Just Bloggin

Take the HIGH Road or get the LOW Down? Part III …

Art. Splurge or Steal? No room is complete without it (except possibly the bathroom or mudrooms). When you walk into a room, it is in our view the first interior design feature that speaks volumes about the homeowner. It takes on so many forms: Photos, Prints, Originals, and more. Some forms are pricey, others forms are not. Art is one of the few features we place in the BOTH category. Art needs to speak to the homeowner, and may be an investment in some cases. Hence, if you adore a piece and it’s something that will dwell in your heart (or hearts) always, go ahead and splurge if you have the ability. Mix it up. A few originals and a few prints could result in savings too. If you inherit great pieces, that’s a total bonus. Art is available everywhere, so scarcity is not a factor either. In times like this, supporting local artists is something our team certainly encourages! Happy finding.

Take the HIGH Road or get the LOW Down? Part II …

Next up on the Splurge v. Steal struggle in room interiors, we stick to the ceiling. The 5th wall in the wallpaper convo. Folks have a love hate relationship with wallpaper, just sayin – they love it going up and loath taking it down. Some people don’t prefer it going up at all (yikes). Most designers entirely disagree with writing off wallpaper altogether, including us. In fact, it’s no surprise the love we have for wallpaper – wallpaper Wednesdays anyone? So many designers have their own lines even. Magnolia, Studio McGee, Caitlin Wilson, Amber Interiors and more. Hence, splurge v. steal? This is a tough one. So many lines at so many price points will be the good news here. This is why for example you may not need to splurge. But, on the flip side, it will be on your walls in theory forever. If you are only wallpapering a wall, go ahead and splurge. Especially if it is a floral print! If it’s going on all 4 walls, and the room is large, necessity may dictate searching for finds in the middle to lower price range. Either way, get ready to commit and make it a print that will grow with your little ones and make your heart sing for many years to come!

Take the HIGH Road or Get the LOW Down? Part I of X…

In this ten part series, we will explore an inquiry designers and homeowners everywhere wrestle with on an all to frequent basis: When to purchase at a high price point and when to go low? This question has been asked and answered, but the P+O Team has its own thoughts on this subject. So, let’s do it. We start from top to bottom of a room, so the ceiling fixture is first up. Lighting is a tough subject … especially because we can’t recommend you ever go vintage on lighting for safety reasons unless you have verified the date of assembly and manufacturer or you visit a very reputable business that specializes in rewiring. Lamps that require an electrician to install and would be designed to dwell in the home for quite awhile are worth the splurge in our view, given you don’t necessarily want the electrician on speed dial. In addition, splurge worthy chandeliers and pendants aren’t going to break the bank (usually). In design, high ceilings are SO IN. Thus, if your one of the fortunate ones with high ceilings in your abode, eyes gravitate up. Hence, naturally, the chandelier or ceiling light will be truly showcased. Also, these ceiling fixtures set the tone for the entire room and design and could elevate the entire design. Note that two exceptions to this splurge recommendation do exist: Rooms that don’t need ceiling lighting (fans anyone?) or rooms with 5th wall wallpaper (aka ceiling wallpaper)!

Splurge v. Save Or Steal … What’s that mean?
Today’s Roundup above jumpstarted the discussion and rapidly molded into a blog post. These three words (and having a lawyer on the Team preference is v. as opposed to vs., but we digress) often translate as follows: 2 or more items from different manufacturers, with very similar overall looks when compared side-by-side, but assigned retail price tags that differ. OK, got it. But, what if these three words mean so much more? For P+O, they do indeed. So, back to the Roundup. These 6 black display cabinets featured above demonstrate at least 4 equally viable alternative meanings exist. Here we go. First, and this was a lightbulb moment for us over the years, splurge v. save can happen when you least expect it … on the identical product offering! While we won’t go into detail, at least one of these products above manufactured by the same company (yes, you read that correctly) carries a very different price point depending on the third party seller you visit. Stay tuned for some of those findings on our blog. Next, many folks we have encountered don’t want to move or can’t (broker fees and transfer tax anyone?), but nevertheless desire to achieve various architectural looks. For example, they can’t go back and all of sudden design and execute built ins that never existed previously. These folks are saving v. splurging by skipping the contractor bill, and adding these beauties on each side of a fireplace to create the look and feel of built ins. They can’t just replace white windows with black ones, so they improvise and work to achieve the identical look by placing a couple of these on an entire wall. They can’t simply afford to arch all of the preexisting entryways, but instead they use arched display cabinets on those same walls to create the illusion of arches. They can’t raise the ceiling height, so they purchase height. Yes, all ingenious concepts BTW (yay Team), and translate into real savings potentially. Next, save v. splurge posts may simply help only to promote one to practice patience and persistence. If that happens alone, we have achieved our goal. Many of the products in our homes sitting in the splurge category we can’t help but admire to this day. With that said, we didn’t splurge, we just flat out waited. We searched. We researched. We bought secondhand or via open box. Finally (and like we really need a finally), saves or steals may not truly be saves or steals depending on the budget. The same may be said for splurges, too. It amazes us that saves in the home interior market still translate at times to products that are NOT considered truly affordable to many. Enough said, for now. But we have a feeling this blog is one of many to uncover the true meaning of splurge v. save or steal!

New Project Update – DE Beach

The P+O Team is headed to the East Coast DE beach town. From the build to the interior, this home is shaping up to be flat out rad. As a real estate lawyer, I feel honored to work with multiple generations that get together to purchase real property. And this home is no exception! Designing a home together as a family can be quite a challenge. Folks understandably possess varying and diverse design styles and furniture preferences. But there are some rooms all can truly agree on, including the “grand girls” room. When creating mood boards (with “on a budget” findings), we often suggest looking at other designer rooms for inspo. Time and time again, the designs of Studio Mcgee and Co. surface. This Team has contributed a solid foundation for designers to aspire to in our minds. Here are two mood boards we pulled together, with all of this in mind…

LIVE ON INSTAGRAM

Hey Folks, we are live on Instagram. We have added interior home finds … trends but for all budgets and various price points. Be sure to check in. Sure, there are products we don’t suggest you splurge on, but some you should (ummm…pillows for sure). Splurge worthy furniture and rugs – can’t go wrong!!! Remember, with these looks for less, scale is key. Always Always Always check dimensions. Photos of standalone products on the internet can be quite deceiving. We have a feeling 2020 will be a great home dupe year!!