Shopaholic

                                                                                   Photo Credit: Getty Images

Have you ever thought about what kind of shopper you are? It's sort of like the criminal profiling they do on those tv murder mystery shows - where is the serial killer going to strike next?

Are you a "sniper shopper" kind of person? You arrive at the store with one or maybe two items in mind. You limit yourself to whatever options are available there at that time, purchase and leave.

                                                                           Photo Credit: davidszondy.com

Or are you a "hunt and gather" sort of shopper? Hours spent online and looking at catalogs, gathering ideas from other people's homes and shopping around for weeks to finally get that perfect item (hopefully on sale by the time you've made up your mind!).

                                                            Photo Credit: Emile Frechon

When it comes to home furnishings, I am certainly an idea gatherer and slow to make a purchase. One of the ways that I collect ideas (in addition to reading countless design blogs, online shopping and studying catalogs) is to always take a digital camera along with me to the store.

I keep a file in iphoto of all the furnishings that I like and then it's easy to take a look at them when I am in my own home and to evaluate which styles I like and which I should perhaps leave for another project. One trick that I also do is to photograph the price tag so that I can get an idea of what a good price will be down the road. Somehow, it is also easier to judge whether the item is affordable when you get home rather than when you are enthralled in the moment at the store.

The final advantage to this technique is that you can put together an idea board at home with pieces from different stores and see how they all work together from the photos.

So, how about:

Ikea

Pier 1

HomeSense

HomeSense

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Ikea

And if this sort of cut and paste, shop and shop and shop some more kind of project doesn't appeal to you, my recommendation would be to try out your local decorating centre. They can help you with picking out paint colours and they will often have access to lots of sample books with furniture, carpets, textiles and flooring and can put it all together for you. 

The two locations I have visited in Kingston are:

Reid & Siemonsen Design Group

and

Randall's Paint and Decorating

I have had pretty good experience with Randall's in terms of getting advice on choosing paint colours for my home. They have decorators on hand so if you come in with photos or samples for other parts of the room, they can help put the look together. A decorator will also come to your home for a charge and I believe you might receive a discount on the paint purchase if you use their decor services. I hear from the ladies there that they serve a large number of customers who have painted and are unhappy with their own colour choices, so if you are less than expert, it might be worth the cost to have someone help you get it right the first time.

I have not had a chance to try out R&S, but they do have an amazing sample room which you can get permission to look through yourself. There was virtually nothing you would not be able to find there!

DIY Rating:

10 for always taking a camera to the store with you

5 for thinking through whether you like to shop or 

whether you have room in your budget to hire some help