If you’re a homeowner embarking on a design project, there are a million resources you can turn to for advice. Okay, I exaggerate but there certainly are a lot of places a handy DIY’er can turn to so you might be wondering why you should hire an interior designer.
What you might not realize is how many of those DIY projects ended up in disappointment.
Whenever I’m called into a project after it’s begun I know it will be one of 2 reasons. The first is that the homeowners tackled it on their own and got stuck. I also see projects where there was another designer and it didn’t work out (more on that another day).
It’s tempting to tackle a project on your own but here are 5 reasons you should really consider hiring a designer to help you with your project.
5 REASONS TO HIRE AN INTERIOR DESIGNER
1. SAVE MONEY
Whaaattt? A designer can save me money-YES!! Countless projects I have helped clients understand where it’s valuable to spend and where to save. The biggest area where I have saved clients thousands of dollars, YES I said thousands – is on avoiding design mistakes. This is a biggie folks,
I see big expensive design mistakes all the time. The wrong colour countertop, incorrect flooring colour, the wrong size sofa or the kitchen cabinet colour you thought you would love forever.
Guys, you think you are saving yourself money by not hiring a designer- but that’s just not the case. I understand not everyone can afford a designer. I would highly recommend you at least hire a designer to create a design plan for you. Worse case scenario, you piecemeal your project when you are able to. However, without a plan for your project you are running around guessing and that can cost you.
A DESIGN PLAN WILL SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
Part of a design plan can provide direction for trades. If you’re not on site and there are no visual instructions for the trades, accidents happen. The light fixture might be installed wherever is easiest for the electrician to access. Imagine yourself showing up at the site and finding an installed fixture that isn’t where your table will sit. Now you’re paying for the fixture to be moved (electrician’s time) and to have the ceiling patched (drywaller’s time). This is just one of the reasons to hire an interior designer but there are many.
Multiply this cost by the dozens of decisions that have to be made throughout a day on a job site. Managing your own project saved you design fees but you can see how quickly that same money can be spent having elevations, a lighting plan and floor plans created beforehand.
2. SAVE TIME
Another common issues that I see in homeowner-led renovations is that you aren’t prepared. When a trade has questions that can’t be answered, things get paused.
If one of your trades can’t do the work they’re scheduled to do, they’ll move on to the next job site. You may have to wait a few weeks or even months to get that trade back on your site. This is especially true if it’s a small project. Once again why having a Design plan is so helpful. Designers can also create “spec” sheets for your trades.
3. CREATE A COHESIVE DESIGN
This is where design gets tricky. One room is pretty straight-forward but how do you take that piece and integrate it into the whole? A lot of planning is required to make that happen. And it all needs to happen together, at the beginning.
We’ve all seen that space that feels disjointed and like the rooms don’t belong together. You might not even be able to identify what’s wrong but you just know. Likely it’s a design that has no consistency throughout the home.
4. CORRECT SCALE AND PROPORTIONS
There are many parts of my job as a designer that are never shown on HGTV. One of those is checking every dimension of furniture, light fixture, tile, etc. that is part of a design.
If one of my clients selected a sofa with 32” back height and I paired that with a side chair with a 22” back they wouldn’t be too happy. The scale of furniture should be similar. The seat height, arm height (to a lesser degree) and back height should be similar, not identical.
Homeowners often overlook that detail and can end up with a mishmash of scales and proportions in the same room.
5. ACHIEVE A POLISHED, PROFESSIONAL DESIGN
The final reason for hiring an interior designer might be obvious. A designer will create a polished design. In my projects, I utilize all my resources, knowledge and experience. There are a lot of moving pieces in a design. I’ve learned through experience and I’m always happy to share with my clients. You can check out my portfolio here.
Design should always be a fun, positive experience but if you’re renovating or building without a designer you’ll be experiencing unnecessary stress and a few sleepless nights. It doesn’t have to be like that. You can just hire a designer to create the plan for you. You’ll be more likely to succeed as your own site manager. There are lots of ways to bring a designer onboard so don’t get stuck thinking you can’t afford one or you that can do it on your own.
Have I convinced you that you need to hire an interior designer before you tackle your renovation?
Take a look through my services and see how I can help you with your upcoming project. And always feel free to contact me to ask any questions you might have about what it’s like to work with me.
