The internet is an amazing tool. Technically, you can learn how to build your own house watching YouTube videos and reading blogs. However, the reality is that most people really can’t build their own home regardless of how much they research. Interior design is similar. You either have a knack for it, or you don’t.
Even if you have the knack, you may lack the valuable industry connections that lead to a more cost-effective project or you might not have the energy to complete your vision in a reasonable time frame.
8 Reasons To Hire a Professional Interior Designer
- Your colors just don’t work. You studied those House Beautiful spreads diligently, copied the exact same color scheme and…it just doesn’t work. This is the result of not knowing how to integrate the combination of space, lighting and design elements present in a room. Those colors worked in that space, but that doesn’t mean they’ll work in yours. A professional will help you select a color palette that works in your specific living space.
- Budget is an issue. What?!? This may seem counterintuitive but people on budgets are the best candidates for a professional designer. Left to their own devices, the budget gets blown long before the design is complete and they’re stuck with an unfinished product. A designer knows exactly how to structure an interior design budget with the monies available and has professional relationships with subcontractors and vendors, yielding much lower prices than if you hire them on your own.
- You value your time. Do you feel like spending after-work hours and weekends for the next XX months on your interior design project? A professional designer will work on it while you’re at work, on vacation and doing the things you love so your design comes together in the meantime.
- We speak Construction. The construction world is its own culture and there can be a disconnect when homeowners opt to be their own general contractor. Professional designers speak the language, which goes a long way when your remodeling and/or adding on.
- You want more than the basics. Sure, you can study the color wheel and learn how to work with texture, shape, proportions, etc. But, if you want to get to the more complex aspects of design, like pattern layering or making a modern design work in a traditionally designed existing home, it often requires the assistance of a professional.
- A little validation is always nice. Hiring a professional interior designer doesn’t mean a permanent working relationship. In fact, some of the most fun work we do comes in the form of a single consultation or two that are set up to guide, facilitate and nurture our clients’ ideas. Bring your ideas to us and we can give you the thumbs up, a little professional critique and/or offer you solutions or ideas you may not have thought of to help round out your existing ideas.
- To avoid the design rut. Often, clients want a whole new look only to find their “new design” is just a different version of the old one. An interior designer can help you break out of those ruts and embrace different or more daring sides of your aesthetic tastes.
- To design your “forever” home. The Great Recession caused many homeowners to go back to “forever-home mode” rather than investment mode. If this is the case, your designer will help you balance timeless interior design aspects with more transient and trend-oriented features so your home can evolve without the need for major remodels in the future.