How to Shop
Would you rather go to the dentist for a root canal than shop for home furnishings? Does making home decorating decisions petrify you? Or are you just afraid of making a wrong decorating decision because those can be costly mistakes? Do you continue to move decorating decisions to the bottom of your list because you don’t have time to shop for the perfect fabric or come up with the right window treatment? The TV shows make it look so easy and we know it is not. We know that shopping for fabrics, trims, furniture, rugs, and accessories can be overwhelming.
While our stores are filled with a large selection of beautiful fabrics, trimmings, drapery rods, accessories, lamps, art and rugs our buyers have narrowed down the choices for you to present what we think are the best and the most beautiful with the most value for your decorating dollars. This paired with our most valuable asset, our staff of talented decorators who want to help you decorate your home, your style, your way. We hope this will make decorating your home a pleasure rather than a chore.
What to Bring
Before we can do our best job of helping you and so we can make the best use of your time, there are a few things you need to bring when you come to our store to begin your project. It is important for us to know about your whole room even if you are just doing a small project such as adding pillows to your sofa. We want to help you make the best design decisions possible. So bring us everything you can!
- Bring fabric swatches, an arm cover, a pillow or even a seat cushion of all fabrics you will be using in the room. If it is impossible to bring one of these, take a photograph of the fabric on the furniture or window treatment.
- Bring carpet sample or floor covering sample or photograph of your rug if too big too bring.
- Bring a sample of the wall color or wallpaper or if you don’t have either, take a photo.
- If you are working on window treatments go to How to Measure and print our page on How to Measure your Windows and then measure them. If you have windows that may seem hard to treat because of their location take a photo of the window.
- If you are working on bed treatments go to How to Measure and print our page on How to Measure your Bed and then measure. If your bed has side rails and a foot board notice how the dust skirt is mounted.
- If you are working on a new house or a room of unusual size, and you have house plans, bring those. If you don’t have these don’t worry, we will ask you to tell us about your room.
- If there are fabrics or colors in an adjoining room that could influence the project in the room you are working on, bring those or a photograph of those.
- Bring any pictures from magazines of rooms or chairs or window treatments or pillows or anything that you like.
- If you are shopping for new accessories or a rug take a picture of the room or the piece of furniture that need the accessories.
- If you want to update your accessories take pictures of room featuring accessories, lamps, art and furniture.
- Bring photos of your room – the more you bring the better we can help you.
What to Think About
Now that you have a list of what to bring so that we can help you better, here are a few things to think about before coming to shop.
Our decorators want to help you decorate and we want you to be open and honest with us. If you don’t like what we suggest to you at any point along the way, tell us. Don’t worry about hurting our feelings, we want to know so that we can find the perfect thing for your project.
Think about your budget for this project and don’t be afraid to share it with us. It only helps us find what is right for you. We have many products at many prices and a creative staff of decorators that can find the perfect solution for you within your price range.
Think about the time frame you would like to accomplish your project. Share that with us too, so that we can help you meet your goal. Because your time is such a valuable commodity these days, we want you to have an advocate in your Printer’s Alley decorator. Someone who can continue looking and communicating with you throughout the project to make your decorating project be yours
We are very successful at tweaking projects via email which can be a big time saver for you, so please give us your email address.
What to Bring List
Come shopping with your swatches, wall colors, coverings, measurements, photographs and give us your email address and we will give you a Printer’s Alley Project Bag to make your shopping even easier!
- Samples of fabrics that need to coordinate with project
- Carpet or floor covering sample or photograph of your rug.
- Sample of the wall color or wallpaper or if you don’t have either, take a photo.
- Print How To Measure Your Window and bring window measurements if working on window treatments.
- Print How to Measure Your Bed and bring bed measurements if working on bed treatments.
- House plans if you have them and are working on a new house or a room of unusual size.
- Samples of fabrics or colors of adjoining rooms that could influence the project.
- Magazine pictures of things you like.
- Pictures of room featuring accessories if you are working on accessories.
- Bring photos of your room – the more you bring the better we can help you.
Print the Check list What to Bring Along to help you collect these and organize your thoughts.
Things to Think About
- Tell us honestly what you think you won’t hurt our feelings.
- Think about the budget for your project and tell us.
- Think about the time frame you would like your project completed and tell us.