What is Interior Design?

What is Interior Design? According to WiseGeek.com "Interior design is a discipline that looks after designing all of the interiors of a space. This can include things like flooring, windows, doors, walls, lighting, furniture, and miscellaneous design pieces."


As a designer this definition although very correct barley scratches the surface. Interior design to me is  the  placement of someone's life and personality throughout a room. As an Interior Decorator I have the incredible task of taking who you are as a person, a couple, or a family and finding the pieces and styles that not only portray who you are, but tell the story of where you have been and where you are going.

One of my college professor's once told me "not to over design a room, they said that as a designer you can make the most beautiful room in the world, but if it does not portray the person who is living in it they will never be comfortable there."

These words to me were incredibly profound and I believe that these words helped shape me into the designer that I am today. It is amazing that everything we do in life is a reflection of who we are and what we love. What reflection are you hoping the world see's in you?  What is the reflection you want of your business? If it is anything short of who you are and what you want others to know about you, it is never to late to start showing the world the person you truly are.

This snapshot from stik.com is very special to me. My goal is to achieve great customer service at Design With Your Dime in Mind. Thank you to everyone I have met or designed for, you have all become part of my story and I feel truly blessed to become part of yours through design!

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson

Khloe Kardashian Inspired - Glam Office

Our Traditional Glam office is complete!  Last Friday DWYDiM, Chee Photography and Pamela Kramer went to the home of Lidia Ferrufino to photograph and shoot video of her redesigned office. 
Have you ever seen a design online that you just loved? Our client's love of Khloe Kardashian's office inspired the elements of this room.  Our client's favorite piece in Khloe Kardashian's office was her amazing mirrored desk!  Having that to go by we started our search for pieces that would fit the glam of the inspiration room, but also incorporate the traditional pieces that already existed in the space.
What we used to create this space:
Pottery Barn mirrored deskPier 1 Damask chair, rug and peacock accessoriesGarden Ridge for shelves and accessories (Existing)Hobby Lobby for accessoriesTarget for Benches (existing)JCPenny Home Store for curtains (existing)Couch came from Rooms To Go (existing)
We are so happy with the transformation of this Formal Sitting room into an office that our client can use to work on her fashion website, House of Alice Rose!  
Just for fun, here is a short clip of our outtakes! Hope you enjoy.

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson

Traditional Glam office Followup

We are making progress with our Traditional Glam office and have a photo shoot scheduled with Chee Photography next Friday for the big reveal!   I thought I would give you a little sneak peek of the selections we have made and how they are coming together in this space.
The mirrored desk we selected is from Pottery Barn and this beautiful chair was found at Pier 1!!!  In this picture you can also see a glimpse of the golden colored rug we chose from Pier 1 as well.

I have one more photo to show you today of how the"Boss" approves of the room!

Excited to show you the after photos of this gorgeous room transformation!

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the Houston area. Karen met her husband while they were both serving in the Coast Guard. They reside with their lovely daughter and very spoiled pooch in the League City area. For more information please click Get Started

Idea Board - Zen Master Bedroom

Today we are working on Zen Master Bedroom:

Here is the Design Board we have submitted for client approval

 

Clients Desires:

~Zen Master Bedroom that she can unwind in at the end of the day.
~Wants purple in the room
~Loves plants
~Loves the look of Bamboo
~Would like to keep room clutter free with organic minimal accessories

Clients Request:
~No curtains
~Pet Friendly colors, not too light or dark to show hair

Clients Is keeping:
~Bed and Frame
~Chest of drawer
~Faux painted wall color
~existing end table

Client is removing:
~antique vanity

- photo credits: dillards.com, art.com, homedecoratorscollection.com

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the Houston area. Karen met her husband while they were both serving in the Coast Guard. They reside with their lovely daughter and very spoiled pooch in the League City area. For more information please click on the Get Started tab on the upper right corner of the screen.

How To Create an Escape!

Usually when we think about a great escape we think of dropping everything and heading out on a weekend get away to the ocean or the mountains.  But.......what if you were able to just step outside with a cup of coffee and a great book in hand and disappear anytime you wanted????

Client Breakdown:
 client who loves to garden and read

Room:
Small screened in back porch with exposed brick and deck flooring

Object: 
An outdoor room that calls to you and makes you stop what you are doing, check your problems at the door and just relax into a great book anytime during the day or night.

Here is what we created:

www.DWYDiM.com

www.DWYDiM.com

www.DWYDiM.com

To create this look:
Bench from World Market
Throw Pillows from Garden Ridge
Lamp, Rug and Seagrass Ottoman from Through the Country Door

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson

Lights, Camera, Action!

Today we shot our first video of a completed Master Bedroom.  In the past I have always opted out of the live videos and always just posted the before and after shots of our work. As you can see by the video's outtakes, I have tons of personality until the camera is clicked on :)  After a year of working with my operations manager Pamela Kramer, I am out of excuses and now in front of the camera facing my fears head on in front of You Tube watchers and stepping out of my comfort zone. Thank you for watching and for your ongoing support!!!!  Let's see where this ride will lead us!

