Hello friends!

As some of you already know – I am pursuing my passion in home design and taking steps to become more formally educated and experienced in the field of interior home design and decor. In some form or another I have been doing this kind of work for literally years – nearly all my life. Even when I was a young girl, I was arranging and re-decorating spaces to making them more inviting, friendly, functional and cozy.

When I was only 6 or 7 I remember playing in the floor with my Mom’s colorfully bound music books. Each book had a hard cover that was printed in wild colors and designs and I would lay the books out in adjoining fashion to mimic a floorspace and use lego blocks to make furniture for each room.

I grew up on a farm with lots of old buildings and barns and I was constantly trying to figure out in my head – how you could create living spaces in them – where would the kitchen be, where would the bedrooms be?  My Dad had an old workshop with a shed enclosure on each side – once used for animals. One of the sheds was my play place – and I would hang pictures, arrange places to sit and even sweep the dirt floor. When we moved from the farm and to a house in town, there was an amazing sun porch attached to my bedroom. I decked it out like my own little apartment….I was 11.

As I became older, I was finally able to have my own homes and design, re-design and decorate them with all of the images I had in my head. It has always been my true passion – so it’s no surprise that I ended up in real estate where I could help other people find their “space” too. But, as much as I love helping people buy and sell their homes….I always want to hang around and help them design their spaces too! I have been fortunate enough to get to do that on occasion but just informally and as a favor. Now I want to do it for real – so that’s exactly what I am headed for.

I have no intention of leaving real estate sales, in fact – I see interior design as an added service for my clients. Whether it be in staging their home for sale or setting up in their newly purchased home – to helping design a custom home from the ground up….I want to do it all!

Currently, I am enrolled in The Interior Design Institute and working through the various classes and assignments to gain the formal knowledge and experience I need to offer a truly professional service and experience to those that I will be honored to work with. My goal is to have my diploma and certification just after the first of the year 2018 and so far I am on track to make that happen.

To gain consulting experience, I am searching for 3 spaces to design or re-design. This will include a free consult, room sketch & mood board and design advice. If you are interested, you are not required to use any of the designs or advice but rather work through the motions of meeting, brainstorming, offering feedback and essentially collaborate with me as if you were a real client looking to use my services. I can only choose 3 spaces (for now) and will accept applications for anyone who owns their home and is willing to work with me. The link below will take you to the application – please offer as much info as you can about your space and your vision for what you want it to be.

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE DESIGN TRIAL APPLICATION 

Thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely,
Paula Raymond