westes, I've never explored that agency, but was thinking of your University of California Cooperative Extension services. There is not much that they can't help you with, if you take the time to learn about their vast resources. Click HERE to locate your county's contact info.

Before purchasing any furniture, figure out the rooms needed uses & best furniture placement to get most function. Make a list of measured use areas, then get items. Get extra decor after placement configured. Floorplan Placement Ideas. Option 1

I'm finishing up a remodel - gut remodel of my whole condo and I used a designer and it is money well spent. Aside from helping me wth the visual design, she also knows how things will function as well as knowing Codes. There are so many decisions that have to be made, I'm glad I didn't also have to educate myself on exactly what kind of hardware I need or exactly the optimum height for various things such as toilet paper holders. The list is endless. She provided vision in terms of my taking risks that I would never have taken and she also listened in terms of looking at my inspiration photos as well as how I wanted/needed my space to function. For example, I had a wall unit built for my office and we had a long discussion about how I wanted the printer to be; how I wanted my external hard drives to be; file holders etc. She is also acting as a project manager. As much as I tried to educate myself on construction, this is and never will be my area of expertise so she is making sure that stuff is being done properly because she has supervised construction and remodeling for more projects than most people would do in a lifetime if they weren't professionals. In terms of access to her sources - as others have posted, most of the really high end furniture and fixtures are "to the trade" only. While you might be able to view their stuff on the internet they either don't sell to non-pros or the price they sell to non-pros is MUCH more expensive than what you would pay if your designer bought and then put her/his markup on it. My new place will be a mixture of items that are repurposed. Although I am by nature reluctant to let things go, in the end the pieces I had to let go really wouldn't have worked as well. I was coming from a place where my furniture was accumulated over the years from gifts; purchases when I needed something and in general my philosophy was to make it work :-). If I had a bit more space I might have kept a few more pieces but within the limited space of 1200 square feet, some pieces had to be released into the universe :-). As others have stated, the cost is really all over the place depending on the scope of the project. In my experience (both personal and that of friends'), if the project is large, the designer will generally do it on a cost plus markup basis. My designer had different markups depending on whether something was just a purchase or whether it was a custom item she designed. If one has a smaller project, then an hourly charge for a design might work. There are also designers who do shopping by the hour - i.e. they take you around and often this gives you access to the D&D Building in NYC or PDC in Los Angeles.

This is just my opinion. I personally like a lot of colour so I’d probably change the duvet colour for some lush tropical print but I get the idea behind the white so it’s fine. Laundry hamper: sorry, I think it’s hideous and really jars with what you’re trying to achieve. Toss it and replace it with baskets type hampers like these or similar. I quite like the bar cart and think it works well with your tropical/Indian theme. Marble does not and neither do those thin pointy legs on the tables you like. Something like the bar cart in style but smaller would work. At the same time I’d move the lamp stand to the corner between the bar stand and the side wall. It’s a cool lamp but where it is gives the impression of a vulture overhanging the bed. For bedside lamps something with a shade similar to the main lamp would look “together”. The round mirror is the wrong size/shape for over the bed. If you want something over the bed (why a mirror?) I’d go for a long rectangular print you like, or move the print you already have there and put the mirror between the two doors where the print currently is. Or you could put your full length mirror there. I’m not sold on the idea of having all the artwork at the same height but matching frames would pull it all together. I think the frame you have on the Daybreak print works well so I’d go with that. You could change the chair for something similar in a tan/gold I think. Plant stands are a good idea but the ones you have chosen don’t work with your theme IMO. Something more like these in a lighter wood is more tropical/Indian I think. Put the plants in brass pots like this. I think the main issue I have with the things you have chosen is that they are more Swedish minimalist than tropical which is a bit more lush. You need to decide which it is that you really want.