Home Stager - Interior Decorator - Interior Designer - What is the Difference Between Them?

In Toronto and Suburbia (where I live and work) we are fortunate to have a wealth of service industries that cater to home owners. We have home stagers, interior decorators, interior designers, colour consultants, re-designers, home staging-to-live consultants and on and on. With so many closely related service industries it can leave consumers feeling very confused and uncertain about which service best suits their needs. I will try my best to briefly explain the primary differences between several of these services to make your job little easier.

home staging:

Home stagers are part of the Real-Estate industry (not the decorating industry as many assume). Their primary focus is to make your home as appealing and desirable to potential buyers as possible. A fast sale for top dollar is the motivator and inspiration behind their decorating choices. homes are striped of their personality. Belongings are carefully edited and minimized. Colour schemes are neutralized and decors are up-dated to appeal to today's buyers (more specifically targeted markets). They may recommend home up-grades or renovations that will bring a good return on the dollar and be in harmony with current buyer demands, but their role here is usually one of a consultant, as most lack the education and skills required to design and manage a renovation project).

If you are looking to sell your home these are the people to call even before you call your Real-Estate agent. A word of caution though; home staging is an unregulated industry. So do your home work first. Make sure the home Stager you hire has been properly trained and is part of a trade affiliation that holds them accountable for their work and business conduct. Examples of home staging Trade Affiliations are: Real Estate staging Association (RESA), Certified staging ProfessionalsTM (CSP), Accredited staging ProfessionalsTM (ASP).

home staging-TO-LIVE CONSULTANTS: (also known as Re-design)

You will see this service offered by some home stagers. It is similar to home staging To Sell except for home owners personality will be encouraged in the decor not stripped away. This service is also similar to interior decorating except there is greater emphasis placed on the editing of the space. Decors tend to be more minimalistic and colour schemes more neutral (although the current decorating trend amongst interior decorators and designers right now is also quite neutral palettes). Most home staging-to Live Consultants (or Re-design Consultants) are not formally schooled in the disciplines of interior Decoration so take great care when choosing one. Some home owners will hire the stager they used to sell their home to decorate their new one. This is a good bet as they are already familiar with their work and their style.

interior decorators:

interior decorators usually have an in-depth expertise in window treatments, textiles, colour, paint, wall-coverings, furnishings and antiques. Unlike home stagers, their role is to fill homes with personality (the owners personality). Many interior decorators liken them-self to an artist. Their canvas is your empty room; their artistic medium is paint, fabric, furnishings, carpeting, wall papers, accessories and art. Again an unregulated industry (for the most part but that is changing) so do your homework and choose decorators who belong to a trade affiliation like Canadian decorators' Association (CDECA) or Certified interior decorators International (CID). Educational requirements for trade affiliations varies but typically a 2 to 4 year college diploma (degree) is required.

If you are re decorating your space for your own enjoyment and plan on sticking primarily to surface design (rather than architecture modifications) then they are the ones to call.

interior designers:

The criteria to call oneself an " interior designer", varies from province to province (State to State). Generally speaking though, an interior designer is a person who specializes in designing architectural interiors and their furnishings. Although it evolved from interior decoration it is a much more involved discipline requiring a sound knowledge of architecture, product design, drafting, CAD, commercial (contract) design, building codes and other regulatory requirements. Most interior designers, in the residential industry, are also interior decorators and as such offer all of the services an interior Decorator offers. To find a qualified interior designer check out trade affiliations like The Association of Registered interior designers of Ontario (ARIDO), ASID (American Society of interior designers), International interior design Association (IIDA). The educational requirements for membership in these and other trade affiliations can be quite comprehensive requiring a 3-4 year degree from a recognized design school, followed by a 3 year apprenticeship and finally the writing and passing of a qualifying exam (much like law students who are required to write the bar exam).

Interior Decorating Ideas

Creativity is the core of interior decorating. You need to let loose your imagination, aesthetic sense, and intelligence, and cull out as many ideas as possible. interior decorating can be compared to poetry, as both are vast and simply do not seem to have a definite end. You can go on and on and on.

There are several styles of interior decorating. You can browse through them leisurely, compare and contrast their features, advantages and effects, and then select the best option. Broadly speaking, interior-decorating ideas can be obtained from catalogs, brochures or promotional advertisements released by interior decorators or designers.

