When building a new home or renovating an existing one or taking on a decorating project for a single room, many people find themselves asking “Where do we begin?” Often clients have dreamt and longed for changes for many years before finally getting some help. Skills and time are needed to bring ideas to completion. A professional designer can be an invaluable asset in guiding you through the entire process and help you to make the right decisions for your home.
Identify your needs & setting priorities
A professional designer can assist you in identifying your needs & the key changes which need to take place in order to achieve the biggest difference in your space and “bang for your buck.” First, help is needed to point you in the right direction of determining exactly what it is that should be done. Answering questions like, Should the wall between the kitchen & the living room be removed? Is converting the second bedroom into a larger ensuite a good idea? What kind of blinds do we need? Should we paint the trims the same color as the wall?
Next a professional will also assist you in helping with the order in which things should be done. For example people often begin the process by selecting a paint color and then try to find a flooring to coordinate with that paint color. However, with flooring there are a limited number of options available at any given time that will suit your needs, desires, and your budget. Whereas with paint, there are almost infinite options available to you, including custom color matching to help pull a space together. So finding the perfect paint color to work with your other choices will work better than the other way around.
A professional Interior Designer will develop a project plan that will best accomplish your personal goals and help you to work within a realistic budget.
Saving you both time and money
Yes, believe it or not, hiring a professional will actually save you money in the long run.
A professional designers experience and extensive product knowledge will ensure that you select the right floor covering, counter top, furniture and paint. Their expertise will prevent costly design mistakes. For example, we have had many clients hire us to help select paint colors, but only after they had already paid to have their home painted in a color that didn’t work out well for them.
Designers also act as advocates for their clients and negotiate on their behalf with trades people, suppliers, and manufacturers to ensure that every purchase and installation meet with the clients satisfaction.
Another significant money saving benefit of hiring a professional designer is the discounts they receive. For instance a client may hire a designer to assist them with selecting new living room furniture. The designer will help the client determine the best use of space, what furniture items are required and their optimum dimensions and placement, help select the best options for materials etc, and for that service they may charge a few hundred dollars.
However, the “designer discount” professionals receive from most furniture stores will often save the client many times the cost of the design fee. Designer discounts can also apply to many other items such as, flooring, lighting, window coverings and accessories.
Finding solutions and solving problems
A professional Interior Designer understands concepts such as scale, proportion, balance, focal points and color theory, and can help to solve most clients decorating challenges. Their expertise include space planning, lighting design, finish selections and color coordination and their industry knowledge ensures quality results in the implementation of a project. Designers can help find solutions to solve challenges such as how to, make a small space more functional, create extra concealed storage, how to create additional seating when needed, and many other common design problem.
Professional designers can also assist when there is a difference of opinion between you and your significant other when it comes to what should be done. A professional can act as a neutral mediator and can help to negotiate the design solution that works for all parties. Over the years many clients who have worked with designers say that the designer not only saved them time and money, but also helped save their marriage!
Recommend and access the right people and resources
A professional designer will not only guide you in what to get done but also how to get it done. Designers know all the best trades people, carpenter, work rooms, painters and installer that work in the design trade and can recommend reputable resources and suppliers that will make you will feel confident that your job is getting done properly.
Designers also have access to many more customized options that may not be available in stores and can offer you a range of fabrics, rugs, furniture and many other items that are not easily accessible to the public.
Providing guidance and direction from beginning to end
A professional designer is able to integrate all the factors required to access the true potential of any space. Taking into consideration the look and feel the client wants to create, with the function of the space, durability of finishes, proper lighting, safety and other factors unique to each space.
They know the right questions to ask in order to develop the best design concept for your lifestyle and budget. A designer can also help edit selections for the client in order to keep the project on track and ensure the choices do not become overwhelming. They offer seasoned advice that helps clients through the entire design process and ensure that each aspect of the design plan is completed. Hiring a professional designer helps to ensure that your time and money will be well spent and that you will be delighted with the results.