Affordable interior design help for the aesthetically challenged in DC?

May 30, 2024 5:17 AM

I have a shabby little apartment in Washington DC and I need to furnish/style the living room. But I'm not rich, and worse, I don't know what my style is or even if I have one. I need a compassionate consultation and specific advice about what to buy and where to buy it, so my living room can finally be welcoming and comfortable instead of sad and sparse.

I got this apartment like 12 years ago, and “temporarily” put in a cheap black sectional I got at a yard sale. It's not comfortable, and because the living room is so narrow, it takes up all the space. After years of tentative attempts at looking for better couches and trying to think of what else to do, I finally accepted I am never going to actually make this happen by myself, and am looking for help--I want to finally get someone who knows what they're doing to help me properly furnish and decorate.

Some googling shows me various interior design companies in DC. But I don't know who to pick, and as I mentioned, I don't really know what to do with the room, or how to do it, or where to buy things. There are frankly a lot of emotions wound up in this whole thing for me.

So, I wondered if anyone has advice on how to choose a DC design (decorating?) company for someone who's never done this and needs a lot of help (and is on a budget), or if anyone knows a talented and compassionate individual around here who hires out for this sort of thing.

Thanks!

posted by theatro to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

If your budget is really low, and you need a lot of help, I'd bet you could get some solid feedback by posting pictures here.

Or ask a friend whose home you really like, and who seems like a helpful person.

I would LOVE it if a friend asked me to help them in something like this.
posted by cacao at 6:11 AM on May 30 [6 favorites]

I follow a DC based fashion/travel/design blogger who offers design consults at what I consider to be a reasonable price. She works in academia so I think she'd understand that you need IKEA-priced furniture and probably not a custom Italian leather sofa.
posted by notjustthefish at 6:31 AM on May 30

Seconding notjustthefish -- you may not need to limit yourself to someone in D.C. because plenty of interior designers offer "e-design" or "virtual design" online consultations via video call. Try spending some time bouncing around on Instagram to find some designers whose vibe you like (simple and neutral? eclectic and bright? etc.) and check their websites. I generally like a colorful modern aesthetic, and of the interior designers I follow, Teri Moore, Orlando Soria and Whitney J. Decor all have online service packages.
posted by fifthpocket at 7:26 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

There is no one way to pretty. Right now, go find some pictures of interiors - "normal" but nice ones in your opinion - and link to them here.

- You would need this information when talking to a design consultant anyway

- There's a chance you'll gain enough information and confidence while looking that you can figure some things out yourself

- Look at a LOT of images before deciding you just don't know.


Step one for me is usually analysis - just take in a bunch of visual information, put it in the yes or no column, keep going until a few hours have passed. Write down anything you learn you like, partially like, don't like - there may be just one word and that's fine.

Then sleep on it.

Also: I just Googled "What is my interior design style" and came up with a bunch of quizzes, but my personal style is a bit offbeat and none of those sites will probably work for me. But they might for you.
posted by amtho at 7:53 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

I like looking through old books and magazines of interior decor to figure out what I like that isn’t the current trend. (If you do vibe with current tastes, this is irrelevant!)

My city library has lots and lots of the books; magazines are a little harder.
I do have to avoid looking at penthouses-and-chateaux because the style so rarely translates, but there are lots of pleasant reasonable images out there.
posted by clew at 9:32 AM on May 30 [1 favorite]

I love decorating books and magazines and the library will have lots of them. SubReddit DesignMyRoom is fun and helpful. Is there a bid department store with furniture, go visit, but don't buy yet, same with Home Goods, Ikea and others. Take pictures of rooms in books and stuff in stores that really appeals to you. It gives you a good sense of what direction to pursue.

When you approach home decorating, think about how you want to use rooms and how you want a room to feel at least as much as what color or style you like or is popular.
posted by theora55 at 9:49 AM on May 30 [2 favorites]

Furniture stores sometimes offer free design services, I'm thinking specifically of Room & Board - they have a store at 14th and T in DC. Obviously, they are going to select pieces from their own collection (and Room&Board isn't cheap) but you might be able to use it for inspiration or to help figure out your own design style.
posted by Preserver at 12:06 PM on May 30 [1 favorite]

You may or may not find this helpful, but as a designer who has built gardens for clients and done some interior design, rather than try to determine your style, think instead about how you want to feel in your space; and how you want your space to feel. So for 1, perhaps you chose relaxed, comfortable, inspired, pet friendly, and for 2 you choose casual, artistic, creative. Make these the headers of two columns, and write down needs/considerations just below each of them. So under the first you might write "comfortable seating" as a need, and "pet hair" and "access to the window" as considerations. Under the second you might put "wall of artwork" and then "plaster walls" and "rental". This is to help you and or any designer or friend who helps you get down to the nitty-gritty of what is really important to you personally in your space, and what it takes to make that happen (i.e. pet friendly fabrics, or art ledge vs. lots of nails for all your art). If you were to just tell someone "I like a beachy, coastal style" they might just spec you a white sectional that blocks access to your window and is always covered in fur from your black cat. This exercise also helps you get away from beginning with things and brands to actual needs and wants.

At the same time, start putting together a mood board on pinterest or someplace you can collect photos of things: colors, textures, items, rooms or whatever you like. Every once in a while just open up this collection and makes some notes of what you observe: i.e.lots of colors like apricot and blue, impressionistic art, big pillows, soft lighting, big coffee table for games, lots of books, lots of plants. Use this to devise your own language for your personal style. Then you can start putting things together: "apartment sofa and two comfy chairs in apricot, with a big coffee table that also doubles as seating" or whatever. Then you can start looking for more specific items (or your friends or designer can). Either you end up feeling confident that you can start making your own design decisions, or you've acquired a lot of good information for a designer to really attend to your needs in your personal space. Thinking about all this stuff will also help you find a professional that can work with you, rather than impose their own plug-and-play sort of design aesthetic on your world.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:39 PM on May 30 [5 favorites]