All Over Albany

Help this house: Experience & Creative Designs

A few months ago, after getting sick of looking at a wall full of paneling and our 'blue cloud" carpeting, I decided it was time to remodel.

I'm okay at interior design, if I have a place to start. This space, however, was a design disaster. I had no idea where to begin and no budget for a decorator. Any of this sound familiar?

So I went looking for help and came across Experience and Creative Designs in Schenectady.

Monique Gleason, one of their interior designers, agreed to come to my home and tackle my design dilemma for $100. That much I could afford.

And it was worth it.

In an hour she came up with a wide range of ideas to take my home from "old country" to "comfy-modern." Her suggestions ranged from small, easy changes to big remodeling jobs.

Experience also holds classes on a variety of design topics. They're priced from $25 to $75 depending on the content and length of the class. I tried one on holiday décor. About 30 women showed up to drink red wine and watch instructors, Rudy and David (owners of Experience) put together some of the most interesting table décor I have ever seen. My favorite was the "column-esque" vase filled with roses and finished off with disco ball in the center. Elegance, meet trendy.

Was everything for me? No. Some of the designs were outside my personal taste. But I took elements of everything I'd seen and tried a few ideas at my own holiday parties. The result -- endless compliments (believe it or not, from in-laws). It was well worth the few dollars I spent to take the class .

A few other things worth mentioning:

+ Elegance also sells home decor items like vases, mirrors, furniture, art and rugs. While my budget doesn't always allow a splurge on this stuff, if you find something you like, they'll let you to take it home and live with it for a few days to see if it works. If you're not feeling it, you can bring it back.

+ Experience's home décor items can be a tad on the expensive side with prices ranging from just a few dollars to thousands. You have to focus on staying within your budget, but if you can do that, it can be a great resource. Especially if you, like me, are living in a remodeling semi-nightmare and need a little help from the pros.