5 Cool Reasons To Hire an Interior Designer

440 440 Velvet

Much too often people wonder and ask: “Do I really need an interior designer/stylist/architect?” Will hiring an interior designer save me any money? As a matter of fact a reader asked that very question last week, while seeking advice for her newly bought home. Therefore, I thought I write an open letter, hoping to address this question in a short and sweet manner without an in-depth analysis at this time. The truth of the matter is that there are a lot of design conscious people out there with a refined taste with beautifully decorated homes carefully curated by themselves; almost always a by-product of time evolution.

A board with lots cut-outs in a collage. An inspiration board

Undoubtedly, home decorating magazines were (and in some cases still are) one of the best inspiration sources. Every single client of mine has gone through magazines like ELLE Decor,Β ELLE Decoration, House Beautiful, Lonny,Β El Mueble and so many others long before they decided to walk through the door and seek a consultation. Likewise, there’s a plethora of interior design blogs (some of which even post on a daily basis) making it even easier to reach a broader audience of people, while sparking their imagination with countless possibilities.

The greatest thing about all these sources is that they foster a design consciousness to a much bigger pool of people than ever before. Interestingly enough, more people are turning to hiring a designer for professional help. But even when they do, first time clients are never entirely certain of what to expect from a designer. So, let me simplify things for you.

Designers & their Creative Process

To make a long story short, a rule of thumb to remember is that interior designers (or architects/stylists/decorators) are creative people who get a kick out of creating beautiful and interesting spaces that have a story to tell. They thrive on creativity juices as they navigate through a creative mess. It’s not about the perfect space; hell no – that’s utterly boring and to be fair, quite subjective!

However, it’s about creating a living space with character and poise that evokes pleasant feelings. They seek to turn a bunch of chaotic ideas and functional requirements into an image that can later come to life – a design drawing. That image serves as the foundation of every very new project that you’ll be working on together with your designer. But for a successful outcome three things are required:

Space

Give them space to challenge your comfort zones and opinions. They need to feel that you’re open to their ideas. Besides, without challenging your mindset there’s a chance that a whole lot of good ideas will be overlooked. Let an idea grow and flourish before rejecting it.

Time

Give them enough time to research and plan. I don’t think I can emphasize this enough. Good planning ahead is huge. It saves mounts of frustration, anxiety attacks, misunderstandings and a whole lot of time and money in overall.

Givens

Please don’t let them guess! It’s quite disheartening to come up with a concept only to have it rejected later, because it was based solely on guesswork. Have an open conversation with the designer from the beginning. Confide in them your deepest desires. Let them know of the “givens.” Let them know where you’ve been and where you want to go. If they “get” you, then they have a great starting point to work from there and tailor the design scheme to suit your lifestyle and needs.

Similarly, don’t be disheartened if you don’t understand their gibberish or they show you a sketch on a notepad and leave you feeling clueless! It takes them a while to start sorting things out before any of it begins to feel like a real concept. They’re rehearsing it! Take me for example…I always have two planners and yet, I will sketch things or write notes on any piece of paper I find in front of me. Naturally, I end up with a hopelessly huge pile papers on my desk! πŸ™‚ But it’s part of the creative process.

5 Reasons for Hiring an Interior Designer

So, what’s the coolest thing about a designer? The one thing that stands out? EDITing ability. That’s right! Any creative process has a whole lot of editing. It’s also probably the hardest attribute to explain, because I think it’s mostly an innate quality, a talent, that gets refined over the years through practice.

3D render of an all white minimal contemporary kitchen done for a client.
3D render of an all white minimal contemporary kitchen done for a client.

It’s quite possible for a lot of people to pull together a fairly decent decorating scheme if almost everything bought is anew. Imagine buying a new sofa, new armchairs, coffee table, shelves, consoles and so on, all in one space. How wrong can that go? Not very for most. It’s actually a little too hard not to get it right.

Still, people’s scheme might fail in the long run when they try to edit their life’s belongings. That’s the challenging part. Which of your possessions do you keep? Which ones will match/or not your new furnishings? Believe me, that’s when you need a designer’s editing ability to make sense of it all – to connect the dots sort of speaking. Because they will:

1. Streamline, your wishlist in terms of both budget and style.

Super important! How often did you go shopping with one thing in mind and ended up with many other things that did not cut it in the long run? (Wrong style, wrong color, wrong size, didn’t match…etc)? Join the club if it was more than once! To think of all that money wasted on things that you’ve regretted. So, a designer is your super cool new friend that will cut down your wishlist and help you shop the best buys your money can buy and of course, save you tons of money in the long run.

2. Keep you focused and aligned to your project’s aim.

It’s so easy to get carried away and squander unnecessarily money here and there before you realize that “too much of it has gone done the drain.” Hiring an interior designer can steer you clear from making the wrong decisions.

3. Help you elaborate and evolve YOUR style.

They can show you how to pick up on the little details that make the difference between good and fabulous living and appreciate them. Basically, they will flourish and celebrate your style.

4. A designer will guide you to do things in a “right order.”

Should you buy rugs or artwork first? Do you buy your lighting before or after you’ve furnished your space? Should you place the sofa against the wall or create an island? Perhaps, some of these questions have obvious answers, but there’s a whole lot of other questions that pop up while working on your home improvement project that have never crossed your mind. So, a great designer will guide you through the process in an effort to minimize the uncertainties and unknown factors and make sensible decisions in an orderly fashion in order to avoid mishaps.

