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An Eye
For Design
Professional can help you sort through various home trends
From Enid News & Eagle, May 31, 2009
By Bridget Nash, Staff Writer
When it comes to interior design, Ron Licklider of Enid knows what he’s
talking about.
“I’ve been in the business over 40 years,” said Licklider, of Ron
Licklider Interiors.
He has seen trends come and go. Color schemes duck in and out of
popularity. Types of flooring are the fad one day and ridiculed the
next.
Currently, home interior trends are coinciding with, you guessed it, the
environmentally friendly green movement.
Bamboo flooring is a popular look, and bamboo is considered green
because it grows much faster than trees, Licklider said.
Also, fabrics created with re-constituted fibers, environmentally
friendly paint and second-hand furniture fall into the green category
for interior decorating.
Not only do trends come and go quickly, but they may not fit your
tastes. A professional interior designer can help you to make your home
into your haven.
“The designer today does more than just hang pictures and plan pretty
bedspreads,” Licklider said.
Professionals in the design field can be consulted when a home is being
built, when a home is being sold and to design and decorate the
interiors of public spaces.
However, if you are considering calling upon the services of a
professional interior designer, don’t just open the Yellow Pages and
pick a name from the list, Licklider said.
The best thing anyone can do when looking for an interior designer is to
ask around, Licklider said.
Ask around, ask around, ask around.
“The best tip is a recommendation,” he said.
Once you have heard a few names you might be able to see some of their
work in public places to help you make your choice.
Licklider said it also is important a designer have a Web site,
portfolio and an office. If they don’t have those things, they might
just be someone who thinks they have “good taste” and decided to earn a
few extra bucks imposing their taste on other people’s houses.
Once you have found an interior decorator, one thing that professional
can do is help you save money.
“We are in a depression now,” Licklider said. “(Interior designers
should) be good custodians or good stewards of your money.”
A professional will help you to salvage and properly maintain of your
current items, rather than encourage you to buy all new things.
Even with the goal of helping people save money and spend wisely,
Licklider knows not everyone can afford an interior designer.
“I feel like this is a real luxury,” Licklider said.
For those who can’t afford the luxury of hiring a professional to
decorate a home, Licklider was willing to give a few tips on how you can
be your own decorator.
There are several key mistakes people make that can keep a home from
looking its best, and the remedies are simple:
Get rid of clutter
The first and perhaps the most common mistake people make is having too
much clutter.
“Edit, edit, edit,” Licklider said. “Less is always better.”
When you choose to edit your home and get rid of the clutter, not only
does the home have a more relaxing atmosphere, but decor stands out as
what it is meant to be rather than looking like just some more “stuff”
in the house.
Spend money wisely
Another commonly made mistake is spending your money unwisely.
“Make your money count,” Licklider said.
Licklider said with the Internet, discount stores and half-price sales
there is no reason to overspend and exceed your decorating budget. You
just have to take the time to look around for bargains.
“Buy on sale, buy second-hand,” Licklider said.
Get your priorities straight
When you are decorating more than one room or your whole house, it is
easy to get your priorities out of order, Licklider said.
“Start with the backgrounds,” Licklider said.
For example, that expensive new sofa isn’t going to look so great when
the living room needs paint, flooring, window treatments and/or
wallpaper, Licklider said. You have to start with the essentials and
work up to the extras.
Licklider said it also is important to do one room at a time. When one
room is finished, then go on to the next.
After you’ve learned to avoid those common mistakes one of the best ways
to decorate your home is to first view good design, Licklider said.
Don’t just ask opinions of friends and loved ones. Take the time to look
at work done by professional designers.
After looking at some good examples all it takes is a little work, a lot
of patience and some common sense to make your home a place where you
can sit back, breath easy and enjoy the view.
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