We get many calls a month from potential clients looking to hire a design firm. Many of these calls come from people who have seen our work published in a magazine or have randomly found us on the internet. Over the years it has struck me how difficult it is for younger clients to understand how interior designers work. Partly this is because each and every designer has different terms, and there is no book one can read to find out exactly which designer will be the best fit.
Our design firm has a fairly straightforward policy of projects that we are interested to discuss further.
We have compiled some key questions and some important ideas when researching to hire a designer.
1) Look through the designers portfolio and make sure that you are in sync with their style. Make sure there are 1 or 2 projects that you would be happy to end up living in or at least 5-6 rooms that you relate to and really like. Not every item/color has to be your favorite- it is more of an overall style.
2) Before you email a designer make a comprehensive list of size of your home, location, rooms that you would like to have furnished. Is art going to be part of the design project and budget? You will save yourself a huge amount of time if you can have this information ready to provide a designer first, to see if they have availability and are interested.
Many design firms, like ours, prefer to only take on whole homes/apartments – so that the look will be cohesive at the end of the day. We also know that there are 3 elements to make for a great outcome: Time, style and money. We have to assess if all of these elements are present to make our clients very happy with a gorgeous home.3) Meet the designer and make sure that you connect. It is like dating and then like marriage- you need to get along and not feel any tension. You need to be able to talk openly with the designer about any concerns and feel like the designer is listening and excited about your project. You need to agree to the terms in the contract.
Very important- you need to call 2-3 recent references! Also- ask for references that found the designer the same way you did (i.e. online, magazine, blog, etc..).
Hope this is helpful and makes for an easier search. I will post more suggestions in the next few weeks.
Kwinter & Co. House Beautiful and Canada's Style at Home Covers
