The Studio M Designs blog ...

Color of the Year 2019 by Sherwin Williams : Cavern Clay

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:29:00 +0000

Forged by sun. Fired by desert.

Introducing Cavern Clay SW 7701, the 2019 Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year.

Inspired by rich-colored earth and vast blue skies,

Cavern Clay celebrates the warm simplicity found in desert landscapes.

Ancient, yet fully alive.

Bohemian, yet totally refined.

Cavern Clay brings new life to any living space. It’s right at home with natural furnishings,
including exposed floors, wood furniture, leather upholstery and worldly textiles.
- Sherwin Williams

Had expected SW to pick something Darker or Moody for this year...just based of what was trending in the world of design.

I love the earthy vibe of this color. Personally I would pair and balance it out with a Warm White... maybe in rugs or as an accent wall color.

Curious to see what your thoughts on this pick are. Do share with us !

Until then...

Happy Styling !

Minol Shamreen

Certified Professional Home Stager + Interior Stylist , B. Arch

President 2019 RESA ( Real Estate Staging Association ) Central Texas Chapter

Studio M Designs | 408.858.1438 | Austin TX

2017 National Award Winner HSRA : Top 10 Professional Home Stager of the Year

Website, Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Blog, Houzz, Pinterest

Color Trends 2018 : Home & Office

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 18:40:00 +0000

Sherwin Williams , one of the industry's leading paint companies has put together 3 color palettes that they predict will reign in the year 2018 titled Sincerity , Unity & Connectivity.

Following in an excerpt from their press release regarding the Color Forecast for 2018 : " Like Blue meeting Yellow to make Green, every color is a Collision of Influences ... every palette a fresh chance at community. "

Color Palette # 1 : SINCERITY

Silence . Instagram . Minimalism . Hygge . Normcore

Less is more as we’re de-cluttering, moving more possessions into the cloud. Silence is no longer empty, but instead rare and rich with possibility. Our notions of what’s authentic are being complicated. We’re celebrating the unfiltered, yet captivated by the artfully processed. Blending in is the new standing out. Flaws are treasured. The hushed tones of this score play out in sand, complex grays and hazy botanicals.

Color Palette # 2 : UNITY

Roaming . Transculturalism . Community . Artisanal Crafts . Indigenous Patterns

Nationalism and globalism are in flux, challenging terrestrial boundaries. We’re remapping our sense of community. Optimism persists in the form of boundary-breaking skyscrapers and commercial space travel. Even landlocked cities are becoming global hubs of crafts and gastronomy. We crave security and adventure in equal measure. Airbnb, car sharing and e-learning have created a culture of everyday nomadism. The bright folklore of this story is told in memorable pops of peacock color.

Color Palette # 3 : CONNECTIVITY

Pop/Youth Culture . Techies . Virtual Reality . Productivity . Environmentalism

We’re each moving to the beat of our own algorithm. From choosing a dry cleaner to choosing a college, data powers nearly every decision we make. In Silicon Valley, Austin, Berlin and Beijing, techies are the new hippies, full of breakthrough ideas and utopian ideals. A generation is waving the flag of color freedom, and Instagramming every moment. This high-tech palette is pixelated in orange, violets, digital greens and high-def yellow.

As an Interior Stylist & Decorator & as a Professional Home Stager, I would lean more towards using the ' Sincerity ' color palette - with the neutrals and softer colors giving me the perfect backdrop to create customized spaces.

Which one of these palettes do you like ? Share with us. Until then,

Happy Styling !

credits : sherwinwilliams

Best of Houzz Award 2018 - Studio M Designs : Home Staging & Styling , Austin Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 04:07:00 +0000

Receiving an email from Houzz titled ' You won Best of Houzz 2018 ' is an awesome way to begin a new year !

Our goal { for every project ... no matter how big or small } is to provide Excellence in the Home Staging & Interior Design experience to our clients. So this award is like a testimonial that lets everyone know that our clients enjoy our work and have benefited from it. Needless to say ... I am thrilled to receive this award for the second year & it is no doubt a wonderful start of 2018 for me.

A huge ' Thank You ' to all my amazing clients & realtor partners { both past and present } for trusting me with your projects.

Wishing you all a fabulous 2018 !

