Self-Help + Supportive Consultation

The finished environment in your mind’s eye seems clear and simple! Think again, and first get some Do-It-Yourself guidance!

Sometimes the line between a self-help Interior Design project and the need for supportive, professional consultation gets blurred.   Unfortunately, too many wait too long before getting problem preventing help.   The desire to avoid unnecessary costs is a good thing; it just needs to include acknowledging where getting some guidance is a saving.   Putting off appropriate guidance in favor of trial-and-error may mean paying for costly mistakes and paying for remedial professional help.
 
The best way to plan your self-help project is to get guidance at the get-go!
 

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Before you begin, consider investing some time and some money with the appropriate professional for analyzing, strategizing and planning your project to realistically fit your personal capabilities.  That professional will help you identify the places in the project where you should consider a specific outside contractor, consult with a particular materials specialist – as well as where you can safely carry the ball on your own.
 
Let’s consider the Do-It-Yourself concept!  You will want your project to be one you look back on as satisfying, fun, durable and functional to the goal.  You want it to be as you imagined it would be.  So, the first “reality check” needs to be the fallacy in the concept itself.   We would be hard pressed to find an Interior Design project completely executed by one’s self, alone.  We all know what is implied by do-it-yourself, but it’s never accomplished without many co-involvements concerning everything from tools to expertise.
 
Tools?  Hopefully you’ll have the right ones for the task, and the knowledge of how to use them.   Supplies?   Be sure you have the right materials for the right application with the appropriate durability and maintenance.   Equipment?   You’ll rent or buy, and require the needed skills.  Knowledge?   Important to know what one knows, but more important to know what one does not know.   Expertise?  Jack-of-all-trades is admirable (maybe), but Master-of-none invites second-guessing as well as trouble.  Are there exceptions?  Of course; and those gifted souls are fortunate, indeed!
 
Engaging a professional Interior Design advisor to help you strategize, plan and be available to look over your shoulder when needed is probably the smartest first step you could take!  Put it right up front that you intend to be your own project coordinator, manager and producer.   And try not to let your pride get in the way of your good judgment.   Taking charge the right way has nothing to do with a bruised ego – it’s an ego boost!
 
In my own experience, it’s no picnic to get a call for First Aid!  To begin with, that person is already upset and frustrated.   Whether they are pointing the finger at someone else, or acknowledging they got in over their heads with some aspect of their venture, you can bet they are unhappy.  Most mistakes made by do-it-yourselfers are honest mistakes where the individual had no experiential way to see the trouble coming.  
 
One of the larger challenges for doing an Interior Design project basically on your own is costing out the project projections accurately – including typical aspects where wiggle room must be built into the estimates.   If that’s the only part of your planned project where you can justify asking for (and paying for) a little guidance, you’d be wise to do so.  
Many factors will influence the pace, progress and success of your project.   Don’t let a closed mind be one of them!
​​Before you begin, consider investing some time and some money with the appropriate professional for analyzing, strategizing and planning your project to realistically fit your personal capabilities.  That professional will help you identify the places in the project where you should consider a specific outside contractor, consult with a particular materials specialist – as well as where you can safely carry the ball on your own.
 
Let’s consider the Do-It-Yourself concept!  You will want your project to be one you look back on as satisfying, fun, durable and functional to the goal.  You want it to be as you imagined it would be.  So, the first “reality check” needs to be the fallacy in the concept itself.   We would be hard pressed to find an Interior Design project completely executed by one’s self, alone.  We all know what is implied by do-it-yourself, but it’s never accomplished without many co-involvements concerning everything from tools to expertise.
 
Tools?  Hopefully you’ll have the right ones for the task, and the knowledge of how to use them.   Supplies?   Be sure you have the right materials for the right application with the appropriate durability and maintenance.   Equipment?   You’ll rent or buy, and require the needed skills.  Knowledge?   Important to know what one knows, but more important to know what one does not know.   Expertise?  Jack-of-all-trades is admirable (maybe), but Master-of-none invites second-guessing as well as trouble.  Are there exceptions?  Of course; and those gifted souls are fortunate, indeed!
 
Engaging a professional Interior Design advisor to help you strategize, plan and be available to look over your shoulder when needed is probably the smartest first step you could take!  Put it right up front that you intend to be your own project coordinator, manager and producer.   And try not to let your pride get in the way of your good judgment.   Taking charge the right way has nothing to do with a bruised ego – it’s an ego boost!
 
In my own experience, it’s no picnic to get a call for First Aid!  To begin with, that person is already upset and frustrated.   Whether they are pointing the finger at someone else, or acknowledging they got in over their heads with some aspect of their venture, you can bet they are unhappy.  Most mistakes made by do-it-yourselfers are honest mistakes where the individual had no experiential way to see the trouble coming.  
 
One of the larger challenges for doing an Interior Design project basically on your own is costing out the project projections accurately – including typical aspects where wiggle room must be built into the estimates.   If that’s the only part of your planned project where you can justify asking for (and paying for) a little guidance, you’d be wise to do so.  
Many factors will influence the pace, progress and success of your project.   Don’t let a closed mind be one of them!
​Before you begin, consider investing some time and some money with the appropriate professional for analyzing, strategizing and planning your project to realistically fit your personal capabilities.  That professional will help you identify the places in the project where you should consider a specific outside contractor, consult with a particular materials specialist – as well as where you can safely carry the ball on your own. 
Let’s consider the Do-It-Yourself concept!  You will want your project to be one you look back on as satisfying, fun, durable and functional to the goal.  You want it to be as you imagined it would be.  So, the first “reality check” needs to be the fallacy in the concept itself.   We would be hard pressed to find an Interior Design project completely executed by one’s self, alone.  We all know what is implied by do-it-yourself, but it’s never accomplished without many co-involvements concerning everything from tools to expertise.
 
Tools?  Hopefully you’ll have the right ones for the task, and the knowledge of how to use them.   Supplies?   Be sure you have the right materials for the right application with the appropriate durability and maintenance.   Equipment?   You’ll rent or buy, and require the needed skills.  Knowledge?   Important to know what one knows, but more important to know what one does not know.   Expertise?  Jack-of-all-trades is admirable (maybe), but Master-of-none invites second-guessing as well as trouble.  Are there exceptions?  Of course; and those gifted souls are fortunate, indeed!
 
Engaging a professional Interior Design advisor to help you strategize, plan and be available to look over your shoulder when needed is probably the smartest first step you could take!  Put it right up front that you intend to be your own project coordinator, manager and producer.   And try not to let your pride get in the way of your good judgment.   Taking charge the right way has nothing to do with a bruised ego – it’s an ego boost!
 
In my own experience, it’s no picnic to get a call for First Aid!  To begin with, that person is already upset and frustrated.   Whether they are pointing the finger at someone else, or acknowledging they got in over their heads with some aspect of their venture, you can bet they are unhappy.  Most mistakes made by do-it-yourselfers are honest mistakes where the individual had no experiential way to see the trouble coming.  
 
One of the larger challenges for doing an Interior Design project basically on your own is costing out the project projections accurately – including typical aspects where wiggle room must be built into the estimates.   If that’s the only part of your planned project where you can justify asking for (and paying for) a little guidance, you’d be wise to do so.  
Many factors will influence the pace, progress and success of your project.   Don’t let a closed mind be one of them!
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