My wife and I purchased a beautiful home in Lochmere (Cary, NC) that needed a complete renovation to both modernize it (it was built in 1989), and to make it our own. We knew what our style was and knew what we wanted, but we didn't know how to quite get there. We knew we needed an interior designer to help us realize our dream home, but didn't even know how they worked, what they cost nor how to find one. After vetting several "full service" designers (at full service prices), we found Jodi on Angie's List, and loved her concept of coming to our home to consult, and then letting us do the fun part of shopping and collecting what we liked. Jodi would then come back to see what we picked and then help us make the choice of what was going to work and what wasn't. Both my wife and I love working with Jodi (we're still at it!). First, Jodi's knowledge base and experience spans every room and style. We wanted traditional and she has helped us design a tea room, a piano room and even a library (and everything in between). Jodi has an excellent eye for color, and she helped us pick out over eight complementary colors for our different rooms. Jodi always arrives on time, is happy to help and is patient with me even when I'm inpatient with myself. Jodi has an extensive list of referrals which we have used to save a ton of money, time and frustration. For example, she gave us a recommendation to a bathtub refinishing person who came in and completely refinished our tub and surrounding white subway tile so that it looks brand new! That was only $650 (including removing and re-installing the shower door) and that saved us thousands. She's recommended cabinet refinishing and rebuilding people and others and they have saved us time and money and done amazing jobs for us. The other thing about Jodi's referrals is that she is constantly updating them based on their recent performance. She withdrew several referrals once her other clients had unsatisfactory experiences with them and then was able to provide us with new ones based on recent experiences with other clients. If you are looking to do any decorating and don't know where to start - or simply want a second opinion - don't hesitate to call Jodi. She's reasonable (best deal is to buy her 3-hour rate), and she has great intuition and an eye for style, and great experience for what order you should buy and furnish rooms as well. Thanks, Jodi, for everything so far - once we move it, we'll begin furnishing each room with your help! read more

We found The Decor Coach while searching for an interior designer in Apex. Dozens of 5 star reviews caught our eye, but the coaching service and flat rate pricing on the website got us to reach out. Just one coaching session saved us hours of frustration and potentially thousands of dollars in well-intentioned mistakes... Within 3 hours we had selected a luxury vinyl plank floor, a color palate for the entire house and next steps for our kitchen and 3 bathrooms (oh, and how to bring our floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace into this century) . She gave us tips on how to properly use paint samples to verify our color choices, select light fixtures, areas rugs, and other accessories. The final thing she provided, though, is worth her consulting price just on its own: contact information for skilled craftsmen of all trades that she has worked with and trusts. She takes no commissions or kick-backs for these referrals because she wants them to be the highest quality at the best price with no bias. Jodi is professional, approachable, experienced, and passionate about helping people. She put our family first, identified our style and provided a holistic strategy for focusing our budget on the highest impact improvements. It has been an empowering experience and we will use Decor Coach at every phase of our home improvements from now on. read more

I cannot say enough good things about The Decor Coach!! She is knowledgeable, professional, punctual. She came to our first meeting having done all the necessary background work. After the 3 hours we were together, I felt like she was my friend. She has always made herself available for me when I needed her expertise. At last, I have my dream home. Thanks, Jodi! read more

