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DEVELOPING YOUR LOOK
Many designers are most comfortable designing in a very
specific architectural or design genre. Others pride themselves
in their chameleon-like ability to work in any framework and
design for any lifestyle. The choice is yours. But remember
that even if you design across all styles, from traditional to
contemporary, it is possible and very important to have a
consistent look—in your marketing and advertising materials
as well as your home staging designs themselves. Starting
points for developing a signature look include: color schemes,
furniture brands, fine art styles, dramatic floral arrangements,
truly unique and proprietary accessory collections, and the
way you put rooms together. In traditional interior design for
primary residents, sometimes a signature look is taboo, but
in the world of staging, it's how you ensure successful home
sales, repeat business, and referrals. If you're not sure how to
develop your look, begin with museum visits and magazine
perusal, figuring out what aesthetics strike a chord and feel
natural to you. When I'm trying to help homeowners define
their style, I ask them for a box of 50 images that inspire
them—the aesthetic, feeling, way fabric flows, color, table
setting, location, and so forth—and commonalities always
emerge. Once you have your look defined in your creative
mind, you'll want to attach some words to it, words that
eloquently describe your style in sensory terms: look, touch,
sound, smell, taste. Yes, all five are important.
