Let's start from the beginning... a very good place to start.

School's back in session homies! Did you miss me? Now that our summer recess is officially over, it's time to get back to work. Whenever people come to me, the self proclaimed GURU of design (hey lay off me, I'm using The Secret here, cant you tell?), it never fails that I hear the same thing over and over again: "I wouldn't even know where to start!".

As I was sitting on the beach, sipping a margarita this summer, I got to thinking. By the way, "sitting on the beach, sipping a margarita is code for slaving away at my desk, losing countless hours of sleep and depriving myself of all young human social rights. Nonetheless, as we begin our journey into the crisp, earth tone adventure that is Autumn, I've decided to start this homeboy semester with a 5 step process to keep you from collapsing into the center of your living room, mid anxiety attack, holding design magazines and fabric swatches. It's very simple. So simple, in fact, that I've made it even more simple by drawing a nifty diagram. Drum roll please...

My back-to-school gift to you, homies: the 5 basic steps to launching a successful design!

In case you don't feel like reading the fine print, I'll break it down for you. It basically goes as follows:

1. Start with a concept. Research it.
2. Collect you thoughts. Use a mood board or scrapbook of some kind. Grab anything that pertains to you concept and stick it in your collection.
3. Address your staple pieces. These are pieces who's function is mandatory in the room, i.e. seating, shelving, storage. Also, the time has come to decide on a color palate. Just rip off the Band-Aid. It's not that bad.
4. Break out your wallet and update your big ticket items. I'm all about mixing old and new, but as a general rule of thumb if you cannot show some of your furniture to a person on the first date for fear of complete rejection, it's time to go.
5. Play Debbie Decorator. Now you get to go in and finish it off with those great clearance finds at Target, or that set of throw pillows you've been eyeing at Pottery Barn. These are the not-so-subtle interest points in your space, so utilize them! These items should also be changeable. Ya heard?

And what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't provide an example right? Here's a quick one:

Concept: I'm channeling my last trip to Vegas (or what I remember of it) and rolling my design dice! Take notes, you're going to be seeing a lot of these babies this year. Two random words: Rustic Urban. I can deal with this.

Ideas: Here's my mood board. This can be as big or small as you need it to be.

Staple Items: Bookcase, end tables, accent chair, paint
Big Ticket Items: Sofa, Coffee table, Mirrors
Décor: Lamps, Books, Draperies, Misc.

Finished Design:

Do you feel a little more comfortable now? Just remember: even if you don't have one design bone in your body, there are countless inspiration photos out there to get the juices flowing. Take it step by step, even if it takes 3 or 4 months. You can do this!

homeboy.