I asked our contractor for a recommendation for a designer and he gave me Andrea's name. We worked together from about March 2015 until October 2015 on our remodeling project for our home. It included a new facade on the house, opening up the two front main-level rooms (removing a fireplace, widening a door between the two rooms), adding an upstairs office and some work in the two front upstairs bedrooms as well as a few touch-ups in the kitchen.
Architecturally, she suggested that we widen the kitchen door and add a pocket door there---that has been a favorite feature of this renovation. It totally opens up the kitchen between the front and back of the house but also allows for privacy if we want to close it off. She also offered some input when we had to make decisions about materials to use on our front porch pillars. Further, she went through the electrical plan with me and met with the lighting store person with me as we discussed best places for outlets and switches, three-ways, accent lights. I am very pleased with how that turned out. Our switches are much better placed than previously and we have areas that are much better lit than before. My kitchen is better lit than ever before. Cookies anyone?
Early on in the project, Andrea met me out by Dulles Airport to purchase a new stainless steel fridge and microwave and helped facilitate that purchase. She even picked up the microwave and brought it to me to avoid a delivery charge. We also went to a tile store that day to pick out tile for the kitchen backsplash. (She calculated what was needed and placed the order. I picked it up out at Mosaic Tile in Merrifield to avoid the delivery charge).
She brought several books of rugs for our family to look through and we narrowed it down to about 8 and then she helped us make the final decision.
Then, we looked at furniture. We talked in detail about how we would use the rooms and even included future room use (so as not to buy too much furniture--I hope to put a grand piano in one of the rooms someday). She looked around and came up with some solutions for space issues I have had in the kitchen. She measured and came back with a couple options for how furniture could be placed in each of the rooms. Next, we met at the furniture store to look at her recommendations. I sat on the couches and chairs that we were considering. She had gone to the furniture store earlier than me and had some samples of fabrics ready to choose from based on the colors we had chosen for the carpets. If I didn't care for something, we looked for other ideas. But really, I liked most of the things she had chosen.
After the furniture order was prepared (by her), we started looking at paint colors. She led me through coordinating from room to room and with the furniture fabrics and carpets. We added a couple of accent walls which I LOVE!
Finally, we considered window treatments. We had to deal with some windows that required inside mounts and others that required outside mounted blinds. I didn't like the outside mounted style, so she suggested doing some curtains. I did some shopping online, shared what I had found and she offered suggestions and recommended that I sew 3 panels together for each side of the window and recommended the size of curtain rod and color. She placed the order for the blinds and alerted me to a $300 rebate that was available. She is sending the information for me for that rebate.
Andrea was able to make a few small adjustments with timing of payments on our contract and we spaced out the purchases of carpets, furniture, and window treatments so that it worked out better for us financially, which I really appreciated. I appreciated that she was willing to work with the furniture we had decided to keep. We will be reupholstering one piece to match the other pieces--it was a good size, comfortable chair and in excellent condition.
I have never hired a designer before; Andrea was the first. While I love beautiful spaces, creating them has always been a matter of stress for me and I don't enjoy shopping. Andrea was perfect for me. She was patient, prompt, and attentive. She listened carefully, directed when needed and was respectful when I voiced my thoughts. She had wonderful ideas. She did quite a bit of legwork that reduced my stress level. I appreciated her delivering the carpets to me, placing orders, keeping track of all the colors to match, and taking measurements. I learned a lot in the process. She had great ideas and I am really delighted with the appearance of our house. It fits the needs of our family. It looks beautiful. read more
