An E-consultation

I had an opportunity to work with a client in California who was the recipient of a prize from a Nestle contest, which included a one hour phone consultation with an interior decorator/designer. I was honored to have been chosen by the prize administrator to be that interior decorator.

To work with this client in California, it was basically an e-consultation, which I offer. I was able to email the winner and not only get some information from her as to the rooms we would be talking about, but get some pictures of each room as well. I made notes on the rooms, sourced out items and did an online design board for her.

This Sunday afternoon {still morning her time} we spoke and just prior to my calling her, I emailed her the design boards. I’d like to share those with you, but first a little background: She likes an Asian feel; she has already ordered a couch and side chairs that will incorporate red and gold, which she has in her existing valance in the family room; she was interested in paint colors, a media center, accessories, tables, and lamps. These pictures show her entry/foyer. The clock and large cabinet are to be removed.

Here is the board for the entry/foyer.

Metropolitan Console Table | Pottery Barn
$299 - potterybarn.com

Pier 1 Imports - Kushak Console Table
$180 - pier1.com

Pier 1 Imports - Mei Display Cabinet
$300 - pier1.com

Red Wood Clock with Metal Finial
$50 - pier1.com

Carved Wood Dragon with Stand
$40 - pier1.com

Royce Lighting - RC2195-4HALLORB - Stalton Foyer Pendant in Oil Rubbed...
$81 - csnstores.com

I suggested the red console table for the wall where the large cabinet is {the other table was another option}.  There are two Chinese silk framed prints hanging here.  I wanted to keep these and it turned out these were important to her.  I suggested the smaller, wider one over the console table. There is no outlet on this wall, or I would have liked to see a lamp here. I suggested the dragon sculpture and clock in keeping with the Asian feel here.

For the stairway wall, with the clock gone, I had suggested the cabinet be positioned somewhere in between where the clock currently sits and the small wall hanging that is there. In lieu of the cabinet, although not pictured, I suggested an armless accent chair.

The longer framed Asian piece I suggested on the wall that is going up the stairs. These pieces were obviously special to her and she was very happy to know they could be reused in this area. My final suggestion for this area was the light fixture. It felt to me like a “soft” pagoda type lantern fixture, however, she didn’t care for it thinking it looked too Colonial.

Two of the paint colors I suggested were: Sherwin Williams Friendly Yellow and Butter Up.  These are not “in your face” yellows; they are pretty soft looking.  This is what they look like in a room setting. The other two colors were one number up {I believe} from the ones I am showing here, so they were just a little darker {or lighter, I can’t recall}.

Sherwin Williams Butter Up

Sherwin Williams Friendly Yellow

Overall, she was quite happy with these suggestions and glad for the ideas. Due to the length of this post, I will continue with the family room in another post this week.

The great thing about the design board site is that it lists the resources and pricing so she got the budget built into the plan. I find this is wonderful for my e-consultations because really this service is for those clients who are going to be doing the work themselves. To have a source and budget for the items makes it that much easier for them to move ahead with the plan.

Kathy