Room Refresh With Julia DeDecker Interiors
One quote that I know to be true is “The only constant in life is change” (Heraclitus). We are humans and we are constantly aging and evolving and adapting to new places, people, circumstances, in all areas of life. We are expected to change, it is natural. We change, why should our homes not evolve with us? Maybe you have a beautiful home, but lately it isn’t brining you joy. Maybe it functioned for you years ago or in a previous life stage, but now your needs have changed. Maybe your tastes have changed, or maybe you are ready to try something new? These are all reasons to consider making changes to your home’s interior.
So what do you do when you want to make a change but you don’t need or don’t want a large scale renovation. In that instance you are looking at what we call a “Room Refresh”. Sure there could be small construction projects involved such as adding moulding and trim, changing the flooring, or tile, but the bulk of the change comes from a fresh paint job, swapping out furniture and décor, re-considering function and furniture placement and updating the window treatments, plumbing fixtures and/ or lighting fixtures. Taking on some of these changes can certainly improve your space and taking on many can totally re-invent your space and how you use it.
Example kitchen Source: Kitchenseer.com
I recently talked to a friend of mine about her kitchen. She has a young family, she is a busy mom and they have recently moved into a new home that is beautiful, but was designed years ago by and for another family. She wishes the kitchen felt lighter and a little more her style, but isn’t looking for a large, costly renovation that would greatly disrupt her young family. The room is a large, eat in kitchen with wood cabinetry, wood flooring, a dark backsplash and granite countertops. They don’t necessarily want to paint the wood cabinets but she wants to lighten up the space and feel at home in her kitchen. I won’t share photos of her actual kitchen, but I found an image of a kitchen online that provides a visual that shares the same elements we are talking about. This conversation inspired this blog post. I thought it would be fun to do a quick virtual room refresh of this dated kitchen inspired by my friend’s dilemma.
The concept behind the “Room Refresh” is that refreshing your homes interior can relieve stress that homeowners feel when their outdated homes are not currently functioning for them or reflecting their current style. When it comes to kitchens, especially, I hear about many homeowners not wanting to take on a full messy renovation, but wanting to thoroughly change the way their room looks and feels. Here is an example of how a kitchen refresh with Julia DeDecker Interiors may look like in this scenario.
My 6 Step Design Process for a Room Refresh
1. Initial Design Consultation: Prior to the initial design consultation I review the client’s design questionnaire and prepare for the consultation. In person we discuss budget and design goals, including design style and how the room should function and feel. We tour the space and discuss which elements are staying or being replaced as well as design ideas allowing me to gauge the clients’ appetite for renovation and different design elements (what colours, patterns, materials would they be open to in the refreshed space). Following this consultation I can often provide the client with an estimated range for the project costs and we complete a Project Agreement outlining the project specifics and expectations for both parties. This agreement is one of the ways I provide transparency with my design process.
2. Design Concept: Completing a mood board to illustrate the design concept is helpful in communicating the proposed direction for the Room Refresh with the client before too much time and effort are expended designing the room and sourcing materials. Below I have shared a mood board that I created for this example kitchen refresh. In this example the inspiration behind the design is fresh, French country kitchen. While presenting this concept I would explain that I can achieve this style while limiting construction mess and interruption of their lives by focusing on replacing just the backsplash and countertops and potentially painting the lower cabinets a creamy white, but working with the current layout, cabinets and flooring. This means an estimated 7-14 days without a fully functional kitchen and cost savings to meet the budget as discussed. We will discuss specific materials and can make edits to the mood board including colour palates and design elements at this stage and once the client is happy with the concept we move onto the next stage.
3. Design Plan: At this stage the inspiration and design concepts start to turn into reality and the bulk of design work is completed. Room dimensions are measured, floorplans and elevations are created for the client so that they can really visualize any proposed changes or custom cabinetry. We will also identify the trades required to complete the work. In this example we already know the layout and are keeping the existing cabinetry, but we will require trades to replace the backsplash with beadboard, replace the countertops, a painter to paint, and someone to swap out lighting fixtures and sew custom café curtains for our window. At the close of this stage we will have received quotes from our trades, sourced the furniture and any large functional décor pieces as well as identified a budget for décor. The client now has a Design Plan including a proposed work schedule and overall cost estimate for the complete Room Refresh effort. Below is also a design board, this would be one of many visuals that can be created for the client at this stage, showing the sourced items and materials that are included in the cost of the project.
Design Mood Board- Room Refresh: French Kitchen, Julia DeDecker Interiors
Design Sources (sources below), Julia DeDecker Interiors
4. Construction and Execution: Once I receive sign off on the Design Plan from the client I work with them to schedule the tradespeople for the job. I take on the role of overseeing the trades, explaining any design elements and instructions for the project, communicating their schedule with the client and work to limit, to the biggest extent possible, the disruption to the homeowners throughout this process. With consistent, scheduled communication and opportunities for additional conversations the client remains updated on project progress and expenditures and does not have to constantly wonder what is happening next, how their money is being spent or what the status of the work is.
5. Sourcing and Ordering: As the construction is underway I also take this time to order the agreed upon design elements from the Design Plan as well as source additional décor that supports the design style and function of the room. All items are delivered to the client’s home or to a safe storage facility (depending on what is agreed upon in the project agreement) while we await the next step.
6. Installation and Reveal: Finally, when all the construction is complete and the paint is dry we clean the room, move in the furniture and décor and style your space for the reveal of your refreshed room.
sources to the above design board: Paint Colour: Benjamin Moore- Cloud White, Cafe rod and cabinet hardware: Rejuvination, striped cafe curtain material: Tonic Living, Pendant Light: J.D. Lighting, Hooks and wooden stool: Zara Home, Faux Hydrangeas: Fauxliage, Stoneware, tablecloth, cushions, bowl, soap dispenser and runner: H&M Home.
In need of a room refresh? Check out My Services and what previous clients are saying. Fill in a contact form, call (519) 803-7573, Or email: juliadedeckerinteriors@gmail.com.
