Designing the Interior of your home can be fun. But not always. The green paint two shades too yellow. The armchair that’s few inches too short. The wall painting that, somehow, should just be better. These seemingly simple slip-ups can be enough to throw off the design of an entire room and therefore make a good case for outsourcing the design of one’s home to a professional Interior Designer.
But the process of hiring an Interior Designer can be daunting, especially if you don’t have any experience in this field. We asked MsME Interior Design, a leading Interior Design firm based in Miami, FL. to walk us through the process of hiring an Interior Designer for your next project.
Ask your Friends and Relatives!
According to Helen Coulston, a well-known Interior Designer, the best way to begin is by asking your friends or relative whose Interior Design you admire and checking out your local design magazines. Once the suggest any names, try to gather as much information as you can about them. Also, once you find someone whose aesthetic is a good fit for your own and feels right for your home, call them and talk to them. It is really important.
Do a Background check
Once you have shortlisted some designers that fit your bill, do a background check. Know about their specialisation, projects they have worked on, people they have worked with, people they have worked under if any, and their experience.
Check their previous work, if any.
This is very important. Know what are the areas they specialise in and how good they are at implementing new ideas and overcoming challenges. Not just that, you can even ask them to take you on-site visit of some of their previous works. In this phase, try to understand their working style and whether or not they are capable of working within a budget and also, timelines.
Be Specific
Write down certain things that could act as a filter when making the decision. You can start with deciding on the look, the budget and the timelines. All these could be critical and even connected to each other. You don’t want a situation where you get into discussions and at a certain point of work find the timelines too long. Therefore create the time chart in the beginning itself and communicate this with the designer.
Finding Interior Designers
People need Interior Designers for different purposes. The best way to start would be to ask friends or relatives. Else, one could look for them online or approach design schools. Another key source could be Interior Design magazines and blogs that talk about architecture and design. Shortlist the ones that fit your list of filters. This way you would have a many to choose from.
Discuss the budget clearly with the designers
Once you are convinced with their working style and portfolio, talk about the cost. Some designers give a fixed quote and some have variable pricing. Discuss the budget you have set and if the designer is willing to work in it, negotiate on services they can and cannot offer after clearly telling them what you need. If the budget is good to go, ask about the payment process and timeline beforehand. Always try to finalize the deal with the designer at a cost which is less than the budget you have set for your self. You never know about miscellaneous costs.
Share your design sensibilities with the designer
It is always good to ensure that you and your designer can work in sync. You must be having a general idea about the final design. Share your initial conceptualisation of the home with the designers and let them come up with ideas they think would fit well in the home and the challenges that could come along in implementing those ideas. A good designer is always one who is flexible and tries to fit your sensibilities along with their designs.
Conclusion
Find a designer after a thorough background check and after talking to as many as you can. Ask questions like “What ideas do you have for my home? How can I live better and more comfortably? How do I make this home feel like a home my kids will want to return to?’
Ideate and discard ideas that don’t match your conceptualization. Decide your budget and clearly convey it to the designer before the project begins but be a little flexible with your budget if possible. If you hire a professional interior designer who knows the trade inside out, you can set your budget for your ideas at basically any number you’re comfortable with and the designer will come up with a customized solution.
Indeed, every designer has unique style of working and a different way of pricing the work they do. Some charge an hourly rate which could range from anywhere from $100 to $500 per hour, a flat fee, or a percentage of the project costs.
However, with the advent of various online platforms and the competition that this sector has witnessed, the Interior Design is becoming more affordable and transparent and yet profitable for designers.
According to the experts at MsME Interior Design, “It’s our job to really get to know the client and how they want to live in their space, so anything they can tell us about their style or what they’ve always dreamed of for their interior by showing us tears or pictures is helpful. We collect all of the evidence we can get our hands on and go from there. Aside from the aesthetics, which is a given, we also try to get a feel for what they are hoping for at an emotional level, and what sort of process they want; whether it is something they want to be deeply involved in or something they’re just hoping to get done quickly.”
