Guest Writer: Scott Hathcock -- INTERIOR DESIGN ON A VERY SMALL BUDGET

For those of you who know my husband, Scott, you know he's a genius with interior design.  Not because he went to school for it, but because it's a God-given talent.  He can write, draw, paint, design, sing, act.  It really makes me wanna punch him because he has such natural talents.  We are your typical artsy couple who design and  love making things look beautiful but we tend to mostly do it without a pocket full of cash (read: layoffs, unemployment, etc.) Scott has been asked on numerous occasions (or he's volunteered because he's very generous) to help re-do homes, schools, backyards, cottages, you name it.  I've asked Scott to write weekly on this blog to give tips and tricks for making life beautiful on a budget.  I'm honored to have Scott writing for me and lucky for me, if he misses a deadline, I can just reach over and pinch him.  Best kinda guest writer EVER.

INTRODUCTION TO SCOTT'S WEEKLY INTERIOR DESIGN SERIES

By Scott Hathcock

Frankly, I’m not sure what I would do if someone ever said to me, “You have an ‘unlimited’ amount of budget to spend on this room.  Now, go and create something!”  I have always found it more exciting to “fix” what has already been done, decorated, created or painted.  In other words, I like to use what’s already there to inspire a design.  Maybe it’s because when Kiersten and I were first married, like most folks, we didn’t have a lot of anything.  What little furniture we brought to our union was handed down.  Framed works of art were a lavish expense.  And, no single piece of anything in our house cost more than a thousand dollars or came brand new from a showroom floor.  We were then and still are today a family of design “re-inventors.”  It doesn’t hurt that we are also change addicts; after all, choosing to move 11 times within a 13 year span would be painful to most, but we have always looked forward to the challenge of re-purposing what we had so that we could feel reborn in our new space.  

There is no doubt in my mind that, had we not moved so many times, our houses would have seen an equal amount of room design facelifts and re-arrangements. 

For purposes of this blog, we will be looking at our own personal room projects from the past (including missteps), our present musings and including client projects and challenges.  This will not necessarily be a “how-to” in the traditional sense, but more designed for you to ask yourself the question, “What if?”

“What if I painted this wall green?”

“What if I built my own coffee table?”

“What if I found a wing-back chair on the curb?”

“What if I built a stage?”

There are literally no limitations here…except budgets.  We are going to explore all things that go into creating an environment.

COMING UP...."WHAT IF I'M RENTING?"  (INCLUDES INFO ON HOW TO CREATE A REMOVABLE TILED FIREPLACE FRONT, PAINT COUNTERTOPS, INSTALL FLOATING FLOOR, AND MORE!)