Important facts to know & questions to ask before hiring a professional Interior Designer

Some people don’t realize that there is a difference between interior decorators and Interior Designers.

Anyone who feels they have a “knack” for putting color and fabrics together can call themselves an interior decorator. But Interior Design is a profession that requires years of education and experience and, in some states, licensure.

I have a four year degree in Interior Design from an accredited university and over 20 years of professional design experience, the first 15 of which was in Texas. In Texas, Interior Designers had to be licensed by the State Board of Architects, Interior Designers and Landscape Architects. You were also required to take hours of continuing education each year. Colorado does not have these same requirements, but I continue to do continuing education each year and stay current on the latest practices in the field.

Here are questions you should ask of any design professional before hiring them for your project:

What makes you unique?

Ask why you should hire this particular Interior Designer–what makes them stand out from any others? For me, integrity and transparency is key. There has to be an honest, open dialogue between a client and a designer.

Do you have a mission statement?

A mission statement can tell you a lot about what drives a designer or design firm. company.

My mission statement:

I strive to make a client’s home or office a true reflection of who they are, creating environments where life is lived, memories are made, work is done and successes are celebrated.

It is important to me to know what is significant to the client. If you have possessions that are important and hold special meaning, these should definitely be incorporated into your home or office design.

I’m not of the opinion that “everything must go.” In addition, items that do go should be re-purposed or re-cycled in a responsible manner.

Have you worked on any projects similar to ours in the past?

Ask to see examples of work done which is similar to your project. Listening to the designer explain the project will give you insight into whether or not they understand your own project needs.

What specific challenges do you think we the client(s) will need to overcome on our project?

This will of course depend on the complexity of the project, but if a designer has the experience she/he needs to have they can usually share the usual “challenges” you could possibly encounter.

Will we work with you or someone else?

Is this design firm too busy to take you on? How “hands on” will they be with your contractors, etc.?
I will not take on the design portion of a project if I cannot do it in the time frame a client requires.
I’m a one designer design firm. I do have help with tasks like deliveries, bookkeeping and office work.

How do you charge for your services?

There are many formulas for charging for design services. You’ll want to find someone who is completely transparent and open about this topic.

I charge a set hourly rate. The hours depend on the requirements and complexity of the project. The fee only increases if the project increases. In my practice, every client receives a detailed design proposal outlining the scope of the project prior to me beginning work. In most cases a contract is signed and I require a retainer with the balance due once I’ve completed the design tasks outlined in the proposal.

I always put a line item in my design proposals about billing for additional time with either the client or on the client’s behalf. This is for work not included in the proposal or for meetings not specified in the proposal.

It is both the designer’s responsibility to present a clear proposal and the client’s responsibility to make sure they understand the proposal and that it covers all the expectations they have for the designer’s scope of work.

Do you do the purchasing for us?

Some clients will want to do their own purchasing and some will not. This may be because they know that it takes a lot of time and follow up when furnishing a room or several rooms. You’ll want to find out if the designer you are considering has a system in place to manage this part of the process for you if that is what you choose.