Modern Home Decorating

is it doable?? what do you think we would have finished uni in the next 4 yrs and be qualified. so is there a market?? do you lot think its a good idea?? what can i do to prepare myself?? how much?? LoL

loads of questions. just tell me anything helpful. write as much as u want ill read it all Thank u!!

Although both those careers deal with houses, the skills needed are not complimentary and probably you will make less money doing both unless you somehow put them together into one product. Let’s see if I can expand using examples.

If you are an real estate agent and you advise your clients to make some changes to help them sell their house then that is a good service but you do not need a interior design business for that.

If you sell them the house then try to sell them interior decorating you will not be successful because they think they have already paid you lots of money and now you are just trying to get more.

The time marketing one service will take away from the time it takes to do the other service. SPECIALIZE and you will make more money.

The one area where having both would add to your pocket book is if you are fixing up houses. As and agent you will be able to find fixers easier and know what their value is. Being good at decorating will help in the fix up.

I hope that helps and good luck.

I am going to be starting college this fall, and im some what interested in interior design. How successful of a career would i have with the states of things right now. Is that a prominate field to go into right now?

Interior design is a career that seems like a good idea at the time but when you start seeing the creativity of all of the other people, unless you are confident with your talent, second guessing is the next feeling that you will experience.

I went to a fine arts college and saw very few people go into certain fields that use to be booming. Interior design was one of them because the academic advisor kept the students focused on home and garden design. When one of the students graduated, I felt sorry for her but she did look past what her counselor was saying a got a job in a major department store decorating windows.

If you see how far interior design can go or if you can incorporate something else with it to make yourself more marketable than the average student then it would be great for you.

I would like one for interior design or exterior designing, it could be a free trial or just free. I’ve looked everywhere and cant find anything, hellllp

virtual program Architect Studio 3D-

http://architectstudio3d.org/AS3d/design_studio3d.html

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http://home.ivillage.com/decorating/0,,9pt69sx5,00.html

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http://www.bhg.com/bhg/decorating/

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color work

http://www.behr.com/behrx/workbook/

Our husky has a tendancy to get out of her collar when she is tied up, so we keep her in the front yard because it has a fence. Unfortunatley she has a funny habit to chew on anything that is out there, including Christmas decorations. We don’t have this problem inside, so it is a puzzler. My question is, how can I have even the simplest Christmas decoration (she chewed through our christmas lights around the windows, and our solar powered path lights) when nothing is safe out there?

Put bitter apple or vinegar on the item dogs don’t like those things so it will prevent her from chewing on it.

Let’s keep it in the spirit in which it’s asked please – whether you are a christian or anything else – really… what NICE Family traditions do you most love, remember and continue each year?

My dad likes the traditions of:
1: Open NOTHING before Christmas morning (that means nothing on Christmas Eve), and only the Christmas stockings before everyone is there around the tree together.
2: Dad needs to get up and shave and maybe have a shower or something like that before he comes into the living room. Presents a problem, see #1.
3: Wrapping presents in duct tape

The traditions the rest of us get behind:
1: We make candy (fudge, divinity, turtles, etc) and other treats, and then take them to our friends, family and neighbors. I now continue this one on my own now that I’m out of the house.
2: Go looking at Christmas lights (I do this with my roommates now as well)
3: Watch A Christmas Story and It’s A Wonderful Life every year

Since my husband and I got married 12 years ago I have been buying snowflake ornaments here and there. Mostly I buy them after the holidays when they are on sale but sometimes before when I find ones I really like. The range of them go from inexpensive to more expensive. The last few years my FIL and his wife (2nd marriage) have hosted a "Snowflake Games" every January. They invite all their friends over and have organized games with prizes, eating, etc. It has become a big deal. And every year they borrow all my snowflake ornaments, snowman decorations, etc to totally transform their home into this wintry wonderland theme. I have never minded boxing up my snow themed decorations for them to borrow.

Last year they took 15 of the snowflake ornaments, strung them on fishing line and hung them from some track lighting in their basement. It did look festive and fun. And they have stayed there all year. My husband’s step-mom is kind of kooky and if she loves something she does for a themed party in their basement then she tends to leave it up for good. So my snowflakes have hung there for the last 10 months. I have heard from others that I may not get them back but I just couldn’t imagine someone would borrow something and purposely never give it back. So I waited… and waited… and waited.

Finally, on Thanksgiving I made my husband ask his dad about them. His dad finally told him that they would like to pay for the ornaments and keep them. Really? Just told us! Didn’t ask us if it was an option or request them nicely. Last time I was there I glanced at them and I think most of them are inexpensive… $3-5 a piece ornaments. But a few of them are more unique and fun and to replace now (before Christmas) would probably be up to $10. Not to mention that I would have to drive around to different stores looking for ones I like. I don’t want to go to one store and buy 15 of the same snowflake. That defeats the purpose of all these years picking up a few each year.

How do I handle this? How much do I tell them? Oh. I also feel bad because my FIL is a wonderful man who has helped us finish our own basement and comes here to fix things for us whenever we need him. He will never take money but we do pay for a dinner out for him probably 2-3 times a month hoping to repay him in that way for all his work around our house.

I think my biggest beef is that they didn’t ask. They just hung on to those 15 ornaments for 10 months and then it was up to us to request them back only to be told we weren’t going to get them.

Please, serious help answers please! This is family and I put family on a high regard. I will not cut off contact with them. I will not jeopardize our relationship over it. I just want to know what way I should respond and if there is a way to nicely voice our hurt feelings? Plus! What do we do when they ask for our decorations again THIS January?
Forgot to mention… we are estimating that the replacement cost at an average of $6-7 a piece would be $100. One suggestion that a friend had was to tell my husband’s step-mom "Merry Christmas" and call it her Christmas prestent. Then take the money I would have had in my budget to buy the ornaments.

I like your thinking about giving it to her as a Christmas gift and use the money to replace what you please..

That way you can let it go and move forward without resentment.

I have got to get it together tomorrow and put stuff away for another year…

How about you??

Yes, I’m with you on that one. It’s fun putting it up but a pain in the butt taking it back down. Don’t know why because it takes almost exactly the same amount of time to do both…

Note to self – take Christmas tree down over weekend….