Here's the Official Press Release from Houzz :

Studio M Designs : Home staging & Interior Design of Austin, Texas

Awarded Best Of Houzz 2018

Over 40 Million Monthly Unique Users Nominated Best Home Building,

Remodeling and Design Professionals in North America and Around the World

Studio M Designs of Austin, Texas has won “Best Of Customer Service & Client Satisfaction” on Houzz®, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. This Home Staging & Interior Design firm was chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

"The Houzz community selected a phenomenal group of Best of Houzz 2018 award winners, so this year's recipients should be very proud,” said Liza Hausman, Vice President of Industry Marketing at Houzz. “Best of Houzz winners represent some of the most talented and customer-focused professionals in our industry, and we are extremely pleased to give them both this recognition and a platform on which to showcase their expertise."

Follow Studio M Designs @ Houzz Profile

About Houzz

Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design. From decorating a small room to building a custom home and everything in between, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world.

About Studio M Designs

Minol Shamreen is the Owner & Creative Director of Studio M Designs in Austin, Texas.

She offers customized Home Staging & Interior Styling solutions ranging from Consultations-only to Turn-key projects. She has partnered with Homeowners, Real Estate Agents, Brokers, Investors & Flippers to help bring in top dollar & faster sale of the property. A certified professional Home Stager, she is the President Elect 2018 of RESA ( Real Estate Staging Association ) Central Texas - Austin Chapter. She recently won the 2017 National Award for the Top 10 Professional Stager of the Year.

Connect & follow Studio M Designs on these social media platforms :

Website, Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Blog, Houzz, Instagram

Guest Post on a Design & Styling Blog ...

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 16:33:00 +0000

One of the things on my list to everyday is read through blogs & posts from my local community on social media. It's a great stress-buster for me. And this is when I stumble upon many amazing renovations projects & interior styling projects that non-design professionals are doing in their home. What I enjoy most about them is reading about their challenges & the process.

If you need to know just one thing about me or how I work { whether it's home staging , designing for my clients or planning a class-room party at my daughter's school } ... it is that :

The process or the journey is as important as the end product or the destination !

I enjoy them so much that I thought it would be great to feature & showcase their work. And so I have decided to welcome all those awesome DIY-ers & design enthusiasts to guest post on my blog.

If you are interested to share your projects , how to-s & design adventures, do contact me via my facebook page @ Studio M Designs on FB.

Thanks & have an awesome day ahead !

Minol Shamreen

Certified Professional Home Stager + Interior Stylist , B.Arch
Board Member of RESA Central Texas Chapter
Studio M Designs | 408.858.1438 | Austin TX

Connect & follow Studio M Designs on these social media platforms : Website, Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Blog, Houzz, Pinterest

Summer Fan Drive by RESA Central Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 22:08:00 +0000

As a Board Member of the RESA - Central Texas Chapter, I am happy to announce that we are kicking off our RESA CenTX Team Fan Drive in partnership with Family Eldercare.

Summer is already here and the hottest months are still ahead of us.

Family Eldercare’s annual Summer Fan Drive meets a critical basic need : Relief from life-threatening heat for those who do not have or cannot afford a fan or air-conditioning. The Fan Drive has served low-income seniors, adults with disabilities and families with children.

Funds raised during the Summer Fan Drive go to purchase fans for individuals and families who need help to beat the summer heat, to connect vulnerable people with important resources and to support Family Eldercare's core services.

Let's do our share in providing fans for the cause !

Contribute through online donations @ Family ElderCare , Austin Texas

Thank you !

Minol Shamreen

Certified Professional Home Stager + Interior Stylist , B.Arch

Board Member - Real Estate Staging Association ( RESA ) Central Texas Chapter

Studio M Designs | 408.858.1438 | Austin TX

Connect & follow Studio M Designs on these social media platforms : Website, Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Blog, Houzz, Pinterest

Get your Home Show Ready ...

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 20:04:00 +0000

Selling your house when you are living in it can be tricky sometimes.
You have done everything according the staging plan we came up with during the staging consultation. After all the de-cluttering, updating and a ton of elbow grease on the weekend ... you think you are all set. Not really !
It's Monday morning , kids just got on the school bus and you are rushing to get to your work or run errands ...and then you receive THE CALL ! Your hardworking realtor informs you that you have 15 minutes until a prospective buyer wants to tour your property. Now what do you do ? Panic ?
Nope ... you just pull out the checklist I have below, go through the list ... and your home will be show ready !

