Using an Online Virtual Designing Tool with Little Black Domicile
Quote of the day: “If you try and it doesn’t work out, you’re not a failure. You’re a risk taker.” Ava Duvernay
I think this is a perfect quote to remember because many of us are SO afraid of failure. Yet most times I learn more from my mistakes than my successes.
This is NOT a sponsored post, nor was I asked to write about this. I paid for our online virtual designing tool through Little Black Domicile and as good friends should do, I wanted to share. Personally I like decorating my home. Yet, there are times I know that I get stuck. Just like with my clothes. Sometimes having another set of eyes can be so helpful. Especially a trained set of eyes.
I’ve always thought using a decorator would be too expensive. If you’ve been reading my blog awhile, you know I’m all about good deals. I’ve been reading Little Black Domicile’s blog for over a year now, after we had fun collaborating with them. And one of the remarks on her blog was that the process didn’t have to be expensive. I was definitely intrigued and decided to look into it.
Here’s our experience with this online virtual designing tool using it for our living room.
BEFORE
We downsized to our present home over 3 years ago. Yet we didn’t buy any new furniture at first. I always like to get an idea of the flow of a place first before I invest in new pieces.
When we first moved in, we put in the new flooring and had our neighbor tile around the fireplace. We did buy new drapes because we left our previous ones at our old house. That was it. Everything else was from our former residence.
The big thing we wanted to change was to get a new couch. This burgundy one below was from our bigger house, and we knew it was too large for the space.
I was also interested to see if Little Black Domicile had any better ideas of how to rearrange what we did have. Or if we should get rid of anything.
Was anyone else a fan of the show Designing on a Dime? I always loved the last part of the show where they made over a room with existing items…many times from other areas of the house. That’s always such an interesting idea, because we tend to put an item somewhere and think it’s only for that room after that.
AFTER
This process took into account so many factors I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. After we sent in our original photos, she asked many questions to see how we used the space, where outlets were, and things like that.
And she worked within our budget. We didn’t want to spend more than $1000 on the new couch, and she sent us ideas in that price range. Everything else she suggested was basically moving what we already had around.
It’s so wonderful to hear tricks and tips from a designer. It’s kinda like the tips that my mom will share with her clothing items. For instance, it was suggested to get curtain clips to make our curtains open and shut so much easier. It’s like one of those V-8 moments. How did I not think of that? You can see that we used them on the large window, but haven’t done so yet on the smaller one.
For the couch, it was nice to have the idea for adding in blue. I would have never thought of that, and the funny thing is now I see it everywhere. Her suggested range for the couch dimensions was perfect for the space.
The furniture got rearranged and much of the art work did too. It was suggested to move the white ladder shelving out of the room, so it’s upstairs in the office now.
Some of the changes are little details. For example on the buffet below, it was suggested to move this lamp here (after removing the beads from the trim), and now I can see how some height was needed in this area.
The Facts
What I really loved is how the process worked in this online virtual designing tool. Well, let me rephrase that. There were parts of the process that weren’t super easy. For example, I couldn’t see the designer’s comments on my phone. I had to go to my computer to see them. And when I asked her about that, she replied it’s because of the program that they use. In order to make it affordable, there are always pros and cons.
We spent $200 on this online virtual design tool, and I would definitely do it again. Could I have done this myself? Maybe, but I also don’t have as much experience that Little Black Domicile does in this matter. I’m sure I would have never thought to add in a navy couch, yet this is my favorite part of the room now. And just the fact, that everything fits in the space so well, was worth it.
As for the time frame for this service, it probably took about 2-3 weeks for the final design. We sent in the original photos and then were sent questions within a week. The answers got sent in along with detailed photos that were requested and it all came back within another week.
The funny thing is when I was talking to friends, many of them said they had used a designer for their homes. I know I’d never thought to do that. Yet really it’s no different than going to a hair stylist. You may do your own hair daily, but you don’t color/cut it by yourself.
Details
I wanted to include a couple of wonderful details about the living room. That lovely sun pillow was a gift from Nikki when I won an online giveaway. She hand painted it and I love how it adds so much brightness to the room. She used to have an online store, but it’s being revamped right now. But follow her on Instagram and you’ll find out when it’s back.
Also, the dark vase on the fireplace mantle and the picture hanging above the television in the after shots are both from Goodwill. I always think it’s a great idea to check out the home section when you’re thrifting. I find just as many great deals on those as well as clothes.
And that little blue vase next to the couch in the after photos was made by my mother out of leftover buttons. Here’s a photo of one like it. My mom is not only creative with her clothes and sewing, but with so many other things too. I always said she would have made a great Martha Stewart.
We spent WAY less on our new couch. This one was actually an online purchase that I talked about in my September post. In fact, it was less than $300. We really wanted to make sure we would love the color and size before we spent more on this piece.
Keeping in Touch
Right now there are issues posting to Pinterest from my blog. But you can easily go to my Pinterest account and pin whichever (or all) to your own boards from there. Sorry for the inconvenience and Rob has been working away to try to fix this! Or you can pin this image to remember about this service, here.
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NEXT WEEK
Make sure you’re signed up to get my emails when a new post is published. Starting Monday, November 19, I will be celebrating my 4th year blogaversary and the last giveaway will be for email subscribers only! I’d hate for you to miss it!
