It’s a New Year! I’ve decided 2018 will be the year I finally be decorating my living room and bedroom. My husband is active duty military so we haven’t really captured our style because of the possibility of orders somewhere else. After a recent promotion, we purchased our first home, and with this new chapter in our lives we’d like to finally make it a home that has our stamp on it.

I reached out to a local San Antonio decorator, whom I recently had the pleasure of photographing for her business, and asked her to dish some tips on how best to decorate a room – I need all the help I can get! This is a 2-part blog; to read her previous tips, visit 6 Decorating Tips You Can Use Today. 

Me: What are 3 things you wish your clients knew before you come to their home/space?

Amber: Asking for design and decorating help takes a lot of courage, so a lot of times my clients are very nervous when we meet. They assume I’m judging them as soon as I walk through the door! Everything from their decorating style, organization skills and cleanliness are all exposed for me to see.

However, I’m not judging them at all. A person’s home is very personal. I see it as a great honor to be invited into a client’s home. Trusting me, my opinion and expertise is a huge compliment, one that I hope to never take for granted. So if I were to offer three things to a client before visiting them it would be:

1. THANK YOU!

2. Relax, it’ll all be just fine.

3. Now let’s get this party started! *throws confetti*

Okay, so now I had to know what resources a professional decorator uses when styling clients’ spaces.

Amber: I’m a bit of a pack rat, but with age I’ve learned that cleanliness is next to godliness.

Clean up the clutter. Less is more. If you have a hard time with this, check out Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It’s a fantastic book and a great place to start.

I also love this Nate Berkus quote: “Everywhere your eye travels in your home, it should land on something that resonates with you.” Both of these tidbits teach that you should only have items in your home that are meaningful and add value to your life. You don’t have to be a minimalist to understand that and if we all applied that principle to our houses, friends, jobs, closets and junk drawers, I think we’d live much happier and fulfilling lives! Why not start at home?

Just by visiting Amber’s personal bungalow I learned three things about her:

1. She’s organized

2. She’s stylish

3. She’s inspired

If there’s anything I’ve learned from working and living in different places, it’s to surround yourself with the people and things you love. Amber surrounds herself with words of affirmation, inspiring books and magazines, and an overall sense of gratitude, depicted in her plethora of Thank You cards around her office.

After this photoshoot, I may have been just as inspired by my trip to her abode as I was by her insider information!

If you would like to be featured on my blog, contact me to get scheduled in 2018!

Click Blessed Little Bungalow to find out more about Amber’s blog.