To design is to evolve. This is the creed of Willow Homes designer, Allison Hallman. The Birmingham homebuilding and design company boasts eight years of Alabama Remodeling Excellence Awards selection and serves as a holistic service provider in the realm of crafting, construction, and curating a home. But, it can be a heavy emotional undertaking to tear away the space you know for the idea of something unseen. If you’re in the market to reshape your domain, here are some valuable tips on how to evolve with ease and style. 

Know What You Want

Knowing what you want is vital when redesigning a room or planning to break ground on a home. Hallman says that having a visual archive of styles and looks you’d like to have in your home is a good first step. Photos of accessory pieces, colors that intrigue, powerful set-pieces—gathering a database of lovable looks from places like Instagram and Pinterest can help lay the inspirational foundation. “We want the homeowners to be involved in the process from the beginning with our walkthrough to when the last pillow is placed,” she says.

Understand Your Budget

“Our clients have to do two things: trust the process and keep an open mind,” Hallman explains. “We do everything in our power as designers and builders to give the client what they want. But, some things are tricky depending on the budget or space we’re working with. I try to counteract this by working with the client to find the heart of why they want something if it dips out of their range. Instead of the actual piece itself, is it more of the style? The way it accents another element in the room? Whatever it is, I try to delve into the core of what makes it appealing and find a way to bring that same impression while staying in budget.”

Let It Go

When reshaping our homes, we reshape our lives. The way we move, laugh, dance, run, play, work, and share can completely change with the removal of one wall. It can be daunting. Drowning in a sea of details and decisions looms prevalent. Hallman and the team at Willow understand this and emphasize the necessity of being willing to let go. “The homeowner is ready to evolve,” Hallman says, “But they are still grappling with losing certain things about their home that they are afraid of losing. It’s an understandable concern. Our job is to show them that they are ready to live differently in the space they call home. They have to be able to trust us with delivering a space they are comfortable learning to live in. In addition to that, those things that they find valuable and sacred about their home, we try to hone-in on a few of those elements and bring them into the redesign. Their happiness is our main priority.”

Have Fun

At Willow, they call it ‘the fun part’ for a reason. Whether it is a single room, a new section of a home, or an entire estate, the process of evolving your domain should be one of excitement, anticipation for what’s to come, and joyous remembrance of the time you’ve spent in it to this point. With so much going on in the process, taking time to scroll your Instagram to find that perfect dining set for hosting gatherings, or clipping pictures in magazines of that one shade of cream you like, can be a much-needed recess for you and your family.