Interior Designers Feeling the Bite of the Economy

The AW Blog continues to track the plight of market trends and how the economic downturn impacts prices and values. I have posted a fair amount on these issues, and I dont mean to be such a downer, but the markets are what they are, pretty dreadful. I am feeling the impact in my antique shops, where I should now be in the prime selling months, and find sales are remain very slow.

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Nancy Keates documents how high end decorators are also feeling the pain. Keates reports some high end decorators and designers are shopping at Ikea to keep prices down. Keates states "High-end home designers are better known for their indulgence in name-brand tiles and exotic textiles than their frugality. But in this anxious economy, even big-ticket decorators are scrambling to prove their worth and hang onto an increasingly jittery clientele."

Keates continues "even before the credit crisis, the amount of money people have been willing to spend renovating has been falling. According to the latest report by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, homeowner improvement will fall by an annual rate of 11.1% to $122 billion by the first quarter of 2009."

The article lists many examples of decorators and designers having to cut back on jobs and offer less costly alternatives. It also lists some points on how to get the "boom look on a bust budget".

To read the Wall Street Journal article click HERE.