Essense Interior Design
About
Essense Interior Design provides holistic interior home design services. By that I mean that I meet my clients where they are as we work together to achieve your ultimate design goals.
I provide access to all of my design sources so that we can create a unique and integrated overall design that is both aesthetically pleasing and stays within your budget.
My services start with an exploration and discovery of your specific design needs. My ultimate goal as your designer is to ensure that the final design creates the final look and feel you desire.
I love helping clients think "outside of their box". Interior design is a long-term investment. Styles change. Colors change. Trends change. Home designs that are able to successfully meet your live/work needs and that can do so well into your future is a critical design goal.
How long do you plan to live in your home? What do you think your home will be in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? I like to explore these potential scenarios so that you end up with is a solid, long-term investment that serves you well into the future - whether you decide to remain in your home or not. Ultimately, I want to help my clients ensure that they receive the "biggest bang for their design buck".
Most recently, I have added home organization services to my design repertoire - because creating beautiful interior spaces should truly starts there. This can help ensure that your design dollars are well-spent. The last thing I would want is to add a beautiful piece of new art work or furnishing, and it gets lost in between piles of magazines, chotskies or other visual clutter!
Ultimately, my design services meet you wherever you are in life. We will prioritize based on your greatest area(s) of need. Over many years of designing for my clients, I find that every design project is a new journey!
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I typically provide an initial "Meet and Greet" for 30 minutes, free of charge so that I am able to properly discuss the scope of work involved with your design project.
If you want to work together beyond just a one-time design consultation, I prepare a specific contract tailored to your design needs that you can review and approve before we proceed.
Upon final approval of the terms of our agreement, we will begin the design process. While every design project is tailored to my customer's specific needs, I will typically do the initial "legwork" to create an overall design concept for your space(s). I will present the design concepts to you with further discussion and or material selections.
As needed, we will iterate through design concepts until we reach a final overall design that fits your design requirements. From here, the design implementation phase begins! Design implementation can sometimes involve purchase and delivery of selected design elements. In the case of color consultations, it's just a matter of working with your paint contractor on the selected color palette for your home. I like to be involved with your painter to ensure the paint colors stay "true" to the overall design concepts. Same goes for fabric selections to ensure colors patterns and/or textures are "true" to the overall design concepts we've agreed on. At the end, we will step back together to reflect on the overall design results to ensure that you are my happiest customer before I depart the scene.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have worked in the residential design arena since 2004.
I have a Residential Design diploma from the Art Institute of Seattle. I am a Master Home Environmentalist and this past year became a Certified Living in Place Professional (CLIPP).
Both of these two additional credentials allow me to ensure that my clients have healthy, safe, and environmentally-friendly homes.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
Typically I bill on an hourly basis, and my professional fees range from $105 to $125 per hour. The size and scope of your project determines where my hourly fee lands. Typically, the larger the design project, the lower my hourly fees.
With enough information about your project, I am also open to estimating my interior design fees on a fixed fee basis with a "not to exceed" number of professional design hours.
How did you get started in this business?
I already had worked as an independent business owner in the healthcare market for many years. So, when I decided to move into the interior design area, it wasn't a huge leap really. So, I hung out my interior design shingle in 2004, and have been helping clients design beautiful homes ever since!
What types of customers have you worked with?
Mostly with residential clients though I have also worked with a few small office projects as well. I enjoy the one-on-one aspect of the residential design market, helping my clients create wonderful interior spaces that are both sustainable and well-designed with the long-term in mind.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I recently repurposed a Victorian writing desk (see my blog post at: www.essenseinteriordesign.com). It really represents one of my core principles regarding home design - sustainability. I didn't want to add to Seattle's landfills, so reclaiming and updating this old desk was both great fun and served a greater purpose!
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a pro in your area of expertise?
Check out designer websites and their design aesthetic. If you like it, then give me a call. If you don't resonate with my design aesthetic, then move on to another designer. It saves us both time and effort!
What questions should customers think through before talking to pros about their needs?
1) How long will you be in your home?
2) What is your design "style" or "aesthetic"?
3) What colors, textures, patterns do you like? Not like?
4) What are your desired start/end timeframes?
5) What is your overall project budget range? What is your designer budget range?