HOW HIRING AN INTERIOR DESIGNER CAN ADD VALUE TO YOUR HOME
Updated: Feb 21, 2021
Many people wonder whether they can afford or even need an interior designer to redesign their homes. The answer is, although interior designers are an added expense to your home renovation, they will save you a lot of time, money and frustration in the long run, plus, they will add value to your home. Laid out below are some of the benefits of hiring an interior designer:
1. IT SAVES MONEY; The cost to hire an interior designer is far less than what it would be to correct the mistakes you could make by redesigning your house on your own. Interior designers help you stay on time and on budget. Many details go into the redesign of a new home. Hiring an interior designer who has the inside industry knowledge, trade accounts and contacts, will not only save you money but also get the best deals on your budget
2. IT SAVES TIME: Hiring an interior designer not only saves you money but also your valuable time. The planning and execution of a new home design takes a lot of time and effort. An interior designer has a clear idea of the work needed to be done and how long it will realistically take. They can foresee the problems that could arise and extra costs, before you even get started. They do all the behind of the scenes research, finding the right products and prices
3. FORM, FUNCTIONALITY, SPACE MANAGEMENT & AESTHETICS: Interior designers want your space to be beyond beautiful. They want the aesthetics to be perfect, but also want the space to function well for you within the space they have to work with. They'll draw up floorplans, moodboard, 3D renders and source samples to help you visualise the space before a lick of paint goes on the walls
4. ADD VALUE TO YOUR SALE: Designers know the ins and out of homes. They understand the market and competition. When you hire an interior designer, they can give you advice on what might add value to your home and guide you towards the choices that will help your home stand out within a competitive housing market for years to come
5. THE WOW FACTOR: Interior designers are trained to think creatively and in a way that will deliver beautiful results. Not only can they foresee how your finished project will look, but they will also be able to predetermine all the attention to detail, from lighting to furniture, curtains and styling. An interior designer will consider your lifestyle and work within any budget to deliver the end result you're looking for
6. FEES: An interior designer will probably tailor their fee to your project and budget. After meeting you and visiting the site, the designer will draw up a bespoke proposal, as every project is unique, setting out what they will do for you and how much they will charge. Laid out below are the various methods:
A FIXED FEE: The designer will will work out how much time and resource they anticipate the project requiring and quote accordingly. The fee is often split into stages and paid as each of the stages of work is completed with a deposit at the start of each stage
AN HOURLY RATE: Designers will record the amount of time they spend on your project and charge you accordingly. They will operate time sheets recording exactly what their time is spent on and will provide you with regular updates. If this method seems too open-ended for you, designers will often be able to give you an up-front estimate of the number of hours likely to be involved in each stage of your project
PERCENTAGE OF SPEND: This is where the designer's fee is calculated as a percentage of what you spend through them on the project. The reason some designers charge this way is because often it is very hard to gauge how much work a project will entail at the outset. Some clients worry that this fee structure could lead a designer to persuading them to spend more in order to increase their fee. This would not be in the interests of a professional interior designer with an eye on their reputation
PROCUREMENT: Much of the designer’s time at the end of your project will be spent on procurement (purchasing the FF&E) and installation (co-ordinating and accepting deliveries of the FF&E and ensuring that it is in perfect condition and properly installed). This can be a fiddly process involving many different suppliers so some designers will charge a percentage of the cost of the goods as their fee at this stage. If your interior designer is passing on some of their trade discounts to you (see below) often these will go a long way towards negating their fee at this stage of the project
TRADE: Interior designers often get trade discounts on products, especially those not available to the general public. Some will share or pass on their discounts, others will keep them. Whichever method is chosen, we as designers to make this clear in our fee proposal at the start of the project, so there is no room for confusion. Similarly, if your designer undertakes co-ordination of building works, they may charge a percentage fee
7. RELATIONSHIPS: The last bit of advice we would like to give you is to hire a designer that can be your go-to for everything and more importantly a team you get along with. It's a long process and a personal one when redesigning a home. Bring them in at the beginning of your process, so there are minimal obstacles during the process. Interior designers are highly creative and passionate people who want the best for their clients as their reputation depends on it. You're only as good as your last project!