ARTICLE - Whats your budget?

Working out a budget for your decorating and styling can be like asking how long is a piece of string – it can seem impossible – but without an idea of your budget, whether you are using a designer or not, you can come unstuck very quickly.

The last thing you want is the stress of not knowing whether you will be able to finish a room because you have gone over budget, or if you have gone into certain shops and fallen in love with an item that is simply out of reach for you. Setting a budget from the start will help you to rationalise whats possible, what you can afford to change, what you need to reuse and what you may have to wait for. This is also where a designer can help – by using their detailed knowledge of how to get the same effect for less, and where to buy items for less. Using a designer may in fact save you money in the long run, indeed, I have found that several of my clients have said that I ended up being free with the amount I saved them in time and money for products – a great win-win situation for both sides.

Don’t assume that if you tell a designer your budget, they will make sure that they spend every penny, or worse, that they will laugh and say thats definitely not enough. A designer will work with you to make choices that use your budget wisely, and try and save where possible so that you come out with not only a beautiful room, but also not in debt.

Whether you are going it alone, or using a designer, please ensure that you know your budget from the start. Budget should be the amount you are happy to spend to get the look you want – simple!

When setting a budget, the following things are worth taking into consideration:-

• ·         How long are you going to be living in this house? Is it worth spending more on quality that will last, or are you only wanting to be here for a year or so, where lesser finishes will work fine.

• ·        What items do you NEED to buy – what can you keep and reuse if required.

• ·         What items do you want to buy that you have already seen.

• ·         Can you do a rough breakdown of where you want to spend your money (and what you would be willing to spend on each), and therefore prioritise where you would not be willing to compromise. Areas could consist of the following –

o    Furniture

o    Accessories

o    Lighting

o    Window dressings

o    Flooring

o    Walls

o    Interior Design fees

• ·         Will your designer be able to access better quality items for less than you could get them for?

• ·         What are your designers costs? And are these part of the budget you give them, or over and above?

• ·         What is your time worth? Is it more time and money efficient to hire someone to oversee the work?

·         Have you included a set amount for unforeseen expenditure? Things always happen that may cost more than you think (the walls need plastering once you have taken off that old wallpaper for example) so its wise to know that you can afford a certain amount of contingency money.

Hopefully getting a budget and breaking it down into areas of expenditure will pay you dividends in the long run – at every step along the way you can see whether you are on track, and if you go over in one area you know you need to pull back in another. It also helps to browse quickly initially at online shops so that you get a rough idea of the cost of things, so that your budget is also realistic.