Hiring an Interior Designer
Interior Designers create residential indoor spaces that are functional and beautiful while carefully considering people’s behavior with a systematic approach to the technical and creative requirements. Crafting a design for a home that is ultimately the clients personal vision and accommodates their daily lives. That being said…Do you want to hire one?
Interior Designers offer a varied and wide range of specialties and services. The scope of a project can be just as broad or narrow from building a new home, to renovating a kitchen, to selecting new furniture and colors schemes. How much involvement your interior designer has in your project is up to you. Take some time to think about what you want to accomplish, budget, and expertise. Comprehensive designs, consultations, project management, sourcing materials and components, rendering, budgeting, or shopping for solutions with a fresh perspective are all services a designer can provide. The benefits of hiring a designer according to clients are many and one of the biggest benefits clients report is time saved. Helping to narrow options, bringing showrooms to you, and staying focused on the big picture are a few others. Sometimes you want a designer to handle it all start to finish while other times you know what you want and just need a little help with the execution. It is so easy to get lost in all of the decisions or feel afraid that you might be opening pandoras box. The right Interior Designer for you and your project is out there.
How much is it going to cost? The rates and budget associated with hiring an Interior Designer should be discussed upfront. If you have never worked with a designer, your designer will be able to estimate and explain their pricing specific to your project. Pricing options and offerings can vary based on the scope of the project and the designer. Billing an hourly rate is most common with a accurate scope and estimate of the time needed to service the project. A flat fee for a specific scope of services and deliverables is also a popular method. The cost plus approach where there is no design fee but a percentage added to the purchases. Projects with a designer should be outlined with a design agreement so both designer and client have a clear understanding of what is being paid for whether a brief consultative appointment or a full scale design.
As with most professional services the best place to find an Interior Designer is a referral or recommendation from trusted friends or professionals you have worked with in the past. If you are in someone’s home and love the way it feels or recognize that it is a true reflection of the owner, compliment them and ask if they used a designer. You may be surprised by the answer.