How to choose an Interior Designer?

Following these tips will help you answer the question how to choose an Interior Designer that’s right for you. At first it may seem difficult to do with hundreds of design companies out there but it’s actually straightforward if you are well prepared.

I’ve been working for the most famous, hi-end, luxury interior design companies in London and I have a lot of experience in this field. I know what sets a great designer apart from a mediocre one and finally where the biggest, most costly mistakes can occur. In this post, I will highlight what to pay attention to whilst looking for a designer, how different designers work and what should be included in the interior design package. Hiring a luxury interior designer certainly takes the pressure off designing your own home which will allow you more time to spend on your other commitments.

So, how to choose an interior designer?

First and foremost:

Be Attracted by Their Style

No surprise there! You have to feel the instant “Wow” factor when you browse through the interior designer’s website. The first impression is always the most important; you have to get excited and think “I could live there” when seeing their projects.  Go with your heart.

For example, my style can be described as contemporary minimalism with understated luxury – I would be a great match for a client who likes modern minimal interiors but I wouldn’t be much help for someone who prefers the traditional or very decorative look. Style can’t be forced. Be aware of designers who say “I can do any style – whatever the client wants” – they probably just want to get a job no matter what.

The first impression or gut feeling is usually the best to follow.

Try a Smaller Studio over Big Corporation

Yes that’s right, big, multinational design companies may seem like a safe bet and what could go wrong if the company has multiple offices around the world? They must know what they’re doing….. Not always. It may work in industries such as insurance or banking but not necessarily in interior design.

Granted, big companies will  have good branding and a vast portfolio of projects to peruse but there’s a big chance that your project will not be regularly seen by the principal of the company. After spending your time answering the question “How to choose an interior designer” – you want to make sure that the person that you’ve chosen is actually involved in your project. Big companies have a vast number of projects and it’s practically impossible for the principal designer to be involved with all of them.

Of course, you can be lucky and get a very talented, mid-weight designer working on your project but they tend to move between companies and quite often, you can end up with your project being passed around from one designer to another. I’ve seen it many times and it never ends well. The project will not have the integrity – the people working on it tend to spend their time, and energy, fixing previous designer’s mistakes just to make multiple managers happy – they lack the time to actually be creative.

I really believe it’s worth investing in the smaller studios because it’s important that the main designer, the face behind the brand is actually designing your home.

Check if They Sketch

There’s something pure about taking a blank piece of paper and drawing an idea. You’ve probably seen fashion designers’ sketches of beautiful couture dresses. You can recognize the creativity and artistry straight away. Good interior designers use similar techniques to create their designs. So, when you wonder to yourself how to choose an Interior designer – check if they sketch.

Take a look at their Instagram; the photos of their usual day and see if they post sketches. It’s a good way to test if their design process is original or it’s not just a collection of Pinterest images. Don’t get me wrong – I love Pinterest and getting inspired by architecture and art but I would never base my design purely on using other people ideas.

When a designer starts with a pencil and a blank piece of paper you can be sure that the outcome is a truly a unique, creative idea.

Look for True Original Creativity

Originality (the ability to think independently and creatively) is one of the most important factors on how to choose an interior designer. You’re investing a lot of money in the project so make sure the interior designer you pick is truly original and doesn’t copy others. Getting inspired by great artists is good but there’s a difference between getting inspiration and copying. Ask the potential designer to show you the examples of their creative work and explain to you their creative process. You’re paying for bespoke and unique service so make sure you’re getting one.

Select Your Favourites

Pick 3-4 interior designers that you like the most. It should be an intuitive pick – remember the ‘WOW’ factor. Don’t force yourself to pick famous designers if their style is too old-fashioned or too showy because you won’t be happy in the long run.

Having said that, you can obviously pick one that is a bit quirky or a bit out of your comfort zone – try mixing it up.

Get Your Brief Sorted

In a few bullet points summarize your interior design project requirements:

• The Size and Location of the Property,
• Scope of Work
  • Architecture (Do you want the architecture designed as well or you already have an existing property? Interior Designers often work with Architects and can sometimes arrange the architecture design too.)
  • Interior Architecture (layout changes, inbuilt joinery, bathrooms)
  • Additional spaces like Home Spa, Cinema Room, Wine Room etc.
  • Garden design and garden furniture
  • FF&E Selection (Furniture, fixtures, and equipment)
  • Accessories
  • Art sourcing
  • Full Turn-Key Installation (a designer buys the furniture on your behalf and handles the shipping and installation)
• The purpose of the property (i.e. Family Home, for Entertainment and receiving Guests, Developer’s Show Apartment or for Business)
• Budget
• Time Constrains

Think about your brief. It’ll really help you answer the question – How to choose an interior designer? If you’re not sure about any of the points – describe the options you want to explore as the interior designer can recommend a good solution. It’s good to send over any technical drawings of the property (if you have it) – especially the plans. This will give the interior designer a good idea how to price the project.

Email the Brief (Email Example below)

After you work out your interior design brief – email it over to the selected designers. It should go something like this:

Hi Ula,

Hope you’re well.

I’m looking for an Interior Designer to design our family home in London. I’ve listed the details of the project below:

• Four storey town house in South Kensington, London,
• Scope of Work
  • Interior Architecture (full refurbishment: layout changes, inbuilt joinery, bathrooms)
  • we want to include Home Spa, Cinema Room and a Wine Room
  • Garden Design
  • FF&E Selection (Furniture, fixtures, and equipment)
  • Accessories
  • Art sourcing
  • Full Turn-Key Installation
• The purpose of the property: Family Home for 4
• We don’t have a precise budget, we’ll need some guidance on this.

