I met the owner of this gorgeous bedroom when he was looking at a house across the street from my own, and it was fate... if I believed in fate... for us to be the best of friends. It didn't take us long to discover that we had children the same ages, similar interests, and similarly goofy personalities with a deep-seeded joy for being completely inappropriate.

When he asked me for a color consultation for the home he ended up in (not across the street), I was more than happy to help! When it evolved into more design, I was ecstatic.

The focus of shopping with a designer is to... stay focused. It is easy to get distracted by all the products on the showroom floor, but they are not there to peruse... they are there to serve as examples. So... in we go, out we go!

After a year waiting list, your number one contractor even responds two months early, saying they have an opening. Yay!!! Day one: they come onto the site and ask for the plans so they can put together a team and schedule. 

... blank stare... The plans??? After composing yourself slightly, you simply describe the work in complete detail. It's not a tough project- just a little update. No plans needed, right? Wrong.

Furnishing and decorating a space is such a different ball of wax than construction projects that it requires a different approach to the design process. In fact, for the first ten years of designing, I designed with furnishings for about 3 months of that time. The rest of my time was focused on the interior architecture.

Our process differs with each client, but we have developed some great 'checkpoints' to make sure we've hit all the key points.

This beautiful farmhouse was screaming for an update. The 1920's kitchen had never been touched and the family had only one restroom on their main level in a home that frequently houses guests. I was so proud that they chose me to bring this beautiful home up to date, while preserving its original charm!

This Spokane kitchen design was the first project that was "mine", in my first design job! To this day, I am thrilled and proud of the extraordinary creative space we created!

Imagine this. A website invites you to sign in to share pictures of your child with family. 

Years later, this company starts using your child's information to sign up for something you are morally opposed to... but the terms are airtight. They've covered all their bases, and all the families who signed up in a frenzy to join this super cool site are throwing in their towels out of frustration. What can you do? Just give up?

Waldron Designs is so excited and honored to have been featured in Pacific Northwest Homes- a beautifiul coffee table book featuring the best deigners of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho! These books are available at The Country Store in Vashon (signed copies), for purchase on Amazon, or directly through Waldron Designs! 

We will be at the Vashon Home Fair on March 10th and will have several of the books available for purchase at the show, but more importantly, we will be there to talk about your future projects or direct you to preferred professionals in the industry. We look forward to seeing you there!

I grew up calling myself a "girly tomboy". I was a fan of thrift shops, used items, and the better the deal, the better I'd done at shopping. I remember meeting my husband and being so proud of the $5 jeans I was wearing and the $20 red leather pants (you're jealous... admit it). But, he looked at all the piles of clothes I had with holes, loose threads and stains and said: "why don't you buy something nice and have it last?" I was appalled and dumbfounded simultaneously. My things weren't nice?!

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Fast forward 20 years... I'm sitting in a meeting with a client and contractor. The client lives in a gorgeous 1920's bungalow and the contractor suggests we put vinyl tiles in the bathroom. A few days earlier, another client suggested that they were okay keeping the vinyl flooring in the kitchen and mentions that they hadn't considered aesthetics. Then, it dawned on me. So many people hire me to help with the functionality of their home, to make their spaces work better for them, and it is not realized that the quality of materials absolutely affects the function of the space.

Those of you who read last month's newsletter may recall that I visited a home on the market and fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I was not in a place to move, so I had to watch someone else buy my dream home... ouch! This experience got Sean (our architect and my husband) talking about our improvements to our own home. The interesting thing is that he seems to be more motivated than ever to go big, where I'm more motivated than ever to keep the improvements minor and aesthetic.

The question is... do we stay or do we go? The length of time in your home should dictate how much time and money is put into it.

We all have our projects in our homes, and maybe we have two or three or maybe the whole house is a project, but regardless of how many or how big these projects are, it is important to always keep the big picture in mind. Do not lose sight of the grand idea when working on smaller tasks.