I would want to know how he/she could help me create a place that seems integrated, pleasant and not contrived; in other words, tips on keeping the place appealing without seemingly ready for a photo shot.

A little bit of everything, I suppose. Furniture layout, room utilization, and opinion on wall color/decor would be my biggest want.

Furniture layout, color palette, and absolutely nothing else.

I actually won something like this at a school auction. I want to focus on my living room/dining room, which needs the most help and am mainly looking for advice on paint color, rugs and window treaments (which I've been struggling with), sources/tips on a dining room table, and advice on how to pull the whole thing together -- while keeping it dog and kid friendly. I think I'm going to also have a brief look at the whole house to see if she has any particular tips.

Fresh perspective on layout, access to trade-only fabric/wallcovering, and mostly help with lighting - my major downfall.

I've made four limited attempts at working with designers (by limited attempts I mean purchasing to-the-trade furniture and wallpaper and integrating them into the rooms). I have to tell you, I was impressed by none of them. One even ordered a piece of furniture backward (arm on wrong side). Another spent most of her time telling me about the much wealthier clients she had.

I cannot imagine just handing over control to any designer I've ever met. Clearly, I haven't met the right ones. It may have to do with where I live (near some truly ridiculous wealth).

I'd bounce ideas off of her or him and have an in depth conversation on Adorno's "Aesthetic Theory" over drinks.

This is what we got ourselves for Christmas last year -- a day's worth of expert advice. We can't afford to have all the rooms designed, let alone fund all furnishings for a single room at one time. But I did believe that we could achieve a concept -- or Style Guide -- for the whole house that I could use to work on each room, just a little at a time. I had so much fear about committing to a single rug or furniture piece or carpet without having a larger plan to work from. What if that $2K tribal rug I love today doesn't work with the sofa or art I want to buy next year?? How can I feel confident that it will all end up working well together?

Well, now I have no fear!

First thing was a palette to work across the entire house. Not a matchy-matchy color system mind you, but colors that will work with each other in any combination, and will work with the slate tile, granite counters, maple floors, and cherry cabinets throughout the house. We only picked colors that I really love, and only colors that passed this litmus: they must to work alone with the wood and stone, and they must work with every other color in any possible combination.

Second thing was to pick two neutral paint colors (for room with lots of natural light and rooms with less light) and a neutral carpet to work with the palette, the wood, and the stone.

Armed with the canvas and palette for the whole house, we went ahead and got three design concepts for the master bed and bath. We quickly narrowed it down to one, and now I'm six months into execution. I'm making all the bedding and draperies first, and I have purchased two dressers and two lamps. I am hoping to buy the fabric to reupholster two accent chairs before Christmas. Beccause I have a plan to work from, it's been extremely easy to go slowly, saving up the cash and hunting for the right piece at the right price.

I cannot speak highly enough about the benefits of working from a Style Guide. There is tremendous flexibility and room for improvisation once you have a framework for it all. It's like salsa dancing -- there are a say 100 dance moves, and you can work them together in a million different ways with salsa music, but no matter how many ways you see it, it's still salsa -- or swing, or ballet. You get the idea. :-)

I would have them plan a renovation for my ugly, 70's master bath. All the rest of my house is full of collected pieces which an amazing friend helped me arrange...which I love.

Furniture and art placement. Then I would need a handyman to physically move the furniture and hang the pictures. I have lovely pieces that are shoved into corners, and stacked behind doors because I find these things overwhelming. Furniture stays where it arrives in my house because I can't physically move it.

I'd ask for suggestions on what sort of window treatments to use in my living room and if there's something that can be done with the tall walls I've got.

I bought a consultation with Nate Berkus in a charity auction years ago beftore he was as famous as he is today. He was great in helping me discover underlying patterns if the style I was attracted to and helping identify simple shifts that would better unify my overall room layouts and design sense. He also gave invaluable advice on paint colors to better exploit my furnishings. It was a great experience, and I got to have lunch with him and received a custom designed piece of furniture.

Not sure I'd want a designer, but I sure would like an engineer and contractor to bounce some possibilities off. I don't worry about design issues much (probably shows in my house!) but I would hate to mess up a structural issue, of which there are several in my near future.

An intense session on maximizing space in my tiny studio apartment

Not so much furniture placement but maybe placing small items, I never know what to do with little accessories or tchotchkes-- decorative grouping is not my thing. Definitely shopping since they usually know the best places to go.

A whole day? Walk through my house to discuss my ideas and get advice on creating a unified approach to design/color and to get ideas on how I might achieve what I'm looking for. And then specific furniture layout and kitchen design ideas (we have several drawn up). Finally, window treatments. We just moved into this house a few weeks ago and I'm going to have problems once all the trees around the house are leafless.

I'd definitely want to create a lighting plan for my living room. I'm lucky enough to live in a mid-century modern house with a high, beamed ceiling and a huge (24'x36') living room, but even after 12 years here, I've never been happy with the lighting. I know we need some combination of overhead lights and table/floor lamps, but I still can't figure out how to do it so that it looks nice.

Then if there was any time left, I'd love to get some ideas on a floor plan for my long, narrow master bedroom.

I'd have her shop the house. Sometimes a home is full of beautiful items but totally chaotic, with nothing in the right place. Sometimes a change in use of rooms, DR to LR and vice versa for instance, will completely change a house.

