Since we moved into our house 4 months ago, there have been many home projects I want to do but have gotten stuck in the designing phase. I question my decisions and I know I can’t afford to re-do something if it doesn’t end up looking like I thought it would. Enter Designer in a Binder. This is like a physical binder of all your Pinterest ideas organized together so you can take it into a store and know what to buy and how to put it all together.
Update for 2020 – Originally this product was a pdf that you downloaded, but now it is a physical binder you buy complete! The binder is beautiful and high-quality so it will stand the test of time.
I started with my dividers labeled as “Master Bedroom”, “Master Bathroom”, “Living Room”, “Office”, and “Dining Room”. I will eventually add other important rooms like Nursery, Kitchen and Guest Room.
You don’t have to keep the front “book” section in your binder, but until mine gets fuller I’m going to leave it in there. I really like all the tips and insights in the book and I know I’ll refer back to sections of it so I want it to be available in my binder.
For the Master Bedroom tab, first I am creating a page on Canva that has the designs and colors currently in the room. I don’t have fabric samples for the curtains or duvet cover, but I can make do with a printed pdf of the patterns and colors.
Then, I am creating a page with pictures I have saved from Pinterest. I think it’s still useful to keep the Pinterest board so you have the links to tutorials for DIYs and to purchase certain items. Printing out the page to keep in the binder is helpful when purchasing in-store so you can see your mood board.
My last “custom” page I am making is a page of before pictures. Actual pictures of my space and the stuff in it so I can try to better visualize how something will look in the store. There is a page in the worksheets where you layout the furniture pieces to see how it will al fit together, but I think having pictures will help too.
My favorite part about the binder, is the fact that you have it as a record after the project is done! You keep the information about the project all in one place so you know what company you hired for what piece and what paint color your used. This is invaluable as you do more projects so you know who to hire again; and you keep your house cohesive.
The binder that is shipped comes with a stencil that you can use to draw out the room to scale which is so convenient! The previous pdf version had pictures you could cut out, but being able to stencil is so much cleaner.
Designer in a Binder is such an essential product to have as a homeowner – I don’t know how people would do it without this and I’m glad I don’t have to! When you get it, be sure to let me know what you think!