What a beautiful view to wake up to.

Hand scraped Engineered hardwood floors : Romance by Regal flooring 

Beautiful Bedroom set that adds a sense of regal elegance to the room .

For more beautiful Master Bedroom make overs please visit our Facebook album. 

Wall color is Rope by Eddie Bauer
Bedding is Waverly at Target
Curtains purchased at Anna's Linens

Thank you again for watching and reading, we love sharing our passion for design with you.

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson

What makes the perfect kitchen?

What makes a kitchen perfect for the homeowner? This question is different for every homeowner, some love certain colors or styles they see in magazines, others it is all in the appliances and cabinet and counter space.  This is what makes kitchen design so complex and also so enjoyable! Each time a designer is faced with a kitchen redesign the possibilities are almost endless.  This is where finding the essence of who a client is becomes unbelievably important in the satisfaction of that client with the end result.

 My Client:
 The homeowners are transitional in their taste and love pops of the color blue and everything else neutral and calming.  When discussing their likes and past travels etc during the consultation the homeowners mentioned their love of Italy and brick ovens. As well as there tendency towards clean lines and no fuss design.

As we started designing the kitchen back splash I decided that I wanted to put a modern twist on a brick oven.  In order to do this we found the tiles that look like wood planks and had an inset put in above the stove.  The rest of the back splash is made up of a beautiful gray slate with cobalt blue glass inserts. The clients chose a beautiful granite that we used to tie in all of the elements.

The homeowners opted for dual toned cabinets in glacier pewter and sable to tie in with the antique stained bamboo flooring throughout the home.

All of our lighting fixtures were done in an antique bronze and the kitchen hardware is in a brushed nickel finish.

www.DWYDiM.com

www.DWYDiM.com

www.DWYDiM.com

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson

Projects in progress

Hello Everyone! Today I am brain storming for 3 different projects so while I research I am going to attach ideas to the blog

Clients: Married couple with pets

Job: Turn their formal sitting room into an Office

Brainstorming:

Having work with the client before, I know that the lady of the house loves glitz and glam, but also wants to keep a formal feel and an inviting space for her husband to work as well. Client loves traditional furniture with ornate details in all of the wood.

Items that stay in the room after transformation:

~ warm yellow wall color

~Existing window treatments Beautiful!!!

~engineered wood floors

~ledges that hold family photos and artwork

~metal and iron scroll artwork

~traditional style loveseat

~accent table

~fake tree

~endtable

~traditional lamps

Borrowing from extras in the house:

To add the masculinity into the space I would like to add two leather topped stools with wood leg bases

photo credit - www.homedesignxtreme.com

Additional items needed to complete the space: 2 mirrored desks to make more work space and glam:

photo credit - cheapshagrugs.net

Still looking for the perfect chair. I will fine tune the room from here, but this is the general scheme we are going from to do the room. As soon as the shopping and installation are complete, I will post the final outcome.

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson

Weekly Designs

As you can see I have a New Years Resolution!  To start and continue a Designer's Blog that will walk you through the design process with me as I conquer my own home (only a year here) and take on many new and exciting clients throughout the year! 


My plan is to post the before pictures of a space( if clients allow) and then walk you through the Design process from ideas to selections and then of course the REVEAL! I will also take photos of little changes that I have made within my own home that will show you how sometimes the smallest of changes can really make a room.


The first room that I am creating is my own Master Bedroom.
 The Theme is French inspired in texture, but very simplistic in the lines of the furnishings. I am looking for a room that I can come home from Designing every day and escape to a very serene environment that rest my eyes and my mind and keeps me thinking about my dream vacation to Europe!

www.DWYDiM.com

Above: We recently built the headboard for this bed out of MDF board cut to size, batting ( I already had at the house) A Canvas painter's drop cloth (9.99 at Lowes) and I selected and had my amazing husband  cut and frame it out with trim.

www.DWYDiM.com

Bay window that my Father in Law built the custom window seat for! I love it!  Here I would like to add more pillows, and curtains as well as sketch a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge on the top of the bench( this is where my husband and I went on one of our first dates!)

www.DWYDiM.com

All of the furniture has been painted white to soften the feel of the room.


Items that I will be researching and posting by next week:


~A bench to place at the foot of the bed
~curtains for the bay window
~a chandler to replace the standard ceiling fan
~Paint color ( I am going for a soft brown with a hint of gray in it. :)
~Pillows to add to the window seat


Thank you for reading see you next week! 

Houston Interior Designer Karen Nelson is "bringing beautiful designs into every home." The interior design services that are offered can be completed online (via skype) or in person within the greater Houston area.  For more information please click Hire Karen Nelson