Decorating from a Distance

Since many of you are currently either "working from home", or housebound from all the Government dictates, now might be a good time for you to address some of those home decorating projects that you have been pondering for a while. After all, Spring is arriving and that's a great time to refresh your nest - especially since you and your family are undoubtedly spending more time inside than usual.  
 
An important note:  I hope that you and your loved ones are all doing okay in this uncertain and scary time of medical crisis.  I also hope that you are okay with me putting out a business blog post that deals with a very non-emergency thing like interior decorating at this time.  In my business, there is no such thing as a decorating emergency, and we all know (and appreciate) that.  However, like you, I’m trying to get my family through the day in a productive way, abide by all the social distancing and health rules, and support my community and neighbors during this mess.  So I think this blog post is reasonable – I hope that you do too.
 
Thanks for understanding.  Now here’s how we can work together - at a distance – over the next few weeks. 

​Shop-At-Home Service
My interior design business has always supported “shop-at-home,” and my design studio is located in my home, so I am already very well postured to help you with interior design activities “from a distance.”  This means that we don’t have to interact face-to-face to get things that have been on your list for a long time accomplished!  Because of how I’ve always operated, I have all my tools and resources at my fingertips right now, including fabrics, paint swatches, samples, sewing machines, woodshop, and my digital rendering software.  So I’m ready if you are.     
 
Meet and Home Walk-through via Electronic Means
Normally, I would come to your home in the Boston area, meet you, and discuss the scope of your interior design needs in person.  Well, with Facetime and Zoom, we can still accomplish that task exceptionally well, just from a remote stance.  After these discussions, to let you know how the proposed design would look, you can email me photos of your home, and I can email you back digital design renderings so that you can envision your home in a new way.  

Ordering Products
I'm a firm believer in American manufacturing, and my 3 main fabricators of blinds and shades (Lafayette, Horizons, and Comfortex) are all located in the US.  Two of these manufacturers, and 95% of my fabric vendors remain open, operating and sending out products as of 27 March 2020; so that part of the interior design pipeline is very much viable and strong. Because they are great, I would very much like these companies to stay in business (and employ their fabulous workforce who always “speak with a smile” on the other end of the phone) during this time of uncertainty. In addition, my furniture vendors are all working remotely, and I have been in contact with my representatives to keep the ball moving on designs for my client’s current projects.  For more information on my support to American manufacturing, you can check out my previous blog post.

​Working out the Details
Once we have sorted out a design and plan, we can move on to implementing your design vision by taking the next actions remotely:
 
Samples  My fabric vendors are still sending out samples, so I can order samples that can be directly delivered to you. That way you can see, touch and feel whatever fabrics we determine together are contenders for your project.  
 
Taking Measurements  Well, that might be a tad more difficult to do remotely, but we can work this out via Facetime and/or Zoom.  I know that we can be creative!
 
Fabrication   I am getting lots of sewing/fabrication done while at home!  You would not believe the amount of “inventory” of fabrics I have that are just waiting to be made into projects (e.g. valances, pillows, cushions, etc.,). 
 
Dropoff and Installation  I am happy to deliver items to your doorstep like the UPS or FedEx driver.  I can even install your items in your home (with appropriate social distancing and sanitization protocols) – or we can get everything made and install it after the crisis wanes. Alternatively I can guide you to install them yourself – by providing you with online installation instructions and by walking you through the installation via Facetime and/or Zoom.
 
So, if you want to make good use of this break from “normal” life, give me a call at 978-440-7264. As always, I offer a free initial consultation, and that can be via electronic means. During our call we can chat about your needs and set up an electronic walk-through. It’ll be nice to talk to you, whether about decorating, or how fortunate we are to be in Massachusetts in the springtime, or our families, or that “elephant in the room.” 
 
As a note of encouragement, this morning my Lafayette representative, Jackie Ibarguen, sent me a quote that I liked:
 
                   A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn."-- Helen Keller
 
Stay healthy!  Personally I’m looking forward to our country and the world making the turn to safer times together with compassion, spirit, and dedication.