5 Benefits of Working With an Interior Designer

Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you’re doing well. On today’s blog I’ll talk about the benefits of working with an interior designer to shed some light into one of the most recurring questions I’ve had - whether having a designer by your side through a home project is worth the upfront cost or should you consider tackling the project on your own.

In summary, there are 5 key benefits of involving an interior designer in your project. A good interior designer:

1) STREAMLINES PLANNING

One of the main reasons for hiring an interior designer is that you will get a clear and comprehensive project timeline that includes all the steps, and timelines between each. This gives you a view of the project from start to finish and is a great way to gauge what is a realistic project duration vs going in completely blind sided or informed by contractors’ opinions. There are typically 4 phases for a “full service” (in the interior design world, this is the most comprehensive project service), which are: Design Concept, Design Detail, Procurement+Build, and Completion Phase. Depending on the design service you purchase, the phases break off at certain parts, so within those there are additional steps and timelines to be considered. By involving an interior designer, you leverage all of the planning knowledge that a professional has and that is only acquired through expertise and practice. As a result, you have clarity on steps, scope, timeline, and budget. 

2) ALLEVIATES STRESS

Alleviating stress is another great reason to hire an interior designer. Think of your interior designer as your liaison, design professional to bounce ideas off of, and design project manager. You’ll be guided through your project and will have the opportunity to get answers, suggestions, and solutions for your project. A lot of the stress comes from not knowing what your space will look like, not sure what design direction to take, and whether the materials you are selecting will work together nicely. This is when having a designer by your side becomes hugely beneficial because you’ll get the support you need to visualize how the space will look with certain colors, materials, furnishings, and fixture selections (e.g. through 2D or 3D renders). Therefore, a designer will give you peace-of-mind and will often give you the opportunity to identify things that aren’t working and make timely and well-guided adjustments. 

3) SAVES TIME

Trust me, handling a home renovation project on your own isn’t easy. It’s very time consuming, and you can quickly go down a rabbit hole of bad decision after bad decision of which it may be difficult (or costly) to emerge. Hiring an interior designer can help you take care of things that you've never even thought of, such as:

• Develop electrical plans so that your electrician isn't guessing where to install new J-boxes.

• Create design technical drawings and explain what needs to be done when questions arise in a way that won’t confuse contractors.

• Source - it takes hours finding all the pieces that work together and make the room look designed. An interior designer has resources and knows where to go for quality pieces. On top, these pieces may oftentimes be purchased at a designer discount.

In summary, all of the tasks that go into making a house a home are very time consuming, especially if you've never done them before. Having an interior designer on your team will ensure your time is well spent and not wasted over the myriad of things that inevitably come up in a renovation project.

4) AVOIDS COSTLY MISTAKES

Not only is an interior designer great in helping you narrow down a design direction and ensuring timelines are met to deliver a beautiful design, but a designer’s contribution may result in substantial amounts of money saved when it comes to the construction / implementation phase. This is because your interior designer can also provide the proper technical drawings for your contractors that may or may not include floor plans for specifying tiling and wood direction, paint schedules, lighting and electrical plans, reflected ceiling plans, and custom millwork (if you're having custom work done). These documents are crucial to communicating your design, instead of leaving it to the contractor’s imagination. This gives your contractors and subcontractors clear direction and will save you big money, as amending construction mistakes tend to generate re-work involving incremental labor hours and the need to source additional materials. 

5) ASSURES RESULTS

The most visible benefit of hiring an interior designer is the end result. Working with an interior designer will help you bring together the right colors, materials, and styling pieces that go harmoniously together. You’ll have a space that is consistent with your design style, on budget, and well designed, meaning all interior design core elements (focal point, alignment, scale, balance) are on point. As a result, once all is done, you’ll feel the “wow” factor of a professionally designed space.

With this said, and coming back to the question I’ve most often been asked, is an interior designer worth the additional upfront cost? I truly believe that each one of us has different goals and value things differently, so it would be impossible for me to attempt to answer the question in a way that would apply to all readers. However, for those that value the benefits described above, it is definitely worth exploring options to bring an interior designer on board for your next project.

Thank you for reading my blog, and I can’t wait to see you again next week. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out via my contact page.

Until next time!

Janiece