Before deciding to adopt any particular idea, its feasibility, affordability, and flexibility needs to be determined. You should never go just by appearance, but consider the appropriateness of the idea. interior decorating can be obtained from various styles belonging to different areas. The most popular among them are colonial, post-colonial and Georgian.

Primarily, interior-decorating ideas can be either contemporary or exotic. It depends on the individual's taste and perception of beauty.

The field of interior decorating is undergoing constant change and growth. It can also include insect and pest-control measures like termite control.

interior decorating ideas can prove very useful when combined with scientific principles. A small example for this can be seen from a study made by Michigan State University Extension, which found that among the materials used for flooring, slates retained the maximum percentage of heat. On the other hand, bricks absorbed the least percentage of heat.

interior decorating ideas communicate to the guests too. Hence, the theme of an interior decorating Idea should be to adorn a building in a suitable way. interior decorating does not stop with mere decorating. It should be an ongoing activity and take into account maintenance, repair, and preventive

Does You Living Room Interior Decorating Style Reflect Your Personality?

Designing and decorating living room interiors is a classic experience for many homeowners. You are creating a personal space within your home, which will form the first impression of your home, and your lifestyle in the mind of the visitor who visits for the first time. If the visual quality of your home interiors is full of clutter then it can have a bad impact immediately.

Sadly many few people understand that designing is an inside process. Normally what peopled do is buy a bunch of interior design magazines and try to copy what other designers have done for their clients. You may get some nice ideas by looking at the works done by professional designers but there remains one important question unanswered, which is.

Does your living room interior design reflect your personality?

Now this is so important in the first place?

Every interior space, which has been designed or just happened to be the way it is, is a reflection of your personality in some way or the other. If you get inspired by beautiful designs you see in the movies, interior design magazines or television shows and try to copy them, then what will happen is after a few days they will start to reflect the truth about
your personality.

What I mean is what looks beautiful in pictures may not be as comfortable in reality for you. Your definition of comfort can never match with other person's perspective on comfortable spaces. So before you think of copying from someone else's design make sure to check out your own needs and triggers that make your comfortable.

For example one person looks at a photo of a living room with beautiful chandelier hanging from top and grabs a similar one from a website that sells lighting fixtures. Spends quite a lot of money on this gadget and his living room is now looking beautiful. But after a few days of using this he realizes that it consumes lots of electricity and secondly there's too much light in his living room causing unnecessary glare.

So first know your standards of comfort living and then cleverly make choices that will help you to not only save money but also at the same time create spaces where you can really relax and enjoy your day with family and friends. What's the point spending your hard-earned money on living room interior decorating that will only make you unhappy?

Interior Decorating For Bargain Hunters

Not everyone can afford the luxury of expensive interior decorating and these days it is all about saving money not spending it. Luckily there are ways in which you can save money when it comes to interior design so you should still be able to find something to suit you.

Where to Look For Bargains

You can look absolutely everywhere for ideas when it comes to interior decorating. Second hand shops are particular good and often you find some really good, cheap ideas in them. Remember that somebody’s rubbish is always somebody else’s treasure! So, do not be ashamed to look in second hand shops in order to find various items for your home. Discount stores can also be good and whilst many things in them may be tacky, you can sometimes find the odd treasure hidden in there. The kinds of things you will mainly find in these places include cushions, fabric, curtains, furniture and pictures as well as picture frames.

The internet is also an amazing place these days and auction sites such as Ebay can be a haven for interior designers. You can find literally everything you could possible think of and the prices are usually dirt cheap! You are bound to find something you like on an auction site so it is definitely worth a look.

Also, have you ever thought to look at a yard sale? Again, just like second hand shops, you are going on the theory that somebody’s rubbish is somebody else’s treasure and you may actually find something that you really like. If not you haven’t wasted anything but you could have gained a lot potentially.

Overall you can find bargains absolutely everywhere and all will help you to create that perfect overall look in the home.

The Unexpected Costs

Something you do not often think about when considering interior design is how much it costs to actually put everything together. It takes potentially a long time to redecorate a whole room, never mind a whole house! It usually takes more than juts one person and usually these extra workers can come at a large price!

Unfortunately usually it does mean that you do have to splash out on the extra expensive of professionals as even though they do cost money, they will produce good results. It is better than paying an average worker and getting left with less than impressive results for the same amount of work!

Overall it is possible to bargain hunt for items but when it comes to the actual work involved you may have to pay that extra cost!