Why You Should Hire an Interior Designer
A professional reveals how using an interior designer can save you time, money, and heartache
Noni Edmunds
20 September 2018
Houzz Australia Contributor. Interior Designer for Style Precinct in Melbourne. Im passionate about creating the living spaces you will truly love and enjoy everyday.
Houzz Australia Contributor. Interior Designer for Style Precinct in Melbourne.... More
There’s no need to suffer the stress and anxiety of project angst, wondering if the tiles you picked will look good. Hire an interior designer to make your dream home a reality and you might just enjoy the journey along the way.
First, let me banish the misconception that an interior designer’s job is primarily adding the finishing touches, including colours, cushions, curtains and a few ‘nice’ things to already finished rooms. The role of an interior designer is much broader and often gets confused with other roles such as stylist, decorator or architect.
A interior designer’s skills are holistic and include spatial planning and floor plan layout including furniture placement, custom joinery design, kitchen and bathroom design, lighting design and electrical plans, selection of interior and exterior (yes exterior as well), colours, materials and fixtures.
All the aspects of a room fall under the expertise of an interior designer including colour and style, furniture selection, design of window treatments and soft furnishings, accessories such as rugs, artwork and decor items that add the finishing details to a space. Even incorporating a treasured personal item or editing existing furniture can form part of the design brief.
Browse more images of marvellous, modern living rooms
Browse more images of marvellous, modern living rooms
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Anyone who has renovated a home or built a new dwelling from scratch knows there are thousands of decisions to be made. At the beginning of the project, your interior designer will listen and discuss your ideas, lifestyle and budget in order to prepare a design brief and scope of works.
Anyone who has renovated a home or built a new dwelling from scratch knows there are thousands of decisions to be made. At the beginning of the project, your interior designer will listen and discuss your ideas, lifestyle and budget in order to prepare a design brief and scope of works.
A design concept is developed using mood boards showing key elements and style direction. Once this stage is complete, your designer can begin to make selections and complete any design drawings with your lifestyle and budget in mind.
Most important, an interior designer is a skilled professional who will integrate the whole design from the front fence to beyond the back door. They also include selections of everything in between, from flooring to window furnishings, to ensure all the details work well together.
Selections and specifications are documented by your interior designer and communicated to your builder or project manager so the project can progress seamlessly and efficiently.
Save money
Your interior designer will guide you where to spend your money wisely. Experienced designers are able to choose the best value-for-money finishes and advise where to splurge for future return. Listen to your interior designer’s advice to prevent expensive mistakes that are costly to fix.
Your interior designer will guide you where to spend your money wisely. Experienced designers are able to choose the best value-for-money finishes and advise where to splurge for future return. Listen to your interior designer’s advice to prevent expensive mistakes that are costly to fix.
In order to have a finger on the pulse in regards to the latest colours and materials, interior designers visit trade shows and previews before the products appear in suppliers’ showrooms. This ensures the most up-to-date selections will add years of value to the expensive areas of kitchen and bathroom fit-outs.
While it might be tempting to buy a product greatly reduced in price, your interior designer will be able to tell you if it is a wise purchase. Many building materials and furnishings are sold at clearance prices when they are superseded or outdated. Using the most current products and colour palettes will give your home long-lasting good looks as well as add value.
Interior designers can save you from wasting money on furnishings and furniture that are unsuitable, the wrong style or size, or poorly manufactured. They also have access to trade suppliers and can specify custom furniture with competitive pricing to suit your size and comfort requirements.
Save heartache
Interior designers have a skill set and trained eye to visualise how a space will look with selected finishes, materials and colours in an existing space or from reviewing plan drawings.
They also understand building code requirements – a vital skill to ensure the compliance of your project.
Interior designers have a skill set and trained eye to visualise how a space will look with selected finishes, materials and colours in an existing space or from reviewing plan drawings.
They also understand building code requirements – a vital skill to ensure the compliance of your project.
Combining function with form or aesthetic design is a priority for achieving the best outcomes, which interior designers are trained in. Professionals stay informed of new innovations with industry seminars and often have first-hand experience of a material’s suitability across different applications.
Taking advantage of natural light and assessing the best flow of floor plans are integral parts of good design that an interior designer focuses on.
Bright Ideas: How To Light Up Your Home’s Interiors Naturally
Bright Ideas: How To Light Up Your Home’s Interiors Naturally
Interior designers have networks of reliable and excellent contractors and suppliers who they can recommend. This will help you save money by preventing costly delays and substandard work.
Live your dream
Most importantly, Interior designers are experts at giving your home wow-factor and delivering the space you dream of. We are experts at combining colour combinations that work and using space to the best advantage.
Most importantly, Interior designers are experts at giving your home wow-factor and delivering the space you dream of. We are experts at combining colour combinations that work and using space to the best advantage.
Your builder or project manager will be able to make timely ordering for specified items and avoid the last minute heartache of unavailable stock and any delays that affect construction.
Our address books contain many direct wholesaler contacts and workrooms that create unique, individual items with competitive pricing.
Professional training in design equips us with the knowledge and tools to work with various styles of architecture and decoration to create superior style.
Roots of Style: How Did Your Australian Home Get Its Look?
Roots of Style: How Did Your Australian Home Get Its Look?
For the best outcome, seek out an interior designer early in your project. Interior designers are experts at collaborating with other professionals including architects, builders, contractors and landscape designers. Creating your dream home to love and enjoy is our passion.
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Find an interior designer near you
If you enjoyed reading this, tell us why in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, like this story, and join in the conversation.
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Find an interior designer near you
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Hi Magdazine,
In my experience I have found that I bring a lot more value to the table then you would think. As I get Trade Prices, anywhere from 10% to 45% on full retail price and extra on sale items for any items I purchase on behalf of my client, this saving is passed on directly to the client.
I do not charge a fee for this so have found that whatever is saved on purchasing furniture and decor pieces is always more then my fee for the entire project.
This saving can be thousands of dollars in my clients pockets would not be achievable by them directly so I would say I add a lot of extra value to my clients.
Recently I did a small project for a client, my fee was $950 but the total money saved for purchasing of furniture and decor was over 3.5K. I think that is a pretty substantial saving and over 25% off the retail price.
I'm sure value is a different thing to different people but my clients get a lot for their money.
Hope that answered your question.
MKG
Magdazine, all designers charge differently based on their service style - and all jobs are different because everyone requires different levels of decorating, or design work. Therefore it's hard to ball park, but a few hundred would be a start point, up into thousands. Some designers have large minimum requirements, others do not. It also depends on the demographic they appeal to, experience, and professional associations.
I am surely biased, but designers should be viewed as an investment service. E.g
1. They can save you from making costly errors or spending good money on lacklustre selections
2. A quality designer would design with longevity in mind, so that in years to come your home stands the test of time (helps with re-sale). For example, I designed this kitchen 17 years ago on a budget, and it holds up well now.
3. Some (not all) designers may pass on trade discounts to offset the cost of their services. Others are focussed on providing advice only, and leave you to purchase.
None of this helps if like Alfred, you get bad service. My advice is to research the designer as you would any other home professional, ask questions, and read the Houzz reviews!
All valid points above from fellow interior designers. We all strive to direct your money to being well spent adding value to your property for the longer term and really getting a wow factor which will translate in either you loving your home or a potential buyer. And dont forget we have an insight into what the market wants from our industry connections as well as access to trade pricing.