Isn’t moving just the biggest pain in the butt? Few other life changes inspire such high levels of dread and loathing, and when you throw the financial stress of Austin’s ever-rising home prices into the mix, it’s more important than ever to maximize every dollar you spend in this process. Room Fu’s professional interior designers can help you with that, every step of the way.

Considering that today’s home buyers overwhelmingly start online when they begin shopping for a new home, your MLS photo gallery has the power to make or break your home sale. Room Fu’s forte is helping home sellers make their property stand out, using color and modern design to appeal to buyers.

A Room Fu staged home in Westlake, as featured on Curbed.

A Room Fu staged home in Westlake, as featured on Curbed.

Check out these examples of homes we’ve staged in Westlake, Mueller, Shoal Creek, and Tarrytown.

Afraid of color or worry that your neighborhood is too conservative to handle it? You might be surprised to find out that one of our clients in Circle C sold this home within days of putting it on the market – despite having an outdated kitchen that featured ’80s oak cabinetry and white tile countertops:

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Photo by Suzi Q. Varin / QWeddings.

What drew the buyers in? This one striped wall alone. Without the tasteful use of eye-popping color, your home has a high chance of blending into the blur of all of the other neutral-centric options on the market!

There are a myriad of ways our designers can reduce the stress of feathering your new nest:

Materials Selections & Remodeling Advice – Whether you are selecting finishes for a new construction home, or need to tweak the house you’re moving into, having professionals’ assistance  is invaluable when it comes to picking out things like tile, countertops, flooring, and light fixtures. We’ve been through the process hundreds of times and know all the tricks to create the look you want, while oftentimes saving you money on materials! Check out our Remodeling page for more details.

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Photo by Claire Barrett Patrick.

Paint Selections – Changing interior or exterior paint colors is a great way to personalize a new home, and we can help you make those choices with confidence!

Spaceplanning – Will your existing furniture fit? Considering new furniture purchases? Stumped on how to arrange your furniture in the new place? There is no better tool than a spaceplan, which is a bird’s-eye view of your room(s), mapped out to scale:

A spaceplan created by Room Fu for a client's living room and entry.

A spaceplan created by Room Fu for a client’s living room and entry.

With approximate sizes for new pieces listed right on the spaceplan, you’ll know exactly if that sofa  you fell in love with will fit or overwhelm your new space. Spaceplans generally take 1-2 hours to create, and require an in-home consultation. 

Furniture selections – Investing in new furniture can be a daunting task. Room Fu’s designers can take some of the mystery out of the furniture shopping experience. We can advise you on specific pieces we recommend based on your style, budget, and the scale of your room(s). We are also available for in-store consultations, should you need assistance selecting upholstery fabric.

Contractor Referrals & Oversight – We’ve compiled a Resources page, featuring all sorts of reputable contractors, retailers and service providers who come in handy when you’re moving into a new place. If you embark on a remodeling project and need someone to oversee or liaise with your contractors, we provide that service as well.

Finishing Touches – Let’s say you have all of the furniture you need, but can’t quite make everything come together on your own. That’s where our styling services can help you cross the finish line and create the inviting and Insta-ready space you crave! We’ll find the right accessories to suit your style and budget, hang your art, and stage everything with a pro’s eye for detail.

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We hate to see you leave the ATX, but we can help make your transition smoother. If you’re able to provide us with all of the measurements we need to create spaceplans for your new home, we can figure out where all of your existing furniture goes before the moving van arrives at your destination! We’re also happy to travel to your new location, should you need specifics like remodeling advice and paint selections. Check out “Live elsewhere…” below, for some general travel fee information.

Having moved to Austin after an eight-year stint in New York City, Room Fu’s Design Guru is uniquely qualified to help coastal transplants create a modern home here. We know the best local shopping resources to help make your transition to the capitol city smooth, sophisticated and stylish. Our blog contains a treasure trove of info for Austin newbies as well – check out our restaurant picks and get tips from other clients who’ve moved here from NYC and the Bay Area.

Just because you don’t live in Austin, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of Room Fu’s design services. We’ve had clients in Houston, Dallas, Denver, Scottsdale, Washington D.C., New York…and BELIZE(!). We tend to schedule these trips so that we can stay long enough to accomplish your goals, and are prepared to work round-the-clock to do so – this way, we can maximize whatever travel fees you incur. Here’s how it works:

DFW Residents – If you’re interested in consultations with our Design Guru, you’re in luck – one of her brothers lives in the area, so she loves coming to town and doesn’t need hotel expenses. Depending on your location relative to Robin’s brother, travel fees typically range from $150-$225 in addition to hourly consultation fees. For a specific travel quote, contact us directly with your address.

Other Texas Residents – Live in Houston or elsewhere? We enjoy the variety of working outside our fair city, and charge minimal travel fees in addition to our hourly consultation rates. If you’re within one hour of Austin, travel fees average $75. Within two hours of us? An average of $125. If you’re three hours from Austin, we require travel fees (average: $150) as well as hotel expenses. More than three hours? Flight + hotel + rental car. Save out-of-pocket expenses by using your airline miles or hotel points for flight/hotel bookings! For a specific travel quote, contact us directly with your address.

All Points Beyond – Arrange for Room Fu’s Design Guru to bring her design expertise to you! In addition to our hourly consultation fees, we charge for flight, hotel, rental car & gas expenses, plus a minimal per diem. Save out-of-pocket expenses by using your airline miles or hotel points for flight/hotel/rental car bookings! For a specific travel quote, contact us directly with your address.

Video Consultations – In the era of Covid-19 precautions, modern technology (with some caveats*) has never been more vital to our business and the services we can provide. We are now solely providing design and decorating consultations via cloud-based meeting apps, so it doesn’t matter where you live in the world, we can now work with anyone, anywhere! Since we don’t have to leave the office, there are no travel fees, and there’s no hour-minimum requirement. We just bill in 15-minute increments, and we can take your debit/credit payment at the end of our consultation.

*Remote interior design and decorating services come with certain limitations and caveats, most importantly where paint and textile selections are concerned. Lighting can affect paint colors in many strange ways, and lighting conditions vary greatly between my home and your home, or even between two rooms in your own home. Therefore, instead of being able to narrow down precise paint selections, we will now offer multiple options for you to test on your own. Likewise, since we will be selecting textiles solely via onscreen viewing for the time being, we cannot accurately predict color matching. Whenever possible, we will order samples and swatches to view in person, but this will inevitably expand timelines for ongoing projects. Please expect delays to be the new norm. We appreciate your understanding and patience, and we’ll do everything we can to expedite the process. 

Curious to see what we’ve done for other remote clients? Here are two before/after examples:

This Skype client’s goal was to refresh her living room’s design, and maximize her modest budget.

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Isn’t it amazing how a few simple changes can make a huge impact? We advised this homeowner to change the position and color of her accent wall, to make her fireplace stand out as a true feature. Next, we recommended specific sizes for art above her fireplace and sofa. Finally, we selected a new rug and decorative pillows for her online, to create a more modern feeling in the room. The results are stunning and they didn’t cost a fortune!

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This Skype client wanted to make a few updates to her kids’ bathroom design.

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Since we were working remotely, we selected new tile for the homeowner’s vanity backsplash and tub surround that she could buy at her local big-box retailer. Changing the countertop, faucets and tile created a much more modern look to this resale-safe bathroom update!

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