- This is Autumnflora, and she is an amazing designer
here in Nashville, and an old friend!
Actually we've known each other for a while!
- Yes, a long time. It has been!
- I know. So I'm so happy to have her on
because I want you to give us some tips
on, when it comes to our house,
how we can create really a home that we love.
- Thank you so much for having me here,
this is really a treat to be on the show with you
and to be able to give some good tips
and advice to people who aren't working with a designer.
So one thing is, find out what room you want to remodel.
Do you wanna do a remodel?
Do you wanna do a re-design?
What's gonna make the biggest impact
for your family and your life?
- Okay, so to create a home that you love
you can either go do a remodel
where you hire a contractor and rip stuff out.
You can hire a designer and just do a re-design,
but, Flo, that all sounds so expensive!
I hear that, I'm like, "Oh gosh,
how much is all that gonna cost?"
So what do you do? - It can get really expensive,
and you can do it on your own too; that's completely fine
as long as you know what your budget is.
And if you're working with a professional,
make sure you give them your budget.
They need to know what it is they're working with,
how much money you're comfortable with spending,
so they can stay within that.
So really you need to focus on one or two areas.
Start there. A lot of times for people,
it's their main living space.
So it's their kitchen and their great room.
It's the two areas that, as a family,
they spend time in or they entertain in.
- It's amazing where I've heard that whatever room
is connected to the kitchen is where most people congregate.
- I can't tell you how many times
I've had friends over, a party,
everyone is around the island where the food is,
where the beverages are, and then people will trickle off
into somewhere else, but everyone ends up, you have
20 people in one space-- - In a kitchen, yes!
- No matter how big or small it is.
- So if people don't have a huge budget,
and they're not able to go and hire a Flo,
to hire a wonderful designer to come in,
what do you suggest people do?
- There are so many ways that you can find inspiration
that's not from a designer instructing you.
We have such great resources now,
online or even still print—I still love all my magazines,
so if you love magazines out there, you're okay!
So go through a design magazine;
rip out a photo that you love.
Go onto House; find some photos.
Create a mood board on Pinterest.
Find things that will help you inspire yourself
and also give you a visual on what you're trying to achieve.
- That's so good. So how do you find someone that you trust?
Like, who's a professional in your area
that you know, okay, this person's gonna be legit.
- Good question, obviously if you're in the Nashville area,
I can tell a couple of great names to you,
but if you're not in the Nashville area,
which not everybody watching your show is going to be,
there are some great websites to go to.
Angie's List has been around for years.
I know people who have found great painters,
even contractors, on that website,
so I highly recommend that.
Another is House; a lot of people think that
it's just something where you go and find photos on there,
and you can pull 'em in and have a kitchen inspiration
or a living room inspiration,
but there are professionals listed on there.
I'm listed on there as well as a professional.
And another is Takl.
There are some wonderful services on there
from painters to somebody to go pressure wash something,
if you're looking at doing an outdoor area.
- Yes, okay, you mentioned the budget,
and I love a budget, so for you all
I've created a cheat sheet
so that you can visualize your numbers,
and it's broken down per room,
so you can figure out the money you've saved,
how much you've spent—track it all.
So make sure to click the link
in the description below after the show.
Okay, when I think about clothes,
I think about having, like, the investment pieces
where you spend more money than you normally would
on certain items.
- It's funny that you say that--
- Is it true in design? - Yes, it is true!
It's funny that you say that because
that's how I reference something for my clients.
If they're saying, "Well I don't know how much to spend;
I don't know what my budget is,"
I think about when you're going to a store,
and you're going to an event,
how much do you have to spend in your kitchen?
You want to invest in your cabinetry,
your countertops; so those are gonna be
your two big-ticket items in there.
A backsplash, even faucets, even lighting:
those are things that you can find online
and be able to save some money
or go to a Home Depot or a Lowes.
Upholstery: your sofas can take up most of your living room.
Or chairs. So for different people,
they're gonna have different wants, different needs.
If you have pets, you're gonna want to have something
that's going to stand up to the test of time with them.
If you have children and you're thinking about
markers and crayons,
you're gonna want to get a Crypton fabric.
You're going to want to get something
that has some scrub-ability, some wash-ability,
something that's not going to have to be dry cleaned.
- So what are the best places for me
to buy the more expensive things?
What are those expensive things that are worth buying?
- Let's talk about just a re-design,
because if you're not wanting to get into
all the structural changes and all that,
most people are wanting to just refresh
with fabrics and furnishings.
So when I'm thinking about investment pieces,
one thing that I highly recommend
is always investing in your main upholstered pieces.
But you want to not spend money
that you're just going to end up throwing away later on.
- That's so good, so those are the places
we're gonna invest heavily in.
So what are the things, let's say just like accessories,
like more inexpensive things,
where are your favorite places to get those?
- Hands down, Home Goods!
If you have a Home Goods in your town, go to Home Goods!
- I love Home Goods.
- They're wonderful, and it's always changing,
so no matter if you need something that's seasonal,
they have it; if you want something that is
with your own color scheme, it's color-coordinated;
it's not hard to do by yourself.
So go. Go there and look through the blues
if you have blue in your house.
And you can find things that are gonna be inexpensive enough.
I like to change things out with the seasons, too.
- So good. I love it; Oh my gosh, Flo, thank you!
- You're so welcome! - Seriously, so helpful.
I mean, to create a home, because home is a place
that you're gonna be all the time, right?
Before you leave work, after work, with the kids,
your family: it's a home; you really want to create
something that you love.
I'm gonna take your tips. Use them in my life.
- Good! - When I paint my kitchen
a beautiful white. - A beautiful white.
- Thank you so much for coming on. -You're so welcome.
(upbeat music)