Looking to pull together the interior design of your home in the new year? There are plenty of interior designers and home decor retailers in Alexandria ready to help.
Sometimes the best way to freshen up a home is to start on the edges: Choose a color scheme (with the help of a local color consultant) first, and then start with fresh paint or wallpaper, window treatments, updated lighting and new floor coverings.
Once your color scheme is set, accessorizing and furnishing becomes a bit easier. You can browse for accessory ideas at a number of boutiques and antique shops in and around Alexandria for everything from pillows and candles to lamps and picture frames.
If you choose to use an interior designer, expect to pay $75 to $200 per hour. Interior designers have the ability to pull things together with an eye for both style and usefulness. "He or she balances aesthetic considerations with structural planning to reflect the clients’ lifestyle, set the desired mood, complement the home’s architectural features, and ensure that less glamorous details (like electrical outlets and air vents) fit into the scheme," according to Houzz.
Often, interior designers will ask you to start collecting photos of items that you like from magazines or websites (using Pinterest or an old-fashioned notebook). That can help the designer assess your style and find items that suit your personality — but they may ask you to be open to new ideas, too.
A few home decor stores and designers in Alexandria that you can check out include:
- Red Barn Mercantile: 1117 King St.
- Victoria at Home, 1125 King St.
- Random Harvest: 810 King St.
- Houseworks Interiors, 421 S. Washington St.
- Stuart Nordin Design, 600 Cameron St.
Q&A with Barbara Geyer Watts, Owner of Reunions
Looking for a one-of-a-kind table lamp? This is your place.
Reunions, at 1709 Centre Plaza (near the intersection of Quaker Lane and King Street), offers unique items new and consigned.
We recently asked Reunions owner Barbara Geyer Watts a few questions about how you can freshen up your home decor this year.
What are some home decor accessories that can be used to make a home more inviting that people sometimes overlook?
What immediately comes to mind is lamps. We feel that lighting is extremely important in our shop, and that same philosophy would also apply in our customers' homes. We carry a large variety of lamps in different styles, sizes and colors. Baskets are another item. Baskets are a great way to tame clutter, as well as look good on their own. Finally, customers often forget about the scent of their home. We carry a vast array of scented candles, fragrance mists and diffusers.
Have you noticed any sort of home decor trends this season that have been popular that you can share?
We noticed that customers gravitated toward neutral colors in 2017. Melamine serving pieces — salad bowls and trays — were extremely popular. Customers continued to love table linens, especially runners.
Looking ahead, what sort of home decor trends should we be looking for in the next 12 months?
From what I have read and seen at trade shows, it looks like the color purple — especially lavender and lilac, will be popular in 2018. Velvet will continue to be "in." We expect to see more circular patterns.
What are some go-to items that local residents can find if they are looking to freshen up the look of their home?
Reunions carries high quality artificial greens and flowers year round. These are very popular with our customers, who use them to change their decor for each season. We also carry a wide variety of pillows in different colors and sizes. An especially popular one is our rectangular black on linen Alexandria, Virginia pillow. We recently added an Arlington, Virginia pillow. I have also made a concerted effort to find unique vases, candlesticks, sculpture, etc. made by American artists around the country. Our customers have been very receptive to this idea of supporting other small businesses and artists.
What are some of the more popular consigned items customers are looking for?
Our most popular consignment items are stemware, china and silver trays. We almost always have several Waterford stemware patterns in stock. We frequently sell entire sets of china. Silver trays are always popular, especially during the holidays. We also sell consignment furniture.
If a customer isn't sure about figuring out how to pull together a look in a room, does Reunions offer any sort of help in that regard?
Although we do not make house calls, we are happy to help customers with their design questions. Frequently, customers bring in photographs or scraps of fabric showing their color schemes. We love helping customers select furniture that fits their needs and spaces. We also help customers design mantles, arrange flowers, and create unique table settings and baby nurseries.
