Frugal Furniture- by Guest Designer Kelli Ellis

{image via Vastu}

If you are in the market for furniture then you must know my "Ancient Designer Secrets"...

1. "Swap Meet Steals" Smart retailers have learned the next-to-nothing overhead of the Swap Meet is the best way to move major quantities of furniture and pass on the discount to their even smarter shoppers. Spend a weekend or two at your local Swap Meet, you'll see it's virtually an outdoor Mall!

2. "Sample the floor" Always ask if a piece will discontinued soon, or if the furniture item you like is available to buy "off the floor", by most state laws it has to be sold at a discount because it's "used". Most retailers buy in bulk then need to get rid of "Floor Samples" quickly.

3. "Second Look" Do a little research and find out where the model homes and designers "consign" their furniture. It's the best bargain in town. You can find entire rooms full of coordinated, custom furnishings for a fraction of the original cost.

And the most important tip by far, is to "Space Plan, Space plan, space plan". Before any project, especially before spending major money on furniture, you must know what will fit in the room and where it will be placed. Whether you draw it out yourself or you use an easy, magnetic space planner (The Kelli Kit) make sure you have your plan "to scale" and then you can confidently shop for new furniture and accessories. Happy Hunting!!

Make Your Home Office Work for You- by Guest Designer Kelli Ellis

We are so excited and pleased to announce our first Guest Designer here on Fresh Nest.  Kelli Ellis is joining us this week with tips that you can't live without when it comes to interior decorating.  How awesome is this, right? 

You know Kelli Ellis from HGTV's Takeover my Makeover, TLC’s Clean Sweep or Bravo’s Real Housewives of Orange County.that  She has also contributed to magazines like Better Homes and Gardens and Redbook.  Kelli is an Interior Design Expert and Design Psycologist,  and is fun and witty to boot!  Visit her site for more tips and tricks that she shares, along with her genius product, the Kelli Kit -used to help you layout your space before you get started. Welcome Kelli, we are so glad you're here!

{image via flickr}

As a Design Psychologist, the ideal format for an office is the one in which manifests the most productivity! We all have different working "styles"; for example some of us like to "spread out" when we work. If you are a visual person you need to "see" all the working parts of a project in order to decipher it and complete it. For those of us that are focus challenged (easily distracted), we need to only have one task on our desk at a time or we'll complete nothing! Your working style must be determined in order to understand the space you require and the best way to tackle projects. Furniture placement is very important, as well. Again it is key to examine how you work and what tools are necessary to complete each task. For myself, I am visual and I need space to "see" my colors, fabrics, designs and ideas. I also need drawing space, computer space, printers and scanners nearby. If you have the room to spread out, it's best to keep like tools together. For example, my drawing table, art supplies and paper are all on one side of my office with display boards above them, likewise my desk holds my computer, scanner, printer and pull out writing shelf for more cerebral work. The key to my office layout is a rolling chair!

Hold out your hands in front of you - Your eyes and the ends of your fingers make your "working triangle"! Using Design Psychology, I have learned you need to see and be able to reach everything efficiently or you won't use them. If you can't access a tool, machine, or system, with little effort you won't do it! The piles on your desk will grow, along with your inefficiency.  Make your office work for you so you can work less and relax more !