. I think she did great!

Next Step

After I confirmed that her choices were totally on point, she sent a floor plan and a few furniture plan options (see images on the right). One even included a recliner as per my husband's request. I love how real the room looks (does that make sense??). She took into consideration that we would be eating most meals outside, therefore we wouldn't want a huge dining table inside. And my Fornasetti plate collection above the table is perfection.

I feel so much better seeing the furniture plans and floor plan. I was really stressing and feeling overwhelmed about where to put everything. Now that I am more confident, it's time to go shopping! Stay tuned for the next post as we share the progress...