Green Room Interiors is run by a lovely woman, Tania, who is friendly, funky and accommodating to my needs. She provides an excellent creative interior decorating service that is responsive to my goals and personal style. She has high standards, and she's solicitous without being insincere. The business has upscale clients, but there's nothing snooty about it. Tania is so helpful and friendly that you never feel intimidated.

I knew approximately what I wanted, but I had no idea how to achieve it. I tend to choose safe and boring options on my own, so I wanted someone to push me to take some calculated risks. Tania's task was to make my ideas more modern and useable, recommend some interesting pieces that I'd never think of or find on my own, help me choose colours and items that wouldn't date quickly, and create some long-lasting comfortable spaces for my teenaged family.

Together we've completely remodeled two back rooms (one was a huge job involving removing a bar and plastering over brick) and partially changed a front room. I've also put new outside doors into two rooms, added a pergola and soon I plan to repaint the eaves, fascias and some windows outside.

Tania has great colour-matching skills, and her suggestions for my home have all enhanced my original ideas or given me new things to consider.

She also has good industry contacts, so I've been able to ring her for suggestions on service personnel and she emails me back quickly. Her suggestion of cabinetmaker for some shelving was brilliant, and her painter has been excellent.

My home feels luxurious now, without breaking my budget, and the compliments have flowed for months after each new change.

I've been working with Tania for nearly two years now, with some periods of intense work and many months of no contact in between. She's happy to let the client come and go depending on schedule, thus she charges per appointment rather than one large up-front fee, which suits my chaotic lifestyle and my moderate budget.

I'm looking forward to asking Tania to help me update my kitchen next!

Approximate cost: $90/hr