Definition of an Interior Designer

A professional interior designer is qualified by education, experience, and examination to enhance the function and quality of interior spaces for the purpose of improving the quality of life, increasing productivity, and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

In the market for a designer?

Here’s what you need to know: It’s one thing to have a dream home in mind, but it’s another thing to turn it into reality. With so many aspects to consider—everything from wall colors, to furniture placement, to faucet finishes—the choices can be daunting.

Interior designers can help. A qualified designer can create a room or an entire home that reflects the client’s personality while providing a comfortable haven.

How do people find a designer they like?

It’s word of mouth. Clients look at our work from friends, referrals, or magazines and there’s a theme running throughout.

What does an interior designer take into consideration when working with a client?

1. Lighting, flooring, and wall treatments are the most important things. Furniture will come and go, but that is the basic shell.

2. How will you use this room? How many people do you want to seat? What is your entertaining life like? Do you have children? What furniture are you bringing with you? What materials do you like? You ask them everything you possibly can. You have to worry about acoustics. It’s about arranging seating areas. It’s about obeying traffic patterns through rooms.

How expensive is it to hire a designer?

At Jones Home Furnishings design service is offered in one of two ways.

1. When you purchase furniture from our store it is a complimentary service.

2. Design service is also available at an hourly rate of $125.00 per hour.

How can clients make the most of time with a designer?

1. Have a file of magazine pictures that you like and a list of the ideas that you want incorporated into your home.

2. Bring an inventory of your current furniture that you will be using (including the measurements of each piece).

3. Keep in mind a list of questions you would like answered.

Furniture Care - Furniture that endures.

Wood Furniture Tips

For many people, fine furniture is one of the largest investments they are likely to make. Like anything else, fine furniture needs regular and proper care to keep it beautiful.

Most furniture is finished with a fine lacquer or varnish, and has a sheen or gloss, ranging from high to low. This finish adds to the beauty of the wood and protects it.

Because no finish is totally indestructible, proper furniture care is needed to make it last. Without proper care, the finish can wear out, making it necessary to have the furniture refinished at a great expense. Thus, regular and proper care will make your investment last longer and provide more satisfaction and enjoyment.

The following tips are some recommended by many of the furniture care specialists.

1. Be sure to dust frequently. Use a dusting cloth that is treated to attract and hold dust leaving furniture spotless.

2. Use a quality furniture polish approximately once a month. Polish. NO Wax, NO Silicones, NO Petroleum Distillates.

3. Clean up spills immediately. Use a blotting action rather than wiping action.

4. For cleaning and polishing, use a soft, lint-free, absorbent cloth.

5. Avoid placing furniture in sunlight. Direct sunlight is very harsh and damages wood color and all finishes.

6. Avoid extremes. Too high or too low humidity can cause wood to warp or the glue lines to fail.

7. Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Arrange your fine furniture away from radiators, registers, and air conditioning units.

8. Rotate accessories on wood furniture. Make sure they do not sit in the same spot all of the time.

9. Do not place plastic or rubber objects on a wood finish. Most of their ingredients react with those of the furniture finish.

10. Use pads, cloth, or felt to protect fine furniture surfaces. These help provide care for the furniture surface from plastic, rubber, hot dishes, beverages, bookends, flower pots, and vases.

11. Use a protective pad when writing. Sharp pens such as a ball point, or hard lead pencils, and any other sharp pointed writing instrument can indent most wood surfaces unless there is a specially prepared finish for a writing surface.

12. Lift Objects --- DO NOT Drag. Dragging an object or accessory across a finish can cause a gouge or scratches, which cannot be easily removed without professional touch-up or refinish of the furniture surface.

13. Make minor repairs while they are still small. Minor cuts or scratches to the finished surface can attract dust, dirt, or moisture causing additional damage if not taken care of early enough. Only do minor repairs if you are confident you will not cause further damage, otherwise consult help.

14. Do not attempt to repair badly damaged surfaces. You should never attempt to do a major repair without the proper materials or a trained furniture care specialist.

Upholstered Furniture Tips

Most upholstered furniture has a cleaning code for the fabric in which it is covered. These “codes” are very much like the cleaning tag on a piece of clothing. The code will indicate whether or not water can be used, or may indicate use of solvent based cleaners only. You should refer to that information before attempting any spot removal or cleaning.

In today’s more casual atmosphere (casual Fridays, etc.), upholstered furniture has also become more casual. This has led to many sofas and chairs being made with very soft cushions, some of which require occasional maintenance due to the nature of their construction. If your sofa begins to flatten, or sag in the back cushions, it is likely that your back cushions are fiber filled, and do not have a piece of high-density foam at their center to help them keep their shape. This is done to make the cushion as soft as possible. The downside is that after significant use, the Dacron fiber will compress, making the cushions look as though they are not full. Simply re-stuffing the cushions with more fiber can alleviate this problem. You can find fiber at most places that sell fabric.