I’ve attached the architect’s plans of the house. Could you please send me a quote and let me know when would you be available to meet at the property and discuss this potential project.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Jane

(remember to send your brief to me too! 😉 )

Arrange Meetings with the Chosen Designer(s)

Meeting the selected designer(s) at the property is a great idea as seeing the house in real life gives a designer a lot of crucial information – much more than a technical drawing or photos. Sometimes it’s difficult to arrange if the property is abroad but even then I would strongly recommend it.

If this is really not possible – it’s still good to meet up in person, in a different location and show the designer as many photos as possible, or ideally, a video.

Meeting your potential interior designer face-to-face is really important as you will need to work with this person for 1 -3 years; so it’s crucial to have a rapport.

Prepare for the Meeting

Come prepared for the meeting. Even though it’s the designer who’s pitching for the job, you should still be prepared to gather as much information as possible because you’ll get a more precise and better proposal.

Things that are worth having with you are:

• any technical drawings of the property – especially the plans
• photos and videos (if you’re not meeting at the property)
• anything that shows your personal style, things you find beautiful: so pages from the magazines, images from Instagram, photos of places you visited, cool restaurants etc.
• any other visual references like fashion designers you love, art you adore, colour palettes, materials
• list your passions, what makes you who you are – it’s worth including it in the design

These aid when describing what you want. N.B. This is one of the important tips on how to choose an interior designer –  prepare yourself for the briefing meeting.

Ask about Their Qualifications

There’s a big dispute if one needs an academic degree to be a good interior designer or not. They’re some famous designers that don’t have it but hire the right professionals to do the more advanced work for them. This business model works in some cases.

In my opinion, there’s a very important kind of knowledge and art inspiration that you can ONLY gain at the Art University.  A young design student gets immersed into the world of art and learns not only about their specific field but gets to know about different disciplines: painting, sculpture, architecture, fashion, graphic design and so much more. It opens one’s mind and broadens one’s horizons. It definitely did for me! I still remember knowledge gained from the art discussions with my professors and Uni friends who studied photography, fashion and architecture. It entices this enormous curiosity for visual beauty out of you. This is how you start experimenting with being truly original in your professional work. That’s why I think that the head of an interior design company should have a Design, Interior Design or Art Degree.

University of Art shapes a more conscious, open-minded and CREATIVE interior designer who not only can match curtains to the sofa but will create a harmonious and extraordinary space that can be a work of art.

I know that without having my MA (Master of Arts) Degree in Design I wouldn’t be the Interior Designer I am today. So when people ask me “How to choose an Interior Designer?” I say firstly, “See how much they’ve studied.”

Compare the Quotes

Don’t necessarily go for the cheapest quote. Tempting as it may seem and even though you’ve sent your brief – quotes can include different things. Some can have less site visits or no technical drawings included. So, check what’s included in the price! If you’re still not sure – ask for them to make it more clear.

These are the most important elements to look for in the interior design quotation (N.B. they can be worded differently):

• Concept Stage

  • Look and feel mood boards
  • Schematic layout
  • Material / colour / finishes concept
  • Concept sketches (not all companies will provide it)
  • Meeting with the client

• Design Developement Stage

  • in-depth design of each room
  • Plans and Elevations (black and white drawings of walls and floors)
  • 3D Visuals (not always included – extra cost)
  • Sketches of the rooms and details (not all companies will provide it)
  • Meeting / meetings with the client
  • Revisions to the project

• Delivery Stage

  • Detailed technical documentation of walls, floors and ceilings (design intent only – not constructional drawings)
  • Detailed technical documentation of joinery and details (design intent only – not constructional drawings)
  • liaising with suppliers and project managers (luxury London building companies usually will provide a project manager who takes care of the building process)
  • Ordering all FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment) on behalf of the client

• Supervising building contractor

  • liaising with the building contractor / project manager – answering the ongoing questions about the design
  • the number of site visits

• Installation

  (interior designers deal with the deliveries of furniture, booking all the suppliers to install all the items so the house is ready to move in)

The way of pricing can be different. It can be a lump sum or it can be a percentage of the entire investment. Some parts can be a percentage of the cost of furniture or an hourly rate or a per visit rate. Each company does it differently. Analyzing the pricing can help you with how to choose an Interior Designer.

Boom! It’s a Match

You’ve done your research, you found a selection of interior designers, talked to them all and collected all the quotes. Now you can sit down with a cup of tea and your pros & cons list, backed up with hard data. Think, who looks best in your rankings and who shows the best quality-to-price ratio.

But no matter what, your final choice will be……. an emotional one.

Rightly so! The choice of your interior designer (after looking at the hard data) should be driven by your gut feeling/instinct and whether or not you like the person. You want your design to be unique right?

Summary – How to Choose an Interior Designer?

Finding and choosing the right Interior Designer for you can seem like an impossible task but if you’re prepared, it’s actually straightforward! It’s important to do the research right and find designers that share similar tastes with you. It’s also important to check if their designs are original and creative enough (hand drawn sketches usually show they are!).

Remember to prepare your brief, send it to a selected few (remember to send it to me too! ;)) and to meet them face-to-face. Compare the quotes in detail not only by the overall cost, as they may contain different services. But most importantly, choose the Interior Designer whose style you love and have a good gut feeling about!

After following these tips you’ll feel confident in how to choose an Interior Designer who is perfect for you – good luck and call me!

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