Enter e-Decorating, a budget-friendly, flat-fee based online interior design alternative to traditional, on-site interior design services.

Wondering how e-Decorating works? Here's how face-to-face and web-based compare:

Style and Budget

* An on-site designer helps you define your needs, preferences and budget through on-site consultations. An online designer does the same through a questionnaire, phone consultations and in some cases, services such as Skype.

Inventory, Measuring and Photography *

An on-site designer inventories, measures and photographs your space. An online designer allows you to take your project at your own pace, implementing your purchasing and installation as your budget and time allow.

Pricing

* An on-site designer typically requires a retainer ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 and charges actual project fees at either a flat or hourly rate based on $120 - $200/hour. An online designer charges a flat fee ranging from $250 - $1,000 for a complete room design.

There you have it. If you're on a slim budget, don't mind doing a little leg-work, and like initiating new projects on your own, consider e-Decorating services. Now all that stands in the way is how your differing senses of style will affect the decor of your new place together. This article is going to cover how you can maintain your relationship bliss, while the two of you have very different senses of design. The key is going to be integrating using some very simple design tips to keep it from being tacky and looking like a mishmash of styles.

You do not have to have Beverly Hills decor type of budgets to make this work. Prices will vary widely, with the Beverly Hills decor type of motif and budget on one end and a more affordable interior design style on the other. You can possibly look for clearance type of items or even on Craigslist or eBay. Just be careful not to get a hodge podge of items.

You are also going to need to pick out paint colors together, unless in some miracle the place you're getting is perfectly painted in a way you both already like. You can go to a store like Home Depot or Lowe's and look at swatches. You can also follow my first design tip and do the e-decorating, putting the different colors of paint into the picture of your new place and seeing how they look. Often times, that leaves the man of the house with the opportunity to decorate the garage and the basement.

A husband is usually one of the lesser enthusiastic participants in projects of this nature, so he'll probably be satisfied with these out of the way spots. Besides, no matter how tacky or just plain awful his taste is, for some reason, it seems completely acceptable to have that reflected in a garage or basement. So let the man of the house practice away in those isolated areas of the house where it's easiest to just close the door and forget all about that particular room.

While a variety of design ideas might work well, inconsistent themes under the same roof usually don't. Consistency in the first floor of your home should probably take priority since those most often include the common areas that the majority of your visitors are likely to see, including living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, and the like.