Tips For Hiring An Interior Designer or Decorator
How to hire a “luxury” interior designer?
Today the market seems to be flooded with options for homeowners who are in need of hiring an interior designer or decorator. There are luxury, white glove, full-service, award-winning top interior design firms throughout Boston MA and every major city worldwide. There are also new Luxury E-Design platforms such as The Expert (www.theexpert.com) where you can hire an online interior designer of your choice, typically $1,500 for a 55-Minute video session, or the popular Amber Interiors for $1,250 for a 25-Minute video session, or Marie Flanigan at $3,000 for 115-Minute video session. There are designers you never heard of on the platform and also more well-known celebrity designers such as Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Michael S. Smith, Jeffrey Alan Marks, Kathryn Ireland and many more.
How to hire “budget” or “free interior design service”?
Then on the opposite end of the spectrum there are cheap online decorating services where supposedly you can get an entire room designed for under $300, which is equally as hard for me to comprehend as are the luxury costs above. Or, there are “FREE” design services at retailers like Pottery Barn and Ethan Allen (hint: nothing is free in this world). Don’t get me wrong, I like these retailers, and their designers are probably quite talented, but as far as the “free design service” you think you’re going to get? How about calling it was it really is…”SALES”, they’re selling their products and I have personally been hired multiple times to FIX rooms for clients who were blinded by this and wasted a lot of money buying furniture that did not work well. So buyer beware.
Are there “mid-range” interior designers and decorators?
And then there is an entire world in-between these two spectrum ranges, which my small boutique firm I founded in 2002, Lisa Jensen Interior Design, falls into. (Celebrating my 20th year in business I’m so excited to share!!)
So you’ll need to start with what you can afford to just to begin to narrow down your hiring options. If you’re a high-end luxury client, you should start with your nearest major metropolitan area, visit your local Design Center and ask around the showrooms to learn about some of the design talent there, attend designer show houses, peruse luxury shelter publications such as Architectural Digest which will have promotional ads for these luxury firms, then you can start calling around, and interviewing different firms until you find the right fit.
If you’re a budget client, check out some online decorating for really affordable prices. A good rule of thumb is in general you get what you pay for so don’t expect to get a magazine-worthy room design but maybe the level of talent and work you receive is perfect for your needs, so that’s great!
#1 Where to Start? Look at their design portfolio!
Now, if you fall between this vast range you’ll probably need to do a bit of research until you find an interior designer or decorator that is the best fit for your needs, goals, and budget-level because there are a lot of us in the middle, and quite a lot of ranges in the middle too I’d say.
At the most basic starting point I suggest you LIKE THEIR PORTFOLIO OF DESIGN PROJECT WORK before moving forward to even start considering them. For example, if the designer only has Coastal Beach Homes in their portfolio and you are looking for Mid-Century Modern Design, well there is probably going to be a disconnect between your goals and the designer’s capabilities (or interests) - it’s not necessarily a deal breaker, but a strong consideration.
Or, if the designer typically works on Ultra Contemporary home designs and you gravitate toward Transitional Design then again, there probably is a better designer fit for you elsewhere, so I’d recommend for you to keep searching. Perhaps you simply don’t like what you see, well I’m sure you know to move on and keep looking. If you’re interested in viewing my portfolio of work, click here.
#2 Is the designer experienced, trustworthy, and do you like them?
But if you like their portfolio of design work and it feels like something you’d like in your home, then the next step is to try to get a feel for the designer. Read their website. Who are they? How long have they been in business? What is their experience level - are they less than five years in business? Ten years? Or more than twenty years? There’s a big difference between these levels of real-world, on-the-job ‘training’. Check out their social media to get a feel for them (but please understand some of us designers are so busy non-stop actually working on interior design projects that we don’t have the time to devote to social media that many designers who aren’t as busy have ;) ). Do they own their own business? Do they support any causes near and dear to your heart - children, animals, environment, arts, etc.? Do they have junior designers and assistants that will actually be doing the work on your project or is it the front door name doing your project work? Do you like them or get a good feeling about them? Do they seem trustworthy? I think both are important since you are bringing them into your home and letting them see behind the curtain of your life (don’t worry about ‘picking up’ for us when we visit your home…we’ve seen it all, we don’t judge, we’re there to do a job and see through any clutter or mess and only focus on the space itself). If you want to know more About Lisa Jensen Interior Design, click here.
#3 Meet & Greet: Start with an Initial Consultation
Once you’ve established the designer is probably in your budget-level, you like their work, feel they are qualified for your project, you personally like them or get a good feeling about them, then the next step is to reach out to them, often through a website contact form.
Some designers like me start every project with an Initial Consultation (In-Home or Virtual) so we can learn a lot more about each other, I can learn in-depth about your project, style, and spending goals, we can review our streamlined design process and determine what levels of design or decorating serviced resonate with you (it is never one size fits all, every client, every project, every need is so individualized), and we can determine how soon we can start your project. Contact Lisa Jensen Interior Design here.
After your Initial Consultation you will have a great feeling what it is like to work with the designer, which areas you want them to help you with, perhaps which tasks you prefer to handle yourself, and if nothing else you will have received some honest feedback, expert design advice, and actionable steps to get your home project(s) moving in the right direction, rather than remaining on your never-ending to-do list.
#4 Sign a contract before you begin your project!
Lastly, make sure you sign a crystal clear contract so you know exactly what you are paying for, how much you are paying, what the deliverables you’ll be getting are, any exclusions, and of course the project timeline. And once you’ve hired your interior designer/decorator I hope you will listen to them, know they have your best interests at heart, and trust them - they are the expert so let them do what they do best!
Recap: The most important criteria for hiring a designer
you like their portfolio of work
they have an experience level you are comfortable with, including plenty of references/reliable testimonials (If you want to read Lisa’s testimonials, click here)
you understand and like their design process
your project timeline aligns with the designer’s availability
you still want to work with them after having an Initial Consultation
you have compatible personalities
you can afford them
you sign a contract that spells everything out so there are no gray areas
you can let go and trust them!