Here's my Showing Checklist that I give my Home Staging clients ...

If you have 15 - 30 minutes :

All beds are made
All trashcans are empty
Kitchen Sink empty, clean and wipe down
Clean & wipe down Bathroom Mirrors and Sink
Toilet seat should be down
All pets and pet stuff ( litter box, bowls, food etc ) out of the house
Dining tables and counter tops clear of clutter ( mail, papers )
Laundry basket lid should be on
Open blinds , drapes and curtains
Turn all lights on
Secure and put away valuables
Put away all personal stuff from end tables, bathrooms etc
Put toys and kids stuff away
Set thermostat to a comfortable temperature

Note: For #12 & #13 a Laundry Basket works best! Corral everything in it and take with you to your car.

If you have a 1-2 hours :

Everything on the first list
Vacuum floors ( rugs , carpets )
Sweep & Mop all hard surface floors
Clean entire bathroom ( toilets & shower stalls )
Air out the place to get rid of any lingering odors
Quick wipe down of all appliances in the kitchen
Replace all used towels with "show -ready " towels
Style the beds and sofas with throw pillows
Make sure your front porch and your back porch is clean ( sweep it ) and is free of clutter.
Park your second / third car down the street

I know you may want to be able to see who is walking in through that door...but please...make yourself scarce ... get out of there well before those buyers get to your property !

I have had my staging clients tell me how much this checklist has helped them during open houses and showings...

Hope this checklist helps you - the buyer get your home ' Show Ready '. Do you have any other tips that could be added to the list ? Please do share.

Until then,

Happy Styling & Happy Staging !

Minol Shamreen
Certified Professional Home Stager + Interior Stylist , B.Arch
Board Member - Real Estate Staging Association ( RESA ) Central Texas Chapter
Studio M Designs | 408.858.1438 | Austin TX

Connect & follow Studio M Designs on these social media platforms :

Website, Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Blog, Houzz, Pinterest

Book Review : Marketing for Interior Designers by Anna Kovalchenko

noreply@blogger.com (Minol Shamreen) — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:44:00 +0000

I had the pleasure of connecting with Anna on facebook a few years ago. She and I were on the same boat as far as business was concerned.

She mentions in her book “When I started my interior design business I had just moved to a new city and had zero contacts let alone anybody who would potentially help me to start my career. "

We stayed connected and have since then learnt so much from each other. She has shared her knowledge and expertise with me and so many others on various interior design forums on social media. She is all about helping another person achieve their dreams and I had no doubt in my mind that it was one of the main reasons she wrote this e-book.

Here's her response about the idea and inspiration behind publishing the book:

"The idea of writing this book came into my mind when I was just starting my interior design business on my own and I was really struggling on getting my first clients with no real accomplished projects in my portfolio. The advice I would get from my tutors from the design school was to find a design firm and get experience there or to find a mentor. Probably I was unlucky with finding a mentor and had little idea where to search for him as well as I didn’t want to waste time working for somebody else. I wanted to build my own brand based on my own vision and create my portfolio that would reflect my personal style. So I decided I will write this book dedicated to all starting entrepreneurs where I describe the marketing tools that helped me in the beginning to start and develop my business from scratch.

My inspiration was the feedback that I got on my blog when I started to share things that I learned about marketing interior design business and I thought it will be good idea to unite all information in one small, yet very practical and informative book."

- Anna Kovalchenko

We all know that it’s not easy to get new clients in a so called "saturated market". And that’s where this book comes in handy. Basically it’s a “ How To” book. Yes, there are plenty of ‘how to market your business books’ ... so what makes this stand apart is that this is geared specifically towards an interior design business.

It’s a great list for the newbies to be armed with when they set up a business in the design industry because all they want is to get more clients and new clients. It also serves as a good platform to jump off of when you want to get to the next level in your biz marketing.

