Should You Hire An Interior Designer?

Wednesday, June 28, 2017
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So you've decided that your home could use a makeover . Maybe you want to convert one room into something else, or you simply want to try out a new design because you’re bored with the current one. The question that will pop up eventually is this: should you hire an interior designer?

I asked my friend Allison who is an interior designer to help sort out the good and the bad for us. Allison started her carerr working for a large furniture retailer but now owns her own design business. She's seen all sorts of situations and budgets, and makes cases for both hiring and not hiring a professional to help.


CONS
The first thing you’re probably thinking about is the sheer expense. While not all designers price their services similarly, most will cost you quite a bit of money. It’s worth doing your research to compare prices and services and to determine if any are willing to discount their services. But, generally, interior designers are fairly expensive. They offer a skill set and expertise that most of people don't inherently have. And that means people are willing to pay.

Interior designers bring a lot of knowledge to the table, but is it all really knowledge you can’t get yourself? Everyday in my business I see ways that my clients could have shaved some costs of my services by doing something simple on their own. Try to learn as much as you can prior to the project so that you can do as much work on your own. DIY home improvement is big business these days, and there are plenty of resources available online to help you. Check out this website, for example; it’s pretty clear that it’s not too difficult to find a rug that will really tie the room together. There’s also a bunch of design software available online that allow us to make schematics and 3D models of the homes we have in mind.

PROS
The fact is that most interior designers have earned their right to charge a fairly pricey sum.  They have experience, credentials, and an educational background in interior design. They know and understand the inner workings of home decorating, schematics, and general aesthetics that most of us don't possess.

Don't underestimate interior designers. They have knowledge of construction processes; they speak the language of architecture; they adept at cost estimates. If you try to do a design overhaul yourself, you may end up making mistakes that will cost you an exorbitant amount to fix. Plus, they’re flexible and want to work with you to achieve your overall goal; if you want to have one of those rugs in your home, then they’re going to find a way to work with it!

Not every home project is going to require an interior designer, nor is any given designer guaranteed to make you happy. But you should always go over your options very carefully instead of assuming you should accept or dismiss the help of an interior designer from the offset.

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