How to Get a Design Proposal Accepted: Get Inside Your Client's Head

So you've spent a lot of time as an interior designer putting together a great client proposal. You've done the shopping, your homework has been flawless, your creative shines through each element of the design you're giving to your client - but something is wrong! Your client isn't budging. They want to see more chairs (after you've showed them every chair in your local showrooms) or they're balking about the budget, or the color's not quite right, or.... What's a designer to do?

I tried tackling this all-too-common issue for interior designers (and other creative businesspeople who are trying to cater to the custom design needs of their clients) and wrote an article for the Williams-Sonoma Designer Marketplace Blog called Why You Should Care (a Lot) About Getting Inside Your Client's Head. Click on the link and enjoy. Please tell me what you think and leave a comment on the W-S blog - and look through the blog as it's a great resource for design lovers.

If you're interested in learning more about how to take your creative interests to the next level, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Holiday Shopping Guide for Interior Designers & Home Lovers

There are so many gift-giving guides out there, but my interior design partners at Design2Share.com and I hand-selected a cluster of holiday dynamite - gifts for the home - and design-loving adults on your list this year. We developed this list, and some guidelines regarding how to how to shop and the qualities of a memorable gift, for the folks at Williams-Sonoma's Designer Marketplace. Click here to read The Interior Designer's Creative Gift-Giving Guide, and seasons greetings and happy holidays to you and your family!

 Sheffield School began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Home Decorating Trend: Asian Meets Contemporary in Interior Design

Asian accents at Two Buttons Gallery, Frenchtown, NJ

Interior designers are always looking for trends to help guide their clients through the choppy waters of tastemaking. Trends, as we know, can be good and bad. Trends, if they're too "trendy," can come and go quickly, leaving your design project looking dated and so last year. But other trends are strong design currents that may be good to follow because they make good sense and are design-worthy styles. One example is combining Asian accents with contemporary furniture. This makes sense on many levels.

• Asian accents add international flair to interiors, as well as providing decorative points of interest.
• Contemporary furniture oftentimes borrows lines and motifs from traditional Asian furnishings, so there's a definite harmonious blend of new and old when combined with Asian antiques and accessories.
• The West has been fascinated with the exotic styling of Asian decor for centuries, and this trend is a natural carry-forward and fresh update of our decorating heritage. 

Click here to read my latest piece for Williams-Sonoma Designer Marketplace, where my design partner and I interview bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband Jose Nunez; they own a large import gallery in New Jersey, and you'll like Liz and Jose's advice about how to select good Asian accessories for your home and design projects. To accompany the advice in the article, I've selected a few contemporary furniture pieces that will style well with Asian antiques and accessories. Click on each photo for more product information.

The perfect display of Asian accessories: the Collectors Cabinet from Global Views

Jiun Ho's Hans Night Table is a sleek pedestal to display Asian treasures.

Functional coffee table from BoConcepts - sleek lines, Zen profile, go well with Asian accessories

Shiny metal clads the Terra Console from West Elm, a perfect surface to display accents!

Global Views' Cathay Arm Chair has a sandblasted finish that makes this Asian piece contemporary, ideal for an Asian throw.

If you're interested in learning more about interior design and decorating, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Sheffield Picks Favorites: 7 Lights We Love

I just finished an article for the Williams-Sonoma Designers Marketplace blog called What to Look for in Online Design Resources. Please read it as it contains some great ways to measure value when making online design purchases! In the article, my interior design partner and I selected some great lighting favorites from Rejuvenation that followed our basic rules. When you read the article, you'll find out what our favorites were at Rejuvenation, but for Sheffield, I wanted to play a wider field and show you some of the fixtures that really light up my life these days, like the Large Spool Chandelier from Arhaus (above). Click on each image for more product information.

Organza Blue Glass Pendant from Charles Loomis/The Bright Group

Big Bang Chandelier by Foscarini

Ruskin Chandelier from FRAZIER

 

Click to read more ...