Should you furnish a whole home at once? Most designers will say yes, but if you ask me, the answer depends on how you define ‘furnishing’. To some homeowners, furnishing means purchasing a few new pieces, brightening things up with a coat of paint, and sprinkling in some toss pillows. For others, furnishing means taking a room from bare and mostly empty to fully layered and complete.
We use the latter definition, one that results in the complete transformation of a space — even if we are incorporating some of our clients’ existing pieces and family heirlooms. While this holistic approach to furnishing rooms requires a significant investment, it is one with widespread benefits that you will live to appreciate and enjoy. (More on that below.)
If your budget is limited, however, I would NOT advise you to furnish your whole home at once. Instead of grazing over the surface of each room, I recommend selecting just a few rooms to deeply transform. Here’s why…
Getting the Most Out of Working with an Interior Designer
If you are working with an interior designer, you want the best possible results for you and your family, and we want that for you, too. Having us add pillows, select paint colours or pick out new chairs may change the look of the room, but it misses the true value we can bring you: a home that feels deeply personal and elevates your daily life.
A holistic approach to decorating your spaces requires commitment and focus. This is why our furnishing projects are so involved. In addition to procuring items like furniture, artwork, and lighting, we design custom pieces and layer in the little details, like throw blankets, toss pillows, and accessories. Our decorating projects often include cosmetic upgrades, such as custom built-ins, fireplace refacing, wallpaper and more, all of which require detailed design work and careful project management.
We take you through our entire creative process and manage the project from start to finish. This ensures a tailored result that does more than transform your home — it transforms the way you live.
A special preview of our full-home transformation on Prince Edward Island!
Why Should You Take a Holistic Approach to Home Furnishing?
Now that you know how we furnish a home (or space) from top to bottom, here are some of the many benefits of doing it all at once:
- The design and flow of the space feels cohesive when furnishings are selected together
- Your designer has the opportunity to craft the space to suit your lifestyle
- It increases joy — you don’t have to live with furnishings you don’t love for another year
- You experience a sense of finality, with no nagging unfinished business
- It saves time when compared to piecing your home together over several years — it allows you to live, entertain, and enjoy your home sooner
Our design process has been thoughtfully crafted to deliver all of the above at the highest level possible. It is what we love doing, and what keeps our clients coming back again and again. I recommend it.
The Verdict: Depth Over Breadth
In summary, while it is ideal to plan and furnish a whole home all at once, if you are not able to, the next best thing is to choose a designer (the same designer) who will work through your home one, two, or three rooms at a time. This allows us to carefully weave details throughout the individual spaces to create a consistent, cohesive look overall.
If some of your spaces need renovating and others do not, we can help you create a project schedule that allows you to successfully complete your home in phases. During our initial meeting, we will discuss all of these details as we assess your home, define your objectives, and make a plan.
If you would like to discuss your project and see if we are the right fit for you, I invite you to reach out to us here. Until then, our Guide to Uncovering the Potential in Your Home is an excellent resource for advice and inspiration to get you started.
Yours,
Lori
