The Blind Guys & Designing Women

First we do a phone consultation to find out what their needs are and go over our services and products available to them.

Then, we schedule an appointment to visit with them at their home or office.  While there, we assess all that needs to be done and decide if we need contractors to help create and finish the project.

If we're doing window coverings, we may be working with the client 2-6 weeks depending on the product line chosen.  If we're doing a remodel, we might be working with the client 2-12 months depending on the scope of the project.

We make it very easy for our clients to work with us and guide them through the entire process.

I have an Arts background with an Interior Design degree.  I've been an ASID Interior Designer since 1991 when I began my firm back in Kansas City--so I have 27 years of experience.

I'm a Window Fashions Certified Professional, Certified Hunter Douglas Shutter Installer, Certified Home Stager, and Professional Organizer.

Not really.  Everything is on a per project basis.

I was going to do this as a "hobby"--while my kids were in school from 9-3.  But, within 4 years the business took off and became our family's sole source of income with my husband joining me full time in 1995!

I carried everything from flooring to wallpaper to fabrics and window coverings.  

All kinds!  Mostly residential but I've also been called in on large commercial jobs such as Andrews McMeel Publishing in Kansas City where we sold and installed 262 large motorized roller shades; The Doubletree in Torrance where we provided all of their shutters; and The Broadcast Condominiums in Hollywood on the CBS backlot where I did project management for the remodeling of all 120 units and provided their window coverings!

I love staging because my results are incredible!

I've been staging since 1991 and for the first 22 years in Kansas City, all of my homes sold within 12 days!  Great record BUT since opening a division here in Orange County, California in 2012, my homes have all sold within 5 days!  And most for over asking price!

Make sure your designer shows you their portfolio.

Make sure they're really listening to you, what you want, and the look and feel you want to have once it's completed!  Your home needs to be designed around YOUR likes, tastes, wants--around YOUR lifestyle, not theirs.  A designer should offer helpful ideas, create spaces you love, keep their agenda out of the picture, and keep you from making any design faux pas!

What's their style?  What's the purpose behind what they're wanting to change?  And what feeling do they want to have when they walk into this space that they're not feeling now?