Can you Afford to Hire an Interior Designer?
I know I’m biased, but I honestly believe the world of interior design has blown up in the past decade. With the introduction of social media, came a fascination with beautiful things, and now everyone seems to want an Instagram-worthy or Pinterest-level home to spend their days in. With that, our industry has changed dramatically. Interior design, originally thought to be only for the ultra-rich, has become more and more accessible and desirable for the middle-class.
A few weeks ago, I did a poll on my Instagram stories asking if people have considered working with an interior designer, and if not, why? Overwhelmingly, for those that said “no”, the reason was often related to perception of high cost. I’m here today to set the record straight and let you guys in on a little secret: working with an interior designer doesn’t have to blow your budget and will often cost less than doing a project yourself at the end of the day! That being said, in order to get the most out of your experience, there are a few things to keep in mind, which I’m going to circle back on towards the end of this post. But in the meantime, let’s talk about how we designers can help save you some money.
TIME IS MONEY
I am a firm believer that we all have our areas of expertise and it is so important to focus your time and energy on those specific areas so you can grow both personally and professionally. It took me a while to accept this at first after starting DGI, but I finally made my peace with it when it was a week before our wedding, I had three design presentations to deliver to clients, and half of our apartment was painted…but only half. I had started painting the walls on a whim one weekend but once Monday hit and work took over, I constantly had to prioritize other things over finishing the painting. So, we lived with a half-painted apartment for months, until the week before our wedding when we knew our entire family was coming to town, and a client of ours actually had to use the apartment for a photoshoot. We panicked, and hired someone to come finish the project and get the space ready.
I had never hired a painter before, and what I learned immediately, was that by hiring a professional to handle something I didn’t have the time to do right myself, I freed up so much more time to focus on my own work. I now apply this to almost every area of my life, and it’s made me so much more efficient and happy.
If you too are a believer that “time is money”, this the first example of how a designer can help you save. Let’s get real…furnishing an entire house, or even a condo, is a TON of work, especially if you want to do it right. There are so many details to consider: What size furniture will fit the space best? What size area rugs fit with the furniture layout? What type of fabric should you have on your sofa if you have kids? How do you create a cohesive palette throughout a house? Which light fixtures will work with your space? Where do you even begin with accessories and artwork? What window treatments are right for your room function and window size? Would furniture be better or custom built-ins? Okay, I’ll let it rest now 😊
This doesn’t even begin to cover construction-related projects. If you are doing any type of renovation or new build, PLEASE do yourself a favor and get a professional designer on board. To put it bluntly, “you don’t know what you don’t know”. Why stress yourself out trying to learn everything when you can hire a professional who already knows what they’re doing? Construction is a huge investment, so you want to make sure it’s done right, and done once.
Designers do this type of work every single day. We have formed valuable relationships with vendors, contractors and fabricators and when we take on your project, I guarantee we can do the work 10 times faster and 10 times better than you would be able to do it (no offense!)
Designers typically have libraries that we keep stocked with trusted (and beautifully unique) materials so we’re able to pull together customized palettes for projects faster than most people would be able to do on their own. We’ve also vetted the quality and vendors to ensure you’re getting something you can be proud of.
MISTAKES ARE NOT CHEAP
I once met with a new client that took me into her basement and showed me seven different lounge chairs and two different sofas, just sitting there collecting dust. She had purchased them thinking they would fit the space and work with her home, only to get them in the house and realize they were too big, too uncomfortable, or not the right aesthetic. Yes, this is an extreme example, but these things happen! If you work with a designer, the first thing we do is create a cohesive palette for your project (our team does this with a mood board). In other industries you’d refer to this as a “parti” or an “outline”. By setting a core palette right from the start, we are ensuring that your entire design will tie into the same look and everything we source for the project will work together. From there, we’ll create layout studies, to determine what size furniture we should be sourcing, and at that point, we have a clear plan and know exactly what to source and where to look for the right pieces.
Going back to that “you don’t know what you don’t know” motto, if you do a project on your own, chances are you are going to be making mistakes along the way and learning valuable (and expensive lessons). Designers have learned these lessons already and take the guess-work out of things. We’re able to propose options confidently and know how to execute and deliver exactly what we envision.
Designers deal with construction daily so we know what details to look for that you may not catch on your own. Change-orders during construction become very costly, so working with a designer is invaluable in mitigating them and making the process more efficient overall.
IT PAYS TO BE IN THE TRADE
If you know anyone in the trade industry, you may have heard of a glorious little thing called trade discounts. It’s true, designers typically have trade or wholesale accounts that allow us to purchase furniture and materials at discounted prices. That said, every firm operates differently in their pricing model, so this is an area where I certainly can’t speak for everyone. However, speaking on behalf of DGI, and likely other firms out there, we typically sell product to our clients for less than retail cost, meaning you literally save money by working with a designer. Additionally, designers are able to purchase from vendors that everyday people can’t get access to and that often means you get a MUCH higher quality product for the same price that you would have spent if you just went to West Elm and you won’t end up with the same living room as your neighbor. Who wouldn’t want that?
Ok, I’m getting off my soap-box now to break down some things to keep in mind in order to make the most of the experience/investment.
NOT EVERY PROJECT NEEDS THE SAME LEVEL OF DESIGN
In the residential design world, there are generally three structures for interior design services:
FULL-SERVICE
CONSULTATION BASED
E-DESIGN
Full-service design gives clients the full “interior designer, hands-off” experience. Again, every firm operates differently, but in general, a full-service design firm will propose layouts and palettes, source furnishings and décor, coordinate fabrication/execution for built-ins, custom pieces, and any construction/finishing work to be done, and will also handle all procurement and installation to deliver a finished space for the client to enjoy. In my opinion, you get the most bang-for-your-buck with a full-service designer because you save yourself time, mitigate any opportunities for mistakes, and often get access to trade sources (all three of my points above). That said, full-service projects often require larger budgets just because there is so much involved. In order to really get the most of the experience and make it as beneficial as possible for all parties, you need to have an appropriate amount of money set aside for a full-service project, and a designer can typically guide you with this at the start of a project.
Realistically, not every project is a good fit for a full-service designer. Sometimes, clients simply want a professional to give advice on paint colors or an overall palette for a project and they want to handle the rest on their own or they know they need to keep costs really low for a project. In those cases, a consultation service is probably the best fit, and you can meet with a designer for an hour or two and get what you need. A general rule of thumb would be if your budget is less than $15K per room, this would be the way to go to maximize professional insight without affecting the budget. Alternatively, if you have a similar budget for a project and still want a designer to do the actual sourcing for you, you can go the E-Design route and get a proposed design for a space and a shopping list from a designer for a lower fee, but typically the designer will be pretty hands-off once that design is delivered.
Full-service designers can propose customized design solutions for your home, such a built-ins, which help add value and make your space more functional and special.
I hope this post gave you some clarity on the options that are out there, and why working with an interior designer is ALWAYS a good idea. No matter the size of the project, there’s a professional out there who can help you with it and ultimately save you some money and time so you can focus more on what you do best!
-dgw
