Should you invest more and hire an interior designer or save money and do it yourself? This is the dilemma faced by many new arrivals.
Maija Nikitina, Decoration Project Manager at the company “Apdailos formatas”, gives advice on the most common questions about how to choose an interior designer, what are the most important issues to discuss with him, and what should not be forgotten.
At what stage of finishing can an interior designer help?
An interior designer is needed from the first moment you think about buying or have already purchased a home. It is especially important to consult a designer when you are buying not a standard-sized apartment, but very large or extremely small premises. In such cases, the designer will be the best advisor on how to use the space efficiently. In addition, the designer can prepare drawings at an early stage of home decoration, which will later be useful when finishing the home or making changes that have been approved by the developer. This way, you will save money in advance and will have discussed essential issues with the designer.
How to find an interior designer? Who can give you the best advice?
Before choosing an interior designer, it is necessary to do your homework and assess what you want, how much time you will spend on meetings, whether you will be physically present when choosing materials with the designer, whether engineering systems will be designed, etc.
When choosing a designer, first of all, it is important to evaluate their previous work, but the most important thing is that you share the same energy – after all, you will spend a lot of time with them for a certain period of time, listening, discussing, and they will become your main advisor, whom you will have to trust.
After your first meeting with an interior designer, you should leave with a good mood, not with the thought that “there is no point.” It is important to know that a designer cannot be just a beautician or just a technical person. He must perform both functions, otherwise the client will be dissatisfied – he will have to hire additional people or do some of the work himself.
Of course, it is important to discuss and sign a contract in which you will agree on all aspects of cooperation, responsibilities and functions of the work to be performed. It is important to set deadlines, hours of live meetings, technical supervision of the project, whether visualizations will be provided or only drawings, etc. in the contract.
What can an interior designer advise?
Designers can be useful not only in selecting beautiful and comfortable devices, coordinating colors, but also in offering the best price, assessing payment options or offering various alternative options. Competent designers can answer most questions: from engineering systems to paint color or bed tapestry. Designers should also be able to comment on certain customer decisions or choices, such as faucets, appliances, flooring, etc.
Unfortunately, recently there have been interior designers who simply match colors and choose the most expensive sofa. However, the technical and practical side remains unexamined and left out. In this case, the client will always overpay, because they will have to hire other experts, prepare drawings that are suitable for technical home decoration specialists. Finding a designer who can combine both beauty and technical things is not easy and requires a lot of time and effort. Most home decoration companies already have their own interior designers, so clients do not need to look for them.
How to reconcile the visions of the homeowner and the interior designer?
Talk, talk and talk again. Most often, at the very beginning of the work, the designer gives the client homework, finding out his needs and expectations. Everything depends only on the cooperation and effort of both parties. Of course, there are cases when the client trusts the interior designer, allows him to do everything individually and waits for the final result. But this usually happens only with long-term cooperation.
However, when working with a designer for the first time, it is essential to communicate with each other and write everything down in a contract. This will help you avoid misunderstandings later, such as the designer having to redraw the drawings several times according to your wishes, or ensuring that you get several options for materials or equipment instead of just one.
What is important to remember when working with a designer?
An interior designer should be involved in the entire installation process. There are cases when a designer prepares an interior design project and says goodbye. Clients do not understand the drawings, finishers say that it is impossible to do it. So the designer’s solutions must be not only beautiful, but also functional. He could always meet with the finishers and tell them about the vision presented in his project.