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Fluff’n Puff

If you’re ready for change, but unsure of what to do, a consultation might be the best way to start. Designers in furniture stores, showrooms and through the referral service at the Design Experience are available for this service. Discussing your needs and visions in your home is a good way to see if a designer is a good “fit” with your personality and style. Some designers will rearrange furniture and re-hang pictures to help you get a new, better room. One designer called this “Fluff ’n Puff.”



COST: Free to $100 Per Hour

PAINLESSNESS QUOTIENT: Very Good

TIME: Two to three hours to choose a designer: An hour for the consultation



Decorating Doldrums



“If I could just get rid of this couch…” or “Do you know how much I hate that table.” Furniture. We need it and know that it determines the mood of our home, but how do we shop for it?

According to those in the business, buying one or two pieces of furniture is as important as redoing a whole house, and the real way to make it painless is to come up with a master plan of all your design needs, and then do just one painless addition a season, as money and desire allow. “If you make a plan, you take the overwhelming out of the equation.” The painless improvements continue.



COST: For me master plan: Free to $500, depending on the designer

PAINLESSNESS QUOTIENT: Toughest first year, excellent for the years to follow

TIME: Two to ten hours to choose a designer: two to twenty hours with the designer

Couch Crisis

For those who want to find the perfect piece on their own. the recommendation is to do some casual research. Look in magazines, see what is available and what you like, and then gel on the phone and do your homework. Ask about cost, durability of the fabric, delivery dates and costs for shipping. Ask if you can come sit on one in the store or if you have to order it. Dallas has many options for the designing individual. There are furniture stores, showrooms of individual lines that will sell to the public, actual manufacturers who can make and deliver a piece to you in two weeks, and there is the Design Experience, which for a $25 membership fee, gives individuals the opportunity to visit Design District showrooms formerly closed to the public.

COST: Prices vary.

PAINLESSNESS QUOTIENT: If you enjoy the hunt, it’s a breeze.

TIME: An hour of homework should yield two hours of purchasing.

Whether Leather

One of the choices in upholstery fabric is leather. Unlike most fabric or other covering choices, leather can last a lifetime with minimal maintenance. One Dallas manufacturer offers 17 styles, 70 colors and seven grades of leather in pieces that are essentially custom designed. Because each set of furniture is made to order, styles can be modified to meet a particular customer’s needs. For Dallas customers, the average wait after the order is signed is only eight days.

COST: Average purchase. $2,400

PAINLESSNESS QUOTIENT: Excellent

TIME: Two to five hours for space design, style and leather choice.

Something Ola, Something New

Antiques can be particularly perplexing. An efficient approach to the subject is to attend estate auctions, see furniture from a variety of periods and get a sense of the dollar value of old pieces. To help decide which styles of furniture appeal to you. dealers recommend magazine articles on homes, as well as attending show houses during the spring. According to experts, the important thing about choosing a piece of furniture, old or new, is to buy “less of more rather than more of less.” In other words, buy for quality versus quantity. Invest in something that you want to last and be a part of your home for the long term.

AVERAGE PURCHASE: $1000

Blank & Bare

If you aren’t “art-iculate,” walls can be a bear. For some they stay bare for years. Our interviewees suggested a few things: visit the Dallas museums, go to the galleries, and think about the styles of painting and drawing that you like.

“For a lot of people, it’s simply a matter of acknowledging their tastes,” one designer noted. “Art purchases do not have to be intimidating; mirrors can be an excellent way to start.”

One Dallas designer solved the problem masterfully. Having scoured the showrooms and galleries for a piece of artwork for a client’s master bedroom, she couldn’t find the “right piece.” So she had one painted. The client loves Degas’ ballerinas; she found one that seemed the right proportion for the room. After commissioning a local artist, they were able to determine the size of the work. The colors of the original were altered slightly to match the fabrics and hues of the room, Cost: $480 before framing. The frame, between $150-$250

COST: Paintings: $400-$4000 plus

Mirrors: $1,000 to $3,000

PAINLESSNESS QUOTIENT: With a little homework, no pain at all.

TIME: As many hours as are fun