When Should You Hire An Interior Designer?
Without question I can tell you that the best time to hire an interior designer is BEFORE you buy any new furniture. Some clients are looking for a refresh, some have a room that has given them trouble and they can’t seem to figure out what the layout should be, and some have empty rooms that house-shame them every day.
Whatever the reason, if you are considering bringing in a designer, it is best to do it is early in the process. All too often, I come into a home where a client has tried to go it alone and the reason they’ve called me is staring me in the face – a purchasing mistake that I now have to work around. Since there are many elements in a room that contribute to its overall success, they all have to work together to create a perfect design symphony. If the conductor wasn’t planning on having a cowbell, and now MUST use one, it will no doubt force him into a musical compromise and a potentially unfortunate result. You get the picture.
When you are ready to tackle your design project, the best thing to do is to hit the internet. Look at retail sites, get ideas from Pinterest and Instagram and Houzz, collect things you like. If you find that you have real difficulty pulling it all together, or it just becomes an exercise in overwhelm, or it gets shelved indefinitely, it’s time to call in an expert.
The biggest mistake I see is buying things piecemeal and then wondering why it doesn’t work or look good. This is what I call doing it ass-ways. Design is actually done “in total,” working from a layout, and it should be thought of like a puzzle. A designer will always start with the big picture and then find the pieces. Most of the design “work” is actually done up front and then the hunt begins because at that point, at least you know what you’re looking for. So, if you feel that frustrated urge to just go and buy that sectional you saw (and you probably haven’t even measured the space it’s going in) please, I beg you, take a deep breath, hit the pause button, and call me.