About February 2007 we decided to remodel our 25 year old kitchen. I wanted a larger kitchen with space for table and chairs for four. There is no one more ignorant than I when it comes to decorating. I can't even choose a bed spread for an unused guest room without help so this was going to be a major challenge, and I was just about paralyzed with all the things that needed to be considered and how they all related to each other. I searched for a decorator (I even joined Angie's list) but after visiting the web sites of some decorators I was more paralyzed than ever. All these decorators seem to produce grandiose and fancy rooms. My house was described by a friend as "monastic simplicity" - and that is what I liked. I like modern, clean, almost empty rooms, my house is mostly Danish modern. While floundering around on my own I had a kitchen remodeling company, a contractor, and an architect give me ideas and estimates for enlarging the kitchen. There were huge problems leading to really high construction costs in moving any wall, except the one wall I did not want to move, the wall into the dining room. So my dream of a bigger kitchen died a slow death (there were a couple more tries but they all ended up the same). When I did look at just fixing up the kitchen without moving things around, I soon found that kitchen remodeling companies were not interest in me because I was not interest in their expensive products such as glazed cabinets. (Glazed is what their faces did as I spoke... ) Seven months later I found Jodi on Angie's list - what a change. Jodi spent a great deal of time getting to know just what I wanted (since she is independent, she has no need to push a product). She too thought my best option to enlarge the kitchen was taking down the wall into the dining room but when I explained why I really did not want to do that she came up with alternatives that would work for me. Since I could not enlarge the kitchen, she showed me all the decorating and architectural tricks I might use to give the impression of openness and space. She also gave me her three page detailed "Remodeling a Kitchen Checklist" which brought peace to my spinning mind. With so many things to do for a kitchen remodel I felt lost. But she had it all organized, what to do first, second, etc., when to order what... In addition she had lists of individuals and companies with whom she had experience and could recommend their services for quality and reasonable prices. I don't know what I would have done without that list. Even going on Angie's list I could not find good recommendations for all the services I needed. Jodi advertises herself not as a decorator, but as a "coach", hence her business name "The Décor Coach". Basically Jodi gave me advice and usually I took it, but when I didn't take it because it just was not "me", she helped me do the best within my self imposed restrictions. Interestingly enough, the final design of the kitchen was almost the same as one done by the architect - for which I had paid a tidy sum. However - the day the kitchen was gutted I panicked! (Think bride on wedding day.) I did not sleep all night and started rethinking the entire design. I drew up a new design and emailed to Jodi in the wee hours of the morning. She sent me back a message saying to "sit still and take deep breaths, I'll get there between other appointments". She listened to my panicked ramblings and then reminded me of all the careful considerations I had been through over the months, the issues we had discussed, and how we came to this plan. "It's a good plan, a beautiful plan that is 'you'. It's OK". That night I slept. Eighteen months passed from the time I found Jodi until the kitchen was finished. I found it hard to make final decisions and procrastinated for weeks and months. Jodi always gave me space when I needed it; and when I needed her and more "coaching", she was there. I know for certain I would not have remodeled the kitchen without her. She helped me get a new kitchen, stay within my own peculiar parameters, and add value to my home. Her fees were very reasonable; her service was priceless, and she is also a really nice person. Whether you want a little advice and some suggestions, or need someone to hold your hand from start to finish as I did, you cannot go wrong by hiring The Décor Coach. read more

Jodi, the Decor Coach, is wonderful to work with. She helped me a couple times now get unstuck from my decorating delemas, and she makes it enjoyable to do. Jodi has a great working style with the perfect balance of easy conversation and focus. She uses a brilliant business mode that is clear and by the hour (and not selling items on commission). It felt like having a good friend to talk through my decorating challenges, but instead of a well intentioned friend who might suggest her own favorites, Jodi helped me find what works best for me. I highly recommend her! read more

