Book Nook - Don't Start Without Me: Your Personal Design Project Planner and Organizer

Danielle Nicholson knows what it takes to make a house feel like a home. She was exposed to design early on — inspired by her grandfather, a respected architect who began his career in Belgium before immigrating to Canada, and her mother, who had a natural eye for interiors.

Now with more than 18 years of expertise across all facets of interior design - from furnishings and décor to full-scale renovations and new builds - she noticed something all her Danielle Nicholson Design clients needed: a single, comprehensive workbook for managing every renovation from idea to completion.

I had a chance to see a copy of this work book, Don't Start Without Me: Your Personal Design Project Planner and Organizer. The book holds everything homeowners need to stay organized and keep track of your budget and schedule. The planning phase is critical, and this workbook helps walk through those early stages, making sure that ideas, measurements, and final decisions are all written down. It helps people to work on the project in logical stages, which prevents conflict and feelings of being overwhelmed, as well as expensive mistakes and multiple trips to a hardware store.

“When you don’t have a plan and you’re doing things on a whim, you typically live with regrets,” Nicholson said. “I firmly believe the key to good design comes down to one crucial — and most overlooked — practice: time and planning. Planning doesn't start when the project starts. It starts when you’re still dreaming about it.”

You can learn more in this interview.

-What was the inspiration behind this book?

Over the years, watching people try and design their space without a real plan. Collecting flyers, pinning images on Pinterest, tearing out pictures from magazines, and no real place to start planning. I made it for anyone building, renovating, decorating or simply dreaming about a future space they want to create beautifully and intentionally. 

-What are some things that people often overlook when starting a renovation project?

I know it sounds like I keep hammering it home but the beginning stage, which is the planning stage is the most overlooked. For example, right now we are in the spring heading into summer and most people would think well I’m focussed on the outdoors right now, and will worry about my living room or kitchen in the fall. That is exactly the problem. You can’t start thinking about your project when you actually want to complete your project... If you’re thinking fall, winter, Christmas, now is when you should be collecting your thoughts, your idea ideas and you’re planning. This way when you’re ready to start your project, you will not feel so overwhelmed.

-Why is the planning stage so vital?

The planning stage is so important because it gives you more control over the project. Planning now helps to have a smoother process so you’re not making decisions on the spot. The hope is to alleviate some of the pressure and stress when you’re working through the renovation process because you’ve come to the table with knowledge and are prepared. It will leave you with less regrets or hopefully no regrets so you’re not installing things that you didn’t really want but chose that at the last minute or because it was the only thing available in stock. These are all things I want to help people avoid by planning ahead with Don’t Start Without Me.