Home and Life Makeovers

Designers Guild, my favorite purveyor of wallpapers and fabrics

They say...

You reap what you sow.

You get what you give.

And I say, pay the experts.  You'll save yourself some expensive DIY mistakes.

Take home decorating, for instance.  I used to think that only rich people hired interior designers, so, like most people of the non-rich ilk, I merely played the game of trial and error with home decor.  Buy a couch on sale here, hit a yard sale there... schlep fabric swatches, a dizzying amount of paint chips and tile samples to a big box home store and lug home a few gallons of pretty decent paint.   Two days and wads of used drop cloths later, things were... better.  Not great, but not too too bad.  At least the walls looked more interesting with some color added. 

On occasion, for a visually stimulating treat, I'd frolick fawn-like through home design stores.  And then I'd drool over shelter magazines for ideas.  But then it was back to Ye Olde Faithful Giant DIY Warehouse of Blah for more DIY blah projects.  Saved money on each project, but in the end had a houseful of not-so-cohesive and not-so-exciting rooms.  And most importantly, I kept wanting more solutions, so I'd keep scouring stores and estate sales for more "bargains."

Eventually, during one of my frolicking sessions in a local home design store called Decorium*, I saw a sign.  For a few hundred bucks one could get an in-home design.

Say what?

Hmmm...  The wheels got to turning.  But should I spend the money on just a design, I wondered?  Money that could go to a new armoire or sofa at a FANTASTIC PRICE?

Or, I pondered some more, would that initial investment actually save me money in the long run and prevent me from constantly needing to correct mistakes with new stuff?

I decided that the latter made more sense and... voila!  My home makeover was about to begin!

Having an expert interior designer take my design boards (I had a record number the designer told me with a chuckle) and create a cohesive, visually stunning plan just blew me away.  I felt as if this weight had been lifted off my shoulders, because although I am a very artistic, visual person, I don't have the skills required to put together an entire home design that flows from room to room.  And I certainly don't have the time to piece together resources that a designer has at his or her fingertips.

Now of course, we couldn't afford to do everything he suggested, especially all at once, but I finally had a plan!  A vision!  A direction!

A plan, a vision, and a direction.  Hmmm... sounds kind of like career design doesn't it?

See, an even more profound relief happened when I later decided to bite the bullet and spend a few hundred dollars on a career assessment.  And then another small investment to do a career coaching program which helped me implement my newly-discovered talents and aptitudes.  Talk about another weight being lifted off of my proverbially laden shoulders!

Now, I'll admit, before investing in the aforementioned career program I had the same kind of concerns I had with the home design expert. Should I spend the money on guidance instead of investing money in a new business?  Or another degree?  And the answer came much more easily the second time around.  Just as the design expertise had proved exponentially beneficial, I knew deep down that getting a direction for what to do with my life would pay me back tenfold, and not just in terms of a future salary.  (Which typically pays for itself within one or two months of employment, by the way.) The payoff also meant a tremendous boost in confidence, a much-needed break from worrying about what I was going to do with my life, and an emotionally uplifting vision to create a professional life I could enjoy.

So how is my house now, you might ask?  It looks beautiful, has energy and vitality, and has proven a welcome retreat for me, my family, and friends.  We eventually did do most of the recommendations of the initial design plan, save for a few very creative tweaks implemented to help us stay within budget.  And being the visually sensitive person I am, my home aesthetic improvements have made a big difference in how I feel at home.  A visually pleasing environment really can make a difference in how you feel.

But the improvements to my career life?  Well, I think you know that I've found a fabulous home in career design.


*I highly recommend designer David Chenault at Decorium Gift and Home, located at 116 King Street in Old Town Alexandria or go to http://www.decoriumhome.com