Martinies Ranch Home

If you make your living as an interior designer or decorator the current economy has got to be hurting your business. When the economy is slow, many people who might otherwise hire an interior designer or decorator are forced to move such a ‘non-essential’ service to the bottom of their priority list. If you haven’t felt the pinch yet, brace yourself as your business could take a drastic nose-dive during an economic recession. Nobody really needs interior design services, especially in have-not times.

There’s also the fact that so many of your days are spent on the business-side of design; negotiating with contractors, waiting for deliveries to arrive, billing, gathering quotes, and so on. This is all time that doesn’t directly generate revenue for your interior design or decorating business, and when client billings are already meager, this can really hurt your financial situation.

Maybe you’re one of the many trained interior decorators who have ended up working in retail for a 100% commission. If the economy gets worse and you’re working purely on commission, where does that leave you? Even in good times, if you work for 100% commission you might as well be your own boss and have the freedom to market yourself to new clients rather than being tied to any one store.

When I decided to take the reigns of my life back and do something that would allow me to profit from my creativity, I considered a career in interior design. I struggled with that option countless times across a 20 year period when I was unsatisfied in my work. I researched, and even interviewed, many interior design schools in my “former life” but for some reason I never took the step to enroll. I decided with my BA, MBA and a couple decades of experience in business, being in a classroom for two to four years with kids 20 years my junior was not something I wanted to do.

Never mind tuition costs and the tremendous loss of income while you’re a student. Then who knows how many years of working experience as a designer or decorator would be needed after graduation to really start earning money. I wanted to unleash my creativity and love for decorating, but I definitely needed to start making money as soon as possible. So, I started my own home staging company.

As soon as my business was launched, the money was coming in. Within my second year as a home stager I was making up to $10,000 per month. Compare that to the median annual salary of $36,150 a year for an Interior Designer according to Salary.com this year. I’m very happy I trusted my instincts!

If you’re an interior designer or decorator and you aren’t making enough money, consider adding Home Staging to your service mix or switching to a more profitable career as a Home Stager altogether.

Here a few ways a home staging business can be more profitable than an interior design business:

• As a home stager you get the opportunity to work with different types of people than you would as an interior designer. Generally, only very high income individuals hire interior designers, which limits your target market. Home stagers work mostly with clients in the middle to upper income level which gives you a much larger percentage of the population to market to, and increases the number of projects available for you to work on.

• Home stagers enjoy a higher volume of projects than interior designers because each one is so short in nature. One interior design project might take months to complete (especially when you factor in the wait times to have upholstery done, or furniture delivered), but the average home staging project takes only a few hours or days. There’s no way I could have decorated hundreds of homes within a couple of years as a new interior designer, the way I did as a new home stager. With such quick projects, a home stager is able to complete (and get paid for) a significantly higher number of projects per year than an interior designer who often has client work on hold through no fault of their own.

• When the economy is slow, people eliminate the non-essentials. Interior design or decorating isn’t really high on the “essential items list” especially when choices need to be made about what to give up, and there’s no real deadline to redecorate or renovate a room. In uncertain times, interior design moves way down on the priority list, while home staging move up. No matter how slow the economy is or how much the real estate market has declined, there will always be people who absolutely have to sell and move by a certain date. Divorce, job relocation, job loss, mounting debts, a death in the family or a birth often get people to put their house on the market even if it isn’t the best time to sell. When a homeowner is desperate to sell their house, a home stager will often be involved since the seller stands to make a handsome profit from their services. When people have less time, less money or less equity in their house, they need a home stager so they can get whatever they can out of the sale of their home! As a home stager, your creativity and talent for decorating will serve you well in slow economic times and slow real estate markets.

I especially love the amount of creative freedom I get as a home stager. Because my clients know I’m decorating their home to sell and not for them to live in, I am able to execute my creative vision without their interference or taking their taste into consideration. I can’t imagine wasting hours sitting with a client who can’t decide which color they want for their bathroom, or which fabric to pick for their drapes. My clients don’t care what I choose as long as their house will sell quicker because of it. Besides that, my home staging business is extremely profitable which every entrepreneur wants.

If your interior design business isn’t doing as well as you hoped, it’s not too late to make a change towards living a more creatively fulfilling career that is also more profitable. Do some research into the home staging field. It’s a career that is virtually “recession-proof”.

You will benefit from using residential wiring diagrams if you plan on completing electrical wiring projects in your home. An electrical wiring diagram can be as simple as a diagram showing how to install a new switch in your hallway, or as complex as the complete electrical blueprint for your new home.

Although household electricity is nothing to play around with, in many ways, wiring is simpler than other repair and remodeling skills such as carpentry. Once you’ve learned some basic skills such as installing boxes, running cable, and splicing, you just need to determine which wire goes where. This is why a good wiring diagram is important for wiring your home safely. Keep your diagrams near-by. You’ll want to refer to them often as you work on your project.

