Professional Interior Designers – To Hire or Not to Hire?
Professional Interior Designers – To Hire or Not to Hire?
So you’re thinking about renovating your home, or maybe even building a new house, and you’re thinking about the parties involved to make this happen. Do you need an architect, an engineer, a contractor? Your next question is, do you really need an interior designer?
Funny enough, as an interior designer I will be the first to tell you: No, you do not NEED an interior designer. I will make my pitch however, for why it’s a good idea to have one.
The Job of an Interior Designer
The Job of an Interior Designer is to:
1) Make sure that not only spaces look beautiful, but that the space functions for the way you’ll live and use the space;
2) Select finishes and materials including, but not limited to: cabinetry, hardware, doors, lighting, paints, tile, trim, furniture and anything you can see and touch;
3) Always be looking for inspiration and creative solutions, and look for the best way to apply them to your unique projects;
4) Understand the client’s individual style and utilize principles that best showcase that style, or help you to hone an undiscovered style;
5) Eliminate pressure on the client to do all of the above.
Architect-Interior Designer Combo
If some of these tasks sound like it overlaps with your architect’s job, that’s because it does. Architects and interior designers work very closely to make sure that the intended design achieves the functional-beauty status. That being said, an architect can design functional, beautiful spaces without the help of an interior designer. Some architects are very skilled at it too. However, not all architects are, and not all architects are willing to do the interior designer’s job of researching and selecting unique finishes that coincide with the client’s vision and/or way of life.
Creativity is Key
An interior designer knows how to look for creative solutions all around them and utilize them in the correct project. Their most important job is to be a creative problem solver. If you don’t use an interior designer will your project have problems? No, probably not. The end result, however, may not live up to its fullest potential. An interior designer is trained to provide a myriad of potential options within the given architectural space, while looking beyond perceived limitations.
Bland vs. Grand
Recently, I have walked into a couple brand new houses and noticed a common theme – dullness. While I might have a higher standard for an ‘exciting interior’ than others, it was the homeowners that pointed out to me areas of their brand new houses that they didn’t like, which is unacceptable. (In a custom home built for the client, the client should love every aspect of the house.)
Had they hired an interior designer, these homeowners would have been able to work through the plan layout with both the architect and interior designer to come up with creative solutions, either to eliminate strange spaces, or to make better use of them. (Wouldn’t it be better to showcase your place by saying “Look at this cool book nook we made with this leftover space!” rather than “We have this strange space that’s too small for a table or chair so we don’t really know what to do with it.”)
A Successful, Worthwhile Investment
Considering the level of investment into your much desired project, whether it’s a renovation or new build, it will be substantial. Generally speaking, home renovations and new construction projects will likely go beyond hundreds of dollars and well into thousands of dollars. Now imagine that after all that you’ve put into your investment, that one favorite piece of furniture that you wanted to keep in your house, doesn’t fit. An interior designer’s job is not only to make sure things fit spatially, but to make sure everything fits and works together design-wise.
Power(P) = Work(W) ÷ Time(t)
(Applies to both Physicists and Interior Designers!)
The most critical reason to hire an interior designer is because they will do the job of coordinating spatial organization, finishes, and furniture design. Without hiring a professional to do it, those efforts and decisions get tasked to the homeowner, which can be very overwhelming, and take away valuable time and effort that could be spent on other activities.
A Home for You
An interior designer’s job is to think of anything and everything that goes into a home, how it functions, how it looks now, and how it will age over time. It is A LOT to think about and if you are up for the challenge, good for you and you should go for it! If you think this sounds overwhelming, hiring an interior designer is a great idea to provide you with the expertise and a range of services. They also can allow you to be as hands-on or hands-off as you want to be in the design process. Either way the result will always be the same – a cohesive design curated specifically for YOU!