I have tried working with other decorators and I felt that they were either intimidating or trying to push me into a style that they liked but just didn't feel right for me. Then I found Jodi. I have been working with Jodi for two years now. When I first called her I had an entire house to decorate and update. My husband and I had moved into a house with lots of charm but lots of 1980's leftovers (tarnished brass light fixtures, old door & bathroom hardware, and outdated wall colors,) and the need to buy furniture for every room (we sold all our previous furniture and were ready for a new style). I was in way over my head. Not only did I not know how to begin decorating but I was also raising my two young children and I felt completely overwhelmed. I remember not wanting to have even my good friends over for dinner because the house was just an empty shell and I was embarrassed at how it looked. Jodi has such a calming influence and her easy going personality was just what I needed. She helped me determine what style I liked and what my color palette would be. From there we focused on a couple on rooms - the kitchen, which has a sitting area, and our bedroom. At the end of each meeting I would have a clear to-do list. There were big whole house items that I needed a lot of hand-holding with (rugs, light fixtures) as well as all new bedroom furniture pieces and Jodi patiently walked me through all the options (in person, by phone, and email) until I felt confident with which items I wanted to buy. She has taught me so much about how to decorate which has given me confidence and made the process fun (never a word I used to describe decorating before). I can now walk into any decorating store (Home Goods, Pottery Barn, etc) and focus right away on which items I like and I enjoy browsing (before Jodi I couldn't even walk into a large store like Home Goods without a dreadful overwhelming feeling washing over me). Now, two years later, I have almost every room decorated (paint, furniture, rugs, lighting, art, accessories) and I really feel comfortable and relaxed. I love having friends over and I love the feeling I get when I walk through my house. With Jodi I have created a warm, happy, cozy place that reflects my tastes and style. I have recommended her to many of my friends and they have all had very positive experiences with her. Some friends just needed advice on furniture arrangement or help with their family/living room or the smaller accessories that really finish a house/pull it all together. Whatever your needs are Jodi is the most valuable decorating resource you can have. And she has saved me lots of money. The first way was by helping me determine if an item is the right fit before I buy it. Also by sharing her list of resources (where to get the best prices on furniture, rugs, etc). And once when we were on a shopping trip together at Home Goods she found a floor lamp that looked exactly like one at Restoration Hardware that I was considering (but was $200 less). That find alone covered the payment for that day's session! And she has taught me to ask for a better price when buying anything from an area rug to a lamp shade. And speaking of session fees, she is by far the least expensive decorator I've ever worked with (Jodi's hourly fees range from $47 to $60). Happy decorating! read more

I had been "paralyzed" for years about an empty huge cathedral ceiling wall in my great room. The wall had a gas log fireplace that really did not put out much heat and a boring mantle and a boring plain douglas fir surround. We collect carvings of birds and the mantle was overloaded and not becoming to the beautiful carvings. Also we had lived with plain white walls for 18 years and had a mis mash of furniture (actually somewhat poorly placed furniture) as well as too much furniture to complement the room. Being avid hikers and birders and outdoor enthusiasts my goal was to make this a room to let nature in since there are 4 floor to ceiling windows that look out to the woods. There were so many times over the years that I thought about "the wall" and never could seem to gather my thoughts. It all seemed too overwhelming. I had decided this was going to be the year to make a change and get a new FP installed that would provide heat. And while I was at it, I was going to get some help from a professional. But I did not want to pay a lot of $ for a person who decorates and shops for me. All I needed was some advice about interior design. I googled "interior designer Durham" and up popped the Decor Coach! Once I found the Decor Coach (Jodi Schavone) I was ecstatic. We immediately made contact in Dec 2008 and she is the person that lit the spark to get me started with the project. She spent 3 hours with and charged a very reasonable consultation fee. It was also very helpful to recieve her packet of general principles of interior design and well as suggestions for resources. Jodi was there the whole time. I emailed and spoke with her by phone along the way and I am happy to say the project is winding down. I know like my house again! She is the best and well worth contacting. I look forward to having her help as I make improvements in other rooms. read more

Just call Jodi, the Decor Coach. I can sit and stare at my walls for months, watch HGTV, subscribe to magazines, etc., etc., but I still can't feel confident putting a room together. I hired Jodi for her 3 hour, 1 room session. She went the whole 3 hours and then some. Because we have a somewhat open floor plan, she helped with all adjoining rooms and entry as well. She is very personable and made me feel very much at ease. She can help walk you through any decorating challenge you might have. Ours was a family room. How she helped with our project: FR, Kitchen, Hallway paint; furniture placement and suggestions for when we buy new; suggestions for tv placement; window treatment ideas; sprucing up a fireplace and built-ins; contacts for local contractors that she trusts. That alone is priceless information. When we implement the plans we have, she will come back to help accessorize. (A cat tree is our idea of an accessory before Jodi.) If you need help decorating, you will be pleased with Jodi. If you want to move out while someone else does all the decision making and work, she isn't for you. We wanted someone to be on "our team" to help US decorate our home. We feel like we can move forward more confidently now. read more