When to splurge and when to save? Bergen county interior designer

I love mixing high-end pieces with steals! For this guest bath, the Pottery Barn vanity was a bit of a splurge but after months of searching for a less expensive option, I couldn't find anything that I loved as much as this. So I decided to go for it and I used my Pottery Barn rewards credit card.  The following month I received a gift certificate with my statement as a result of the vanity purchase and that gift certificate paid for the mirror- SCORE!!   

I knew that I wanted a black matte faucet but didn't want to spend a fortune on one for this guest bath so I actually found this one on Amazon which had lots of great reviews and was a fraction of the price of the Pottery Barn faucet.  And finally, the light ficture.  I knew I wanted something with a glass dome and I had narrowed it down to a few choices from Rejuvenation and Pottery Barn. But in the end I found exactly what I was looking for on Amazon!!  And it was under $50. WOO HOO!! 

I think that now when you come into the bathroom you have no idea which items were high-end and which were budget finds. And for a bathroom if you are going to splurge on only one item I do think the vanity should be that item. You don't want to have a vanity made of poor construction as that will be very noticeable.

Everyone knows that I am obsessed with my Currey light fixtures in my kitchen.  Those were a big splurge for me but they are show stoppers and works of art.  No regrets here :)   And PS:  all of the hardware for my kitchen cabinets are from Amazon!

But when it came time to shop for light fixtures for my mudroom, I knew this wasn't the place where I needed to go all out.  I found these gems on  Amazon and they did not disappoint!  They were under $60!

As an interior designer, I love mixing high end with budget items in a way that everything flows together seamlessly.  If you are in the Bergen County area such as Wyckoff, Ridgewood or Glen Rock, I would love to help create your dream home.  Or if you are outside of Bergen County NJ, I offer e-design services and can help you remotely.  I'm also available to work with builders and developers in the Ridgewood and Wyckoff area to help maximize your profit with my design services. 

Bergen County NJ Dream Kitchen?

When I have shared photos of this kitchen on Instagram, there have been lots of comments calling it their "dream kitchen" and I have to agree that it really is!  BUT it certainly didn't look like this when we first walked into the house for the first time.

Here is the "after".  Scroll down for the "before" and how we did it!

Here is what the kitchen looked like when we came to the open house.

Not quite a dream kitchen right?

It's hard for most people to see this "before" photo and imagine what the "After" will look like. I'll admit that I didn't see it right away either. We came back to the house a second time to be sure and decided to go for it. We knew that we could bump out the back of the house because there was plenty of space in the backyard.  We decided to go out about 10 feet which clearly made a huge difference in the openness of the space.  When designing the kitchen, I knew I wanted a wall of windows overlooking the backyard. I love white kitchens but didn't want it ALL white either. So I chose a pale grey for the island base and chose black and natural wood as an accent colors. This really brought warmth to the space which appeals to buyers.

Do you currently have a kitchen stuck in the 1970's like the "before" photo? Are you a bergen county house flipper who is working on a new kitchen?  I'd love to be your interior designer to help select all of the finishes and paint colors. I also have great connections with a Bergen County kitchen cabinet maker who can make our ideas come to life in a very cost effective way. 

I'd love to chat about your interior design needs!

Christie Adams Design:  Bergen County NJ interior designer

Bergen County interior designer- Kitchen Lighting

I love visiting the Currey & Co showroom in New York City!  Look at all of the beautiful eye candy they have there: 

I knew as soon as I saw it that their Broxton Orb Chandelier would be perfect for the kitchen. It has just the right amount of glass, and the antiqued black and gold is an amazing color. I think it gives off such a warm glow when it is turned on but I actually prefer it when it's turned off because you notice the pretty color more.  It has just the right amount of modern appeal, but it is not trendy so it will be enjoyed for many years to come!

And here she is on display in the kitchen- the tray ceiling was the perfect way to showcase this work of art!

Are you a Bergen County builder who flips houses in the Wyckoff, Ridgewood, Franklin Lakes area? Christie Adams Design would love to help save you time and make you more money by helping to design the space for resale. Chrisite is available for everything from picking paint colors, flooring, tile and kitchen and bathroom fixtures and finishes.