Each chapter in the book addresses one of the marketing strategies. Here are the titles :

1. Create your website

2. Start writing a blog

3. Get featured on Houzz

4. Facebook

5. Home Staging

6. Freelance Websites

7. Get listed in directories

8. Partner with Developers & Builders

9. Partner with showrooms

10. Partner with Real Estate agents

11. Partner with Architects

12. Participate in a TV Show

13. Get Published in Magazines

14. Organize Workshops & Master Classes

15. Create your own YouTube Channel

16. Write a Book or an E-book

17. Write Guest Posts

18. Participate inforums

19. Participate in Exhibitions

20. Advertise with Flyers

21. Participate in Design Contests

22. Pinterest

23. Instagram

Here’s an excerpt from the book :

ORGANIZE WORKSHOPS AND MASTER CLASSES : Spread your knowledge

Organizing a workshop is a great way to promote your work, get more exposure and establish yourself as an expert in the field.

Here are the steps for organizing an interior design workshop:

First thing you need to do is to define your niche - answer the question - for whom are you going to organize it? Example : Non professionals, people who have genuine interest in interior design. Age: 25-45 y.o. Women
Set your goals - what are you trying to achieve with your workshop? Do you want to do it mainly for advertising your existing work as an interior designer or do you want to make workshops a part time income?
Set the date. Depending on your target audience, define an ideal day to conduct your workshop. Usually evenings during the working week are best for any seminars, since on the weekends people prefer to rest and spend time with their family and friends.
Decide on location. It should be quiet, private and an easily accessible place. Think of the equipment and facilities you would require (e.g. tea/coffee set up, number of seats, projector, etc.)
Start to promote: • Print out the flyers and take them with you to all events which your target audience might attend. • Invite friends and relatives • Promote on Social Media and your blog • Buy Facebook ads
Preparation is the key. Start to get ready at least 2 weeks before the workshop and make several rehearsals in front of the mirror (watch your body language, tone of voice, facial expressions). Print all materials for the workshop on quality paper. Think of giveaways.

How to make your workshop successful:

Tip#1 - Make it interactive

Forget about boring PowerPoint presentations with bullet points and lots of text on slides. Think of including diagrams, examples of actual interiors, make simple floor plans and furniture templates and ask participants to create their own furniture plans.

Tip #2 - Engage with your audience.

Start discussions, ask people questions, make them think, smile, wonder!

Tip #3 - Be a problem solver.

In most cases, people are interested in knowing how to solve their own decorating struggles. Ask participants to bring photos of their homes so that they can ask questions about their decorating challenges.

Tip #4 - Show actual examples of your work.

If you include in the workshop examples of your own designs, people are more likely to perceive you as an expert in the field.

Tip #5 - Include information they wouldn’t find elsewhere.

Think about the theory you studied in design school or something that you have learned from your own experience - your audience will really appreciate it and be excited about learning something they didn’t know.

Tip#6 - Make it personal.

A friendly, informal atmosphere is a key point in making your workshop successful. People will come not only to learn something but to have fun and socialize.

Tip #7 - Be yourself. Don’t try to copy anyone!

Develop your own personal style and approach. People like authenticity and will immediately notice if you perform unnaturally.

Tip #8 - Invite a professional photographer.

Beautiful photos of your workshop are an excellent opportunity to promote it - make this investment which will eventually pay off.

See what I mean … She not only introduces the method, but she also gives you all the details you would need to reach your goal to make that strategy successful. My Home Staging & Interior Business is all about Checklists. And this is one of the few checklists I wish I had when I started out here in Austin TX.

3 reasons why I would recommend it to anyone starting out …

Simple Language & Easy to Follow Ideas: You don’t need intense technical skills or large financial resources to actually start on any of the methods.
Clear, Practical & Precise Marketing Tips: She doesn’t leave you hanging after she suggests something. She actually goes through the step-by-step process and gives you ideas and resources from start to finish.
Tried & Tested Tools: She has personally used and implemented each one of the tips and marketing strategies that are mentioned in the book.

You can get a copy of this book @ L'Essenziale Home Designs - Books & more info @ L'Essenziale Home Designs . And for sure you will want to follow her on pinterest @ L'Essenziale Home Designs on Pinterest .

Please do share with us if you have any other marketing tips and ideas that have worked for you.
Until then... Happy Styling !

Minol Shamreen
Certified Professional Home Stager + Interior Stylist , B.Arch
Real Estate Staging Association ( RESA ) Central Texas - Austin Chapter Board Member
Studio M Designs | 408.858.1438 | Austin TX

Connect & follow Studio M Designs on these social media platforms :

Website, Facebook , Twitter, Google+, Blog, Houzz, Pinterest