5. Exposes you to new resources.

You definitely knew several home decor stores. But there are so many more that your designer knows of that you probably never heard of before. The cool thing about this exposure is that eventually, you actually experience the creative process as it unfolds before your eyes and at the same time it broadens your comfort zones. It is a fun process after all!

A final word

All projects aside their size, can work out effortlessly with the right kind of help in terms of space planning, color scheme, layering and recommendations that can instantly upgrade your property. Therefore, the answer to the first question is “Yes! You do need one!” Hiring an interior designer is a sound investment. Because design is all in the details. Therefore, look for the one that you feel comfortable with and has a great sense of editing.

Please know that I’m always happy to read your mails with your questions and I will try to answer them all (sooner or later). So ask away…

XO,

Velvet signature
24 comments
  • I really like what you said about not leaving the designer guessing and having an open conversation with them about your deepest desires. This is totally true and something that is really important, in my opinion, when it comes to good interior design. Hopefully, I can find a good designer that I can hire soon to help me out.

  • I owe you for the wonderful article. I am very much confuse about on what base should I select an interior designer for my apartment and how can I get to know what should be the appropriate charges for the same.

  • Thanks for pointing out that planning ahead will save frustration and time when working on interior design. The living room in my home looks like it belongs in the 80’s, and I would like to work on it so that it has more of a modern feel. I’ll be sure to work with professionals to start planning on how I can update my living room’s interior design.

  • I just wanted to thank you for going over some reasons to get an interior designer. I’m glad that you mentioned that they can help you find a style that is personal to you. This seems like it’s really important if you want something unique to what your lifestyle is, so it’s probably important you discuss this with them early on in a project.

  • I love where you said that a good interior designer will guide you through the process and make sure you are doing things in the most efficient order possible. My husband and I just bought our first home and I am wanting to make sure the inside looks just as good as the outside. Since I am not very good at putting a room together I am wanting to hire an interior designer to come help me get the room designs I’m looking for.

  • Hello, thanks for the advice , we are planning to renovate our apartment & it helped us.. plz share more information.

  • I would absolutely love for the look of my house to get a makeover, but I’m not very good when it comes to design or budget. I liked how you pointed out that hiring an interior designer could actually save me money in the long run on my interior home decor. I wouldn’t mind hiring an interior designer specifically just so I don’t have to keep spending money on decor in the future!

  • I can see why an interior designer is a good idea. We want to remodel our entire inside, but I just don’t have the time to do it. However, we’d have no problem giving a professional enough time to plan it out and do the redesign.

  • It is always nice to have another set of eyes scanning your home and judging what design theme would fit the best, thanks for sharing!

  • It is Good Article !! After reading this I am sure people start hiring professional interior designer

  • Hello Thanks for sharing the tips that helped me a lot. The tips are great and will really help me and many other

  • Thanks Angela! Stay in touch for more! πŸ™‚

  • I like that you mentioned how hiring a designer or decorator can evolve your style and not just replace it. You don’t have to abandon all your ideas, instead just collaborate with them. This can help you reach your goals and find the perfect look.

    • Thank you Kenneth! I truly believe that a great design is a result of fusing ideas (both the client’s and the designer’s) and relentless editing to reach the goal. πŸ™‚

  • I like that you mention that a good interior designer can keep you focused on your project and help you accomplish what you are striving for. My husband and I just bought a property and we’ve been thinking about what we want to do for our home that we’re going to build. An interior designer will be really helpful in helping us with our plans.

    • Most definitely! A good designer will plan carefully all your ideas in a drawing that will capture the essence of your vision while steering you clear from all the “pitfalls.” Therefore, I strongly recommend that you do use a designer and turn your newly bought property into your heaven! Best of luck! Looking forward to hear about your progress! πŸ™‚

  • Pole barn construction January 3, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Thank you for publishing this awesome article. I’m a long time reader but
    I’ve never been compelled to leave a comment.

    • I’m glad that you finally did and continue to do so in the future, too! It makes me happy to know your thoughts about my posts. πŸ™‚

  • Basically, an interior designer would be great in helping you edit your design and make your ideas into seamless reality as you’ve mentioned. That is wonderful to learn as we were just thinking about changing our home’s design as we’re getting bored with it. We’ll be sure to maximize the availability of an interior designer to help us find the perfect theme that could last for years. Thanks!

    • That’s exactly my point Vivian. A great design is invisible and it is all about a seamless reality that will showcase the best of you! I’m really glad that you’re considering using a designer for your new project. I wish you all the very best! Let me know how it works out for you. Happy New Year! πŸ™‚

  • I liked how you mentioned that you should give the designer some space to challenge your comfort zones and opinions with different ideas. My friend has been thinking about hiring a designer and she is very reserved. I think if she does hire an interior designer, she should let the designer help her push some designs and ideas. I think she will find something she really likes if she does!

    • I think so too! A designer can surely explore various possibilities and turn them into feasible ideas and designs. So my unsolicited advice to your friend is to go for it. He/she should hire one because it’s always well worth looking into new possibilities. πŸ™‚

  • Very helpful! Thanks for the tips!

Comments are closed.

Our website uses cookies, in order to provide a better user experience. Review and define your Privacy Preferences or agree to our use of cookies.