Hi! We are a local interior design business and have tried to set up this poll within the forum guidelines and with a new member id...as to keep the personal identities of our staff who post here private as well. So with that said, we would like to poll "the locals" regarding decorating needs for do-it-yourselfers and those on a budget before we get started with hosting decorating seminars in our showroom off Old Drug Store Rd. Your input would be greatly appreciated and should we decide to move forward with our seminars, we will host a free decorating seminar for the first 25 members that respond "seriously" to our poll and/or post "constructive" feedback. We appreciate the support you have given us over the last 20+ years and we hope that local Decorating DYI Seminars hosted by professional designers will be beneficial to some of you...but that is what we would like to determine with this poll. Thanks again! Ok...so I did not get the actual "poll" posted in time...so here's our questions: Would you be interested and attend a decorating workshop or seminar? If yes, here's our other questions: What decorating topics? What size groups (5-10 people) (10-20 people) (20+)? Do you prefer "hands-on", "question-answer" or "guest speakers"? What would you pay for a one hour seminar/workshop? What days/hours are best for attendance? Snacks? Anything else? Also, we are getting ready to post an online store to our website next month which will list upcoming seminar/workshop topics, the hours and costs. So far we have had a great response from our vendors and associates that are willing to participate in presentations, free samples, discounts for attendees, etc. depending on the "topic"...so we are not just talking about a home improvement store's type of "class". Some of the topics our staff has discussed for presentation are: How to choose a paint color. How to decorate bookcases and fireplace mantels. How to choose the right flooring. How to start your remodel project. Where to find.... How to arrange furniture. Window treatments. Decorating for a party. We need your ideas and what topics should be "priority". Thanks again!
I would think the most benefical DIY things are painting techniques, removal of wall paper and maybe even a color class to teach people about the color wheel and how to use accent colors! Good Luck
The biggest problem I am having right now is figuring out ways to transition from one room color to another (no doors).
So would you pay to attend a "Paint Color Seminar"? (See poll questions added to our original poll thread). Thanks!
How to choose a paint color would be great. There are so many shades of the same color I get overwhelmed and end up with nothing. Also how to arrange furniture. I have some odd shapoed rooms and its hard to rearrange. And I need all the decorating tips I can get.
Thanks Tangerine. Please respond with your ideas of best days for you, price, group size and/or best hours, etc. and we will see if we can't get a free color seminar for you in return! Thanks again!
If you do a paint seminar, could someone bring in their "decorating paint problems" and get some personal advice...not just tips for the group that they would have to "pull together" for themselves when they get home later?
I also would like a class on arrangement; I have found that some of the features that made me love my house now make it really hard to place furniture. I would also be interested in something on mixing patterns and also simple ways to update or utilize things I already have. Perhaps some classes offered mornings and evenings would be nice and accomodate everyone? Maybe groups of 10-20 so as not to be overwhelming. I think a speaker with a little time for Q and A would be nice. Maybe a hands on thing separately.
Would you be interested and attend a decorating workshop or seminar? yes If yes, here's our other questions: What decorating topics? Paint choice and room transition What size groups 5-10 people Do you prefer "hands-on", "question-answer" or "guest speakers"?hands-on & question-answer (kinda assume they are related)What would you pay for a one hour seminar/workshop? Don't know What days/hours are best for attendance? Weekend Snacks? Not necessary Some of the topics our staff has discussed for presentation are: How to choose a paint color. Would be interested How to decorate bookcases and fireplace mantels. Not me How to choose the right flooring. Not flooring color, but flooring (wood) finish. How to start your remodel project. Where to find.... resources How to arrange furniture. Always moving furniture around Window treatments. Nah Decorating for a party. Nah
Would you be interested and attend a decorating workshop or seminar? No, I do my own decorating Some of the topics our staff has discussed for presentation are: How to choose a paint color-many many people are scared of color, this is a great one How to decorate bookcases and fireplace mantels-personally..this is my current project (both!) and I do need help!How to choose the right flooring-medium priority How to start your remodel project-medium priority Where to find.... How to arrange furniture-high priority--makes such a difference and is a simple change Window treatments-high priority--vary the price levels (custom to Target type quality) Decorating for a party-for this time of year high priority. other ideas: decorating for the holidays reusing and rearranging existing decor to make a new and fresh look Good luck!
