Danielle and her husband Derek fought hard to snag a coveted piece of San Francisco real estate; after an intense search, the newlyweds finally secured their starter apartment. Free from the limitations of renting, they obsessed over how awesome their new place would look. Even though they were feeling house poor, Danielle and Derek were also ready to invest in a few improvements and décor pieces that would result in a cool new "grown-up" style more appropriate for this next chapter.

However, turning those awesome ideas and multiple Pinterest boards into a reality turned to be a much bigger and stressful project than they anticipated. It seemed nearly impossible to find a cohesive style that combined their two styles, the amount of decisions that had to be made was overwhelming, and the different layout alternatives worked better on paper than in person, which caused Danielle and Derek to question their budget and priorities daily. What started off as an easy and fun project turned into a much bigger operation that was creating a lot of friction between them. They finally realized why many people turn to professionals to help them navigate this process and keep them out of marriage counseling! But they knew they needed an alternative to the traditional model since they didn't really have much time or a large budget to spare.

Enter San Francisco-based InteriorCrowd, a company that connects residential or commercial clients with an extensive network of up-and-coming Bay Area designers to tackle any type of home or office project—big or small. Derek and Danielle began the process on InteriorCrowd's online platform, completing a style survey that allowed each to express their style, share their Pinterest boards, give a ballpark for their budget, and describe their project. After spending a small fee of $99, they began to receive personalized concept boards from multiple Bay Area designers who, over the course of 7 days, shared their creative vision and enthusiasm for the project.

Out of all the submissions, Helene's concepts especially resonated with the couple, and after choosing her as the winning designer they met with her in-person to discuss her process and basic recommendations for completing the project. After their meeting, Helene provided them a quote for the number of hours of her time it would take to finalize the elevation plans for the small kitchen remodel, finesse the layout plans for living room, and put together a combination of essential furniture, art and décor pieces that would help Danielle and Derek take their style to the next level. A lot of the planning took place on the InteriorCrowd platform, which acted as a central hub for communication, collaboration, and ultimately shopping once all the decisions had been finalized. And after 2 months of working with Helene, Danielle and Derek's dream home was finally a reality!

Are you ready to take the next step towards a beautiful, functional home or office space that you will feel proud of? Go to interiorcrowd.com to get started today.