What professional do I need?

[bigbadbarry]

We are reluctant DIYers at the best of times and now find ourselves in a new house with three small children - will do it gradually but would really like to modernise the small sitting room (belonged to an old lady: inoffensive white walls but with a nasty textured paper). I want to install a woodburner; DH wants the television on the wall. I want it to look lovely.
So - has anybody ever employed somebody to design and carry out that sort of job? Who would I use - an interior designer? A painter/decorator/odd-job person with an eye? Any tips, recommendations? I just don't know where to begin!

bump

You need an approved HETAS (Here) installer for the wood burner, I believe. A handy person/decorator could do the decorating. No clue about the TV on the wall though.

I want somebody to design it for me too though - lay it out, say where to put the burner, telly, bits of furniture...then do it plus decorate the walls...

PS Sorry that sounded very ungrateful thanks for woodburner info

You don't need a professional to plan a small sitting room.

Get some graph paper and draw it to scale. Put in windows and doors. Draw and cut out scaled sizes of wood burners, settees, sofas, TV, book cases, table etc then see what fits best where. Keep in mind how you walk through the sitting room.

Now get onto websites like Farrow and Ball, Little Greene, Craig and Rose. Look at the lovely pics and make a wish list of what you like. Trendy, serene, cool etc... Any particular colours? Wall paper etc. Look at sofa's, flooring and it will come together. Got a bit of art you really like and can take influence from that?

But I hav three small children and a job and I don't have any time! Wail! I might not need a professional but I would really like one ;)

You could get an interior designer in who could plan and organise the job for you but it is only a small job so some won't be interested and the expense may outweigh the benefit but you'll only know if you go out and speak to a few and see what they say.
I desperately want to do stuff to our house but it feels too much like work (I'm an architect .... So spend my day organising other peoples building work so the thought of doing mine when I finish fills me with dread, even though I have loads of great ideas)

I once got a quote from a designer on our small flat. 'Twas £600 for a curtain pole

LOL - OK I am just going to live with it being all white and textured and nasty green curtained until I can find time and energy to do it myself! Designers won't touch me with a bargepole for being too small, or if they do it will cost millions. Sigh :(

Get some quotes from builder/decorators, the good ones will ask questions and look into the job thoroughly and come up with creative suggestions, the bad ones won't really listen and pull a number out of the air. If you find someone you can trust they'll probably be happy to project manage the whole job for you. I was having a nightmare trying to get work done and then came across someone while I was getting quotes for tiling who turned out to be a brilliant kitchen designer and project manager

For the TV on the wall, if you have a Richer Sounds store near you, pop in there, they usually recommend a few local fitters - we did then when DH insisted on having the TV on the wall. The fitter they recommended was very good.

Oh that is a good idea - we love Richer Sounds anyway :) Though what I need is a fitter who will also tell me where would be the best place to put it in relation to a not-yet-in-existence wood burner, and with an opinion on what colour would look nice...

Er.. maybe I'm missing something, but is there a choice where the woodburner goes? Won't it just go in the fireplace? And if you haven't got a fireplace, where is the flue going to go?
Don't give up on the idea of a designer - times is tough out there and you may find that someone is only too pleased to take on a small job. You might have to pay a fee for their time as because it's a small job there won't be much margin in it, but it will save you hours trawling through shops. Alternatively, if you ever get a minute, try your local interiors shop if you've got one. They may have a scheme where they will do a design for you and refund the fees against whatever you buy.
If you do decide to talk to a designer or a shop, before you do have a think about (a) what colours/styles you like (b) what else the colours have to go with - flooring, furniture - so that there's a starting point and (c) who's going to be using the room - adults only, children, dogs etc! It will make it much easier. And if you can, work out your budget before you start. HTH

There is no fireplace yet: we are going to put the stove in one of the corners (unless somebody good tells us there is a better place) with a flue. V modern.
Am quite happy to pay a designer - I never expected to get it for nothing! Am interested int he idea of a "local interiors shop" - like what, please? We have kitchen shops, bathroom shops, and the usual range of large furniture warehouses. What should I look out for?
Thanks for the advice :)

Why don't you put floor plan and photos here and ask for mn expert advice? :)

We once had a bathroom designer come in, and honestly think I could do a better job myself.

Ooh now that does sound like a plan! I will get to it :)

Well, here we have one shop which sells carpet, curtain fabrics, wallpaper, furniture, lamps....a bit like Laura Ashley but more upmarket, with the designer fabrics like Colefax & Fowler, Romo, Designers Guild etc. You might have a curtain shop and they might also do some design, or they might have cards of people who do. Or you could google local interior designers and check out their websites. You could also go to somewhere like the Colefax website and check out their local stockists and see if any might be useful.

