Top 5 reasons you need an interior designer : Annie Elliott Design

You want your home to reflect YOU, but you don’t know how

I bet you’re a pretty amazing person.

But being amazing and having your home look amazing require two different skill sets. Sometimes fascinating people have great senses of style; knowledge about the most interesting products on the market; AND the interest, time, and energy to decorate.

But sometimes they don’t.

That’s where I come in: your trusty designer.

My job is to transform your home into a beautiful, compelling reflection of you. My bossy color colleagues and I learn about you, your family, your life experiences, your passions, and your aspirations, and then we create a home that honors and reflects those qualities.

Blue grasscloth living room with blue sofa and fireplace — Living room with blue grasscloth walls, by bossy color. Photo by Angie Seckinger

You don’t want to waste money – or make expensive mistakes

I don’t care how much money you have: you don’t want waste it. I don’t want you to, either. I want to use your budget as strategically as possible to create the home of your dreams.

But when you don’t order window treatments day in and day out, how could you possibly know the answers to these questions: Drapes or Roman Shades? What is the hardware made of? What finish is it? What diameter? What width? Where are you mounting it? Endcaps or finials? What design are the finials? And that’s before you even get to the fun fabric part: what color/pattern/repeat/pleats/length/trim…?

Those details are where expensive mistakes are made, my friends. (Note the tactful use of the passive verb.)

White bedroom with striped linen Roman Shades and brown chair — Bedroom with Roman Shades, by bossy color. Photo by Michael Wilkinson

You want access to interesting pieces – rugs, furniture, antiques – that others don’t have

Not every item is an investment piece. But every room does need something special, whether it’s wallpaper, fabulous table lamps, an interesting sofa, and/or a one-of-a-kind rug.

As designers, we have resources, my friends. We can get our hands on things that you can’t find at Crate & Barrel or Room & Board. (Love both of those stores, btw, but you know what I mean.) And because two of us are recovering art historians, we have a pretty excellent eye for special furniture and artwork.

Asian-inspired dining room with red table and chinese artwork, Caboche light fixture — Dining room with Chinese antique table and artwork, by bossy color. Photo by Michael K. Wilkinson

You’d like to give your favorite pieces a fresh start by combining them with new furnishings

We at bossy color rarely take an, “Everything must go!” approach to decorating. Of course we’ll help you say goodbye to certain pieces; that’s part of our job. (Especially pieces you’ve never liked but have felt obligated to keep.)

More often than not, though, a client has at least an item or two that they’d like us to work with. Pieces with meaning. Pieces with stories behind them.

Bringing in new, updated furniture and furnishings can give new life to things you already have. But mixing styles, genres, and time periods is difficult to do well. We do this all day, every day, and we’re quite good at it.

Living room with bookcases and Oriental rug — Living room with Eastlake antique furniture, by bossy color. Photo by Andrew Propp

4. Creating your dream home should be fun…

…and what could be more fun than teaming up with knowledgeable yet down-to-earth experts such as…oh, I dunno…bossy color?

You can’t be amazing at everything. So you do what you’re best at, and please invite us to do what we’re best at: creating a gorgeous, personalized home that makes you happy every time you walk through the door.

Library with red bookcases, concrete fireplace, and tribal rug — Family room with red bookcases and concrete fireplace, by bossy color. Artwork by Liza Houston. Photo by Angie Seckinger

Bossy color / Annie Elliott interiors is a full-service design firm based in Washington, D.C. Check us out on the cover of Bethesda Magazine’s special Home Issue!