Would you be interested and attend a decorating workshop or seminar? Yes What decorating topics? What size groups (5-10 people) (10-20 people) (20+)? Do you prefer "hands-on", "question-answer" or "guest speakers"? What would you pay for a one hour seminar/workshop? All of the above depend on the topic and details of the seminar. I would recommend using guest speakers often, as they are a very cheap (or free) way to add value to your product. Just be careful not to build relationships that make it look like you're pushing specific vendors over others, unless they have a unique or otherwise outstanding product. Also, the more guest speakers you have typically will warrant a higher attendance level. And I'd pay more for personalized advice/service. Like for the furniture placement seminar, if you are offering to use software to show participants the best furniture place for a specific room of their house, I'd pay a premium over just general advice about not always pushing everything up against the walls, which I can get for free from HGTV. What days/hours are best for attendance? I'd recommend a good mix of daytime and evening; weekend and weekday. For big projects like remodeling you would want to do weekends or evenings so that both spouses could attend. Something like paint colors would work anytime. And remember that women that work typically have a bigger budget for decorating, so you should consider accomodating this group. Snacks? It depends on the length of the seminar, but at a minimum I would provide pitchers of water and hard candy on every table at every seminar. Early mornings I would include coffee. Anything longer than 50 minutes should have some type of snack or additional beverage. Some of the topics our staff has discussed for presentation are: How to choose a paint color. This is a good topic, but not one I would pay to see. You might want to set this one up as a freebie to gather interest and establish a client list. How to decorate bookcases and fireplace mantels. This would be great around the holidays, and can be incorported with holiday decorating. How to choose the right flooring. This seems like a good online learning topic, but not really worth attending a live seminar for. Also, most of this information is easy to obtain for free on the internet. How to start your remodel project. Good topic, and would be great with local businesses coming to speak. Also include a section on budgeting. Where to find.... ?? How to arrange furniture. Good topic. This would be great, and well worth paying for, if you have people come prepared with room and furniture dimensions and you can do some practical demonstrations using software. Window treatments. This is a good one for anyone who's purchase a new home, and would be great if you included pricing information (approximates) and some information on local companies that do one-stop shopping. Decorating for a party. This would be great if you also had a speaker come and talk about doing food and beverages for the party. I'd be much more likely to pay for a seminar if it encompassed the whole topic (planning a party) instead of just one piece of it. And you could have someone really interesting come, like an article I just read on how to throw a high class party for less than $5 per person. If you're planning to roll this out soon, I would definitely include holiday decorating and different topics for decorating on a budget. Since money is so tight with most people right now, you'll need to pack as much value into your sessions as possible. Good luck!!
Thanks Ima Sheltie! The 2nd slot for a Free seminar is yours when we start the classes! We appreciate your input!
I'd love to know which hubcaps would look best under my trailer. Got any material on that type issue?
Jelly Bean, Thanks for your response and honesty! Even though you "do your own decorating", we would like to offer you the 3rd slot for a free seminar just for responding to this poll. You can let a friend that may find the seminar useful take your seat or you may decide to just hang out with us anyway! Though our design staff "does our own thing" too when it comes to our personal homes, we still enjoy and benefit from being around other talented/creative people and hearing or seeing their ideas and "tips". Working in the field, we don't watch many (if any) design shows in our spare time so we keep up with trends, etc. by attending seminars, shows, etc. while we also create and offer new trends to others. If you have the talent, time and resources to decorate available to you, we certainly understand why someone would not want to pay for a decorating "class". But we also have clients that are very talented that hire us because they desire "confirmation" from a professional. With today's economy, hiring a designer by the hour is a luxury for some, so we are trying to find a way to "work in groups" by having some seminars which would allow anyone seeking professional design advice, a chance to do so without bearing the costs normally associated with individual design consultations. Thus the poll to find out what works best for everyone and we truly appreciate everyone's thoughts! Thanks again!
Alright Crysta! Here's your offer for a free seminar when we start... and offer to work as our administrative coordinator someday! You bring up some good points and ideas! Thanks again!
Dear Redneck Rich, We are willing to create a syllabus for classes just based on decorating your home. We do warn you that our creative team is just that creative as we sent our custom builder clients this picture so they could offer an economic house plan for a large family mansion! ("Mobile Mansion")!!!:lol: [/IMG]
Like we mentioned...we want to know your decorating needs....we can create a seminar for decorating most any space as long as our area shows support for it! Note to staff: If a guy by the name of Redneck Rich, registers for any decorating seminar, let him know that the class is full...or better yet, tell him we are waiting on a new shipment of hubcaps and we will let him know when they come in. Yea, that's it!