OTOH, posting your plans here will get you loads of free advice and I'd love to be nosy help [hgrin]

Ok - there should be photos on my profile now. A floor plan (it is basically square); a view from the doorway and a view from the corner that is top left on the plan. The large Korean sideboard is staying, as will the rocking chair (to the right on the photo from the doorway), though the latter needs re-covering. We need a new sofa. The carpet is in good condition and neutral though I am not very attached to it - I do want to keep carpet in here. I am fond of my Japanese lamp (next to the window) - and the room does need two lamps else DH puts the central light on, which I hate. I don't hate the central lampshade actually, - considering doing room periwinkle blue to pick out the flowers on it.
I apologise for the post-half-term mess and the post-moving-in chaos (DH unpacked a box of pictures by plonking each one in order onto the picture rail :) ). Toddler fell asleep - you can see her on the sofa! - so I thought I'd run round with my tape measure.
I like bright colours and patterned wallpaper/fabric. DH likes nice cream walls and hates wallpaper ;) The room is used by the children so fabrics need to be washable and practical, but we don't need toy storage here. I do very much want a woodburner (am missing the one we left in the old house) so we will need some sort of hearthy affair, and DH wants TV on wall and his ridiculous excessive 7.1 surround sound thingummy set up properly. In which case we will need something to keep sky box, amp, dvd player etc in.
Looking forward to your thoughts :)

(Or dark green to go with the leaves and be cosy)

Are either of the side walls external walls or are you in a terrace? Trying to work out where a flue will go for the woodburner

Do you really know what you are letting yourself in for with a woodburner?
They might look all romantic and flickery but there is a lot of work and dirt involved, not to mention you need a huge covered woodstore outside to keep the mountain of logs you will need.

Oh and they get very hot so you might need large unsightly fireguard attached to the wall to protect those toddlers.

Yes, we had one in the last house. Can cope very well with mess and storage and toddlers :)
The wall that the television is currently next to backs onto a corridor that leads from the garage to the garden - so, while it is not exactly external and you couldn't vent to it, you can certainly run a flue through that way. We are detached.
I think the best place for the woodburner will be the corner where the television sits ATM - at an angle rather than flat against either wall.

Right. I think the first thing you need to do is get a woodburner expert round to tell you whether you can have one. Try Hamiltons of Chester 01244 630031, they will know whether it's doable or not. Note Building Regs say that the minimum size hearth you can have is 840mm x 840mm and I think that assumes that it's not in a corner - you have to have 300mm clearance on the hearth in front of the stove, and 150mm either side. I'm a bit [hmmm] about whether this would work in a corner - I think it would take up too much space, and it doesn't look like you've got that much space there. Otherwise it would need to go on the wall where the Korean cabinet is now (assuming all is ok with the flue), and I'd put the cabinet opposite the window, the TV in the corner between the woodburner and the cabinet, and the rocking chair in the corner where the TV is now. If you can't have a woodburner, you can either have the TV where the cabinet is now, or have it opposite the window.
I'd also consider changing the long rad under the window for two smaller ones diagonally opposite each other, one just inside the door on the wall opposite the window, and one where the TV is now. Splitting the heat source gives a more even heat through the room, and it would mean you could have floor length curtains. This would allow you to have some pattern, while the walls get painted something mid-toned and neutral for your DH (but less boring than just cream ). Think stone, mushroom etc. But find the curtain fabric first, and match the paint to it as that's much easier. Or maybe even find your new sofa first, then the curtain fabric, then the paint.
You are going to take down that high level shelf, aren't you? (hard stare)
Keep the carpet and put a rug down. Have a footstool in the centre of the room, ideally one with a lift up top so you can store stuff in it. This also provides great low seating for toddlers.
You could put the Japanese floor lamp behind the rocking chair in the corner. Have a sofa which will fit along the wall where the current one is, allowing space for a small table in the corner for a table lamp.
It can't hurt to call a few of your local interior designers (there are some, I've googled them!) and ask whether they'd be interested in helping you with colours, fabrics, sofas etc. It's almost impossible to do this at a distance!
HTH

Blimey! Thank you!
You can get funky corner woodburners - here or here or here or here (what was that about wanting a pro as havig no time?! You've got me interested now).
I have also been looking for local designers, and will ring round a few.
High level shelf's days are probably numbered :)