Wire Colors:

Electrical wiring diagrams that are in color have an advantage over ones that are black and white only. The wires will be colored the same as the actual wires you will be using. Commonly, the green wire is ground, white or off-white is neutral, and black, red or other colors indicate the hot wire. In some instances, such as some switch legs, the function of the wires will be indicated by colored electrical tape.

Symbols:

When looking at any residential wiring diagram, start by familiarizing yourself with the symbols that are being used. The electrical symbols will not only show where something is to be installed, but what type of device is being installed. Make sure you understand the symbols on your diagram before beginning your project. There should be a chart on your diagram showing the different symbols being used, much like a legend on a map.

For example, a surface ceiling light will be shown by one symbol, a recessed ceiling light will have a different symbol, and a surface fluorescent light will have another symbol. Each type of switch will have a different symbol and so will the various outlets. You’ll even find symbols showing the location of smoke detectors, your doorbell chime, and the thermostat.

Switches:

When it comes to household electricity, there’s a lot more to consider than simply turning a switch On and Off. Some of the most common questions electricians receive involve switches. Once you understand the different types of switches and follow a good wiring diagram, you should be able to install a new switch in your home.

Here are some of the more common switching configurations:

A Single-Pole Switch provides switching from one location only. “Single-Pole” may sound simple, but there are different ways to wire a Single-Pole Switch and a set of electrical wiring diagrams will explain each of them to you clearly.

3-Way Switches are used to control one or more fixtures from two locations. This is a common configuration in hallways and staircases. There are many ways to wire a 3-Way Switch. The power can start at a fixture or either of the two switches. Without a wiring diagram it can be very easy to make a serious mistake.

A wiring diagram will even take the mystery out of wiring a 3-Way Dimmer Switch. What a great way to enjoy softer light and a reduced energy bill!

One of the most complicated wiring configurations is a 4-Way Switch. These switches enable you to control one or more fixtures from three or more locations. It would be almost impossible to write the instructions in a way that you could simply read them and complete your project. However, a good wiring diagram will make it possible for you to successfully and safely tackle wiring 4-Way Switches.

As important as electrical wiring diagrams are to the successful completion of your wiring project, safety and respect for electricity are essential. Never work on live circuits. Before you begin your project, identify the circuit you’re working on and then turn off power to that circuit at the main panel. Then confirm that the power is off with a voltage tester. If at any time you feel unsure about what you’re doing, please call a licensed electrical contractor.

If you are setting up a home workshop, one of the most important things you will want to include in it is a workbench. A workbench helps you work with accuracy. There are many prefabricated workbenches you can purchase, or you can build your own workbench. You can buy a plan to do this, or buy a kit and put it together.

A workbench will come in a variety of sizes and styles and what you choose will depend on what kind of work you will be doing on it. Workbenches serve for woodworking, crafts projects or just household repairs. A good bench can be bought at a home improvement store, but if you prefer to build a bench, look for plans on the Internet or in do it yourself books. There you can look through hundreds of designs to pick the one that suits you best.

The most common design is a table style, with a hardwood top, although some come with table tops made of steel, and metal legs, in six or eight foot lengths. They are sturdy and durable and will suit just about any project. It looks like a table, with nothing underneath. You can also get a cabinet style, that has drawers or cabinets under the table top. The dead space under the table is put to good use in this way. Another option you may see, or you can hang your own, is pegboard behind the table to hang tools and other supplies and have them at hand.

Some workbenches come with a power strip built into them, and if you use power tools, this is an ideal layout. Up to nine outlets are in the strip and a heavy duty cord connects them to the electricity. They should have protection against an electrical overload. Another attractive option is a tool caddy so smaller tools can be easily reached.

If you want to customize your workbench, you may consider building your own. You can buy a kit, and everything you need for the bench will come with it, but of course, you are limited to the design of the kit. The pieces are precut to be put targeted without mistakes.

If you build your own workbench, you will have the option to make it exactly the way you want, though it will be more work. You can find free plans on the Internet and you just have to cut the wood pieces and follow the plan.

If you are going to do this, choose good wood, such as oak or a hardwood plywood. To protect it, put on a number of coats of polyurethane. Sand between each coat, so that you have a smooth nice looking finish that will be an easy to clean surface.

In order to make room for your new workbench, you will have to clean out and organize the space where it will be. This is the time to get rid of old paint, junk, and tools that are broken or you no longer use. Start with plenty of storage space so you won’t have a messy, cluttered work area. Cabinets can organize tools and supplies, and the walls of your garage can be used to store a lot of items. Consider installing high cabinets to store chemicals and paints, as well as sharp items, out of the reach of children. You may want to put locks on lower cabinets for safety as well. Large items can be stored in locker style cabinets, and you can put in drawers with dividers to organize smaller tools and parts.