the effortless edit

Behind the scenes of creating personalized, collected spaces—without sacrificing function, comfort, or timeless style.

Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

When to Hire an Interior Designer for Your Custom Build

Early Involvement Matters. Hiring an interior designer early on is better for better space planning and layout optimization, cohesive material selections that align with the architecture, and avoiding costly changes due to overlooked design details. The bottom line is that when you hire an interior designer ealry on, you will benefit the most from a well planned, beautifully executed home.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

2025 Interior Paint Trends to Incorporate in Your Home

As we step into 2025, interior paint trends are taking a bold yet soothing turn, embracing rich earth tones, soft pastels, and deep, moody hues. This year’s colors are all about creating a sense of warmth, tranquility, and personal expression in our homes. Whether you’re drawn to the grounding effect of Earthy Ochre, the serene beauty of Muted Sage, or the dramatic depth of Deep Currant, there’s a perfect shade to refresh your space. These trending hues reflect a shift toward nature-inspired palettes, sustainability, and timeless elegance, making them ideal for both modern and classic interiors.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

From Floorplan to Final Touches: My Approach to Family-Focused Interiors

Family homes can be the most rewarding homes to design. Because a thoughtfully designed home enhances and increases precious moments with your people. In fact, when you have a space you love, with comfortable furniture encouraging lingering conversation and functional storage keeping clutter at bay, you’re suddenly free to soak up more intentional, quality time together. When building your forever home with your family, you want to make the most out of your investment. Your investment starts long before any furniture is selected. I approach designing family focused interiors with one thought in mind ----great design begins in the blueprint.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

How I Approach Space Planning for Active, Growing Families

Welcome back to another week of our BTS series focusing specifically about how I approach space planning for active growing families. In one of our previous posts, The Foundation to a Successful Interior Design Project, I highlighted how space planning can make or break a design project. Today though, I want to get a littel bit more narrow on our focus on how space planning can impact clients on a day to day perspective.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

BTS Part 2: How I Approach Family Kitchen Design

The kitchen is the heart of the home - especially in family homes. This is the place where families gather to cook their favorite dishes while creating memories that will last a lifetime. The way I approach kitchens is by thinking, "How is this space going to work functionally for my client's specific family needs?" and "Will it encourage family memories?" At the end of the day, every surface in the kitchen needs to work together to craft family connections in the heart of the home.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

BTS Design, Part 1: How I Approach Kid Spaces

elcome to the first part of my BTS Design series! I want to take you all inside my brain as I discuss how I approach and design kid spaces. This blog post is going to be focusing on infant through school aged children. Let's get started on four key things I think about when designing kid friendly spaces for my interior design clients.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

How to Choose the Right Kitchen and Bathroom Hard Finishes for a Beautifully Lived In Family Home

After walking through the pros and cons of these popular finishes, I hope you feel a bit more confident about selecting the right options for your kitchen and bathroom. For a busy family, practicality and durability are just as important as style. Whether you love the perfectly imperfect patina of unlacquered brass, the rich warmth of oil-rubbed bronze, or even the eco-friendly charm of copper, there’s a finish out there that can meet both your design dreams and your daily demands. At the end of the day, it’s about creating a home that looks great while embracing the chaos of family life.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

The Most Rewarding Parts About Being an Interior Designer

Seeing the joy and relief on a client’s face when their vision becomes a reality is a feeling like no other. Whether it’s designing a timeless, functional home that simplifies daily life, creating spaces that foster deeper family connections, or bringing new life to old spaces, each project offers the chance to make a meaningful impact. The pride of knowing my designs will be part of my clients' stories for years to come is what fuels my passion for this work.

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

The Foundation to a Successful Interior Design Project: Space Planning

Ultimately, space planning sets the tone for the entire project. It’s like creating the “bones” of a space before adding the “skin,” which includes the colors, textures, and accessories that bring the design to life. While it’s tempting to jump straight into picking out fabrics or paint colors, taking the time to develop a strong space plan ensures the design is both beautiful and functional from the start. So, if you’re thinking about a redesign, start by rethinking your space—you’ll be surprised by the difference it makes!

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Esther Ellard Esther Ellard

Creating a Beautiful Difference: The Core Values That Shape Effortless Designs

Creating a Beautiful Difference. As Effortless Designs approaches another year, I realized that I had never done a blog post about the core values of my business. It is great to learn design insights and share all about what we are accomplishing in the day to day, but sometimes, it is good to pause, reflect, and meditate on what makes Effortless Designs a truly unique business. Grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, curl up on the sofa, and read what I hope will be a heartfelt outpouring of my heart embedded into the core values of my business.

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