I'd want to see if there's a way to improve the flow/feel of my living room. It's a small room, with two doorways and a fireplace, which means there's only so many ways to arrange the furniture. Right now the focal point is the TV, and I wish it weren't. (It's not a total drag, as I usually entertain either on my patio or in my dining/game room, so the living room is effectively a screening room, but still.) Also, I feel like the couch, love seat and chair are all a little too far apart from one another for easy conversation, yet other arrangements I think of would be super cramped. Would adding a large coffee table draw the elements together or make a small area feel crowded?

Once we'd analyzed that, I'd have them help me pick out a paint color for my kitchen when I redo that sometime next year, and decide once and for all whether to tint the white grout in my white bathroom tile dove grey or not.

I am great with color and lighting, but pretty stumped on furniture. We have a very small house so every square inch counts. There is only room for exactly the right couch and chair and dining table. OH and rugs! I have bare floors because I am paralyzed by the possibilities. A bad rug could ruin the whole space! Not to mention thousands of dollars!

Wow now that is a great fantasy. I guess I would get her or him to help me with color for the walls. That seems to be so challenging for me. Also lighting is very important and I don't know much about that so maybe that too.

@Ruralandrueful-- That's (using a designer just for access to trade discount or trade source) not a great introduction to, nor is it the best way to work with, a designer.

And unless you are working with a very, very famous designer, you NEVER "hand over control." Although it would make it a lot easier to design, in general.

PS: If any of y'all are in NYC, I'd happily do any/all of what you are needing! Just sayin.'

Overall design layout and how to finish the look I started, picture layout and definitely helping me choose kitchen backsplash tile and floor tile. If there was time left, help plan future renovation of bathroom.

I could use a bathroom specialist to help with the master bath layout, but I don't know how to find a good one who would be willing to consult for a day. And it is hard to believe that one day would be worth it. It seems they would only be able to offer general ideas which I could find in a magazine or blog.

Furniture layout and ideas for built-ins to maximize room usage & storage, then window treatments and a dream kitchen/dining area plan for the future. Maybe I need more than one day! I really want someone to come wave their magic wand and tell me where the furniture will be best.

I'd rather have an engineer, architect, contractor and landscape designer to bounce ideas off of. Most designers that I've met just want to work with the super rich and so many of them that I've met come off sounding like horrible snobs, so I'm not too impressed. Besides, I have an eclectic, cottage style and I do not like matchy-matchy furniture. I have to wonder if they would try to steer me into doing what they want rather than what I would feel comfortable and happy with. I'm not really someone who follows trends and I wouldn't appreciate someone trying to ram that down my throat.

@Gardenmuse: I agree. When we remodeled, the architect had great ideas about the best use of space, light and views.

I'd love to have an opportunity like this. I like choosing my own furniture/accessories but could use help with art and art placement. Also, I'd love to have someone style my shelves. Lastly, a new furniture lay-out for the future - I've been in my studio loft for only six months now but I imagine I'll have the same lay-out in 5 years without some outside prodding/help.

Make a plan for updating the design of the living room and bathrooms. I'd like to see it laid out in paper with paint recommendations, furniture placement, art suggestions, stuff like that. I need more tweaking and finishing than anything else.

My dream designer would understand me and my husband's styles, and know how to bring us to the next level of elegance in the style we are already trying to achieve (sort of English cottage library with a touch of Bohemian, and a smidge of Arts and Crafts). They would have a fresh perspective and more knowledge than we do, and they would be willing and able to take us further than we can accomplish on our own. They would not try to pressure us into the first thing that comes to mind, but would really be willing to work as a team with us. Obviously, they would have to be very patient! It would be helpful if they were good at negotiation between me and my husband if we got into an impasse. For a day's consultation, I would want help with picking living room furniture, fabrics, and a rug that work together to look great and meet our needs as well, including updating some of our better pieces. We've moved a lot and our furniture is sort of piecemeal, what we could afford to do at the time. This is all fantasy at the moment, of course, but what a glorious fantasy.

I'd send them home.

Did you know that using Project Decor allows you to gain insight and inspiration from top designers and even get one-on-one advice from our in house professionals? It's a great way to figure out your own design style, share your design board with friends & family via Facebook, Pinterest etc and then order the items directly from the site.

http://projectdecor.com/design/assist

desperately need to know how to rearrange my space and figure out how to eat somewhere other than in front of my tv - no room for a dining room or kitchen table!

Since our decor consists mostly of 'Early Salvation Army' and 'Mom-gave-it-to-me', I would ask how to tie all that disparate stuff together somehow, plus work in my husband's Dali print and my Asian crane panel.

HI There!


I stumbled across this wonderful post and everyone's comments about what they would do with a "free" design session and love the ideas!

I wanted to share our design-your-own home furnishings company, Loom Decor, www.loomdecor.com. We enable customers to mix and match designer fabrics on to custom products (drapery, bedding and throw pillows), and allow you to see your designs come to life in our virtual design tool.

We also provide [free] design consultations to help you create the perfect look!  I would love for you to check out the site and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions: hello@loomdecor.com.

Check out our latest consultation Pin Board:
http://pinterest.com/loomdecor/customer-board-hingham-master-bedroom/


Good luck with your decorating projects!