We've recently moved in to a much bigger house than the one we've moved from

I DON"T want:

• a design that relies on us buying a ton of new things

These two things seem at odds with each other. You have a net gain of space but don't want a net gain of 'things.' How do you plan on filling your net gain of space?

If if you have some great quality pieces whose scale is appropriate to your new home, any designer will be happy to work with them. But not work around them. If the pieces do not fit the home, then they do not fit the home. Old small scale things that have seen better days do not translate well to larger scale newer homes that need more space filled.

This is part of WHY you need a designer. You do not have an impartial eye with which to asses your already owned objects. That should be the second step in the design. Assessing what is owned and that can be reused. But that comes after assessing the new space and some schematic designs to get the overall look worked out. When the second phase design development happens, those objects get assessed.

If you have a true innate style compass, then the new house will be in a similar style as the old, but just developed much better with professionall help. Then your owned objects can likely translate well to their new environment.

If if you are a fad follower, and are off to the races with the latest and greatest, there’s not much that is usually able to translate from the past Depression Gray Ennui to the new Zen Modern style.

Maybe you need a professional stager, instead?

Also, live_wire, love "Depression Gray Ennui"! Made me lol..

----"These two things seem at odds with each other. You have a net gain of space but don't want ------a net gain of 'things.' How do you plan on filling your net gain of space? "

We understand that we will eventually want to fill in gaps. We want to make sure that this process is over time and thoughtful, not simply to complete a design quickly.

----" If you have a true innate style compass, then the new house will be in a similar style as the old, but just developed much better with professional help.

The new house is in a similar style to the old, bigger in square footage but only slightly bigger in scale. They are both old houses with lots of original details. There are small but important--from a design perspective--differences that we need help working with. In the old house, for example, the woodwork had been painted. In the new, it has been refinished, not painted.

Yes - a designer can work the way you want. They'll likely bill you per hour rather than flat fee/cost plus. Even this way, though, be prepared - they may recommend you ditch some of your existing things.

Thanks, arch. Very helpful.

You're welcome. Btw, I wanna see what this dream sofa looks like

As soon as I find it, I'll share--still looking!

Thank you DK Haas for the thoughtful and thorough reply. Completely agree with almost everything you say.

You need patience.

-You need a plan to keep in mind while shopping.

It's the plan to keep in mind while shopping that I think I need help with. I do many of the things you suggest (look at staged homes, prowl houzz, etc) and actually have, I believe, a pretty honed sense of color. What I have right now, though, is decision fatigue (I've made a ton of decisions about the house already, and I make too many decisions at work every day) and a lot of doubt, and I'm thinking that a relaxed design hand would be helpful. I'm also not very patient.

We are also minor collectors of art with pretty eclectic tastes, so are using our rugs as color palettes.

What decisions remain?. Can you post pics of the troubling areas? Floorplan?

will do when I get home tonight!

I'm also hearing some contradictions. You say that you have "a pretty honed sense of color" but also stated that you are not in love with the colors you picked. You also initially said that you want the process to be over time and thoughtful, yet later you say you are not patient. I think you need to do some self-evaluation to determine how you really feel, and then contact a designer. Sounds like you want a designer who will work on a consultation basis. Some do, others don't. I'd do some research and select several whose work you admire, then contact them to find out how they feel about a consultation-only project. The most important factor is to be honest and up front with the designer, both about what you want to do and your budget. You also need to "click" with that person, as you could be spending a lot of time together, and residential design is a very personal business.

Good luck with your search!