…On Designer Selection

Do I need a Professional Designer for my project?

If you are making minor changes or investments in your home, office or whatever you are re-doing, store personnel might be all the help you need to make appropriate.

What will it cost me to hire a Design Pro?

The level of experience, professionalism and your geographic location can all affect the cost of a Designer, but I can promise that you working with most Designers will save expenses on so many aspects of the project that they essentially “pay for themselves”, plus prevent you from making costly mistakes. Don’t underestimate the amount of time hiring someone like me will save you! Its impossible guess how many hours can be spent learning aspects of the “business of design” and researching products and services.

How do I find a Designer?

You can always “Google” Designers in your area by town or zip code. Asking friends, colleagues, family members is an uncomplicated way to get (likely) first-hand recommendations. ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) has a National web site and Chapter web sites with “Find a Designer” links. You can see names of Designers in your area and see portfolios. Interior Design Pro and other search web sites can also recommend and “match” you with professionals. There are many magazines that have advertising by design firms. Just remember that a pretty ad is not a recommendation, they are ads. Also, there are many Design Blogs. Read a few and perhaps you will click with someone’s ideas or point of view.

Is there anything I can do to streamline my design project and thus save money?

Prepare for your design project: look at magazines, store fliers or web sites so that you can have an idea of what you like.  Pinterest is Perfect for this phase.  Sharing these favorites with a Designer will help express your taste. And, purge things you don’t need! This help you decide what you want to keep/should keep/can keep as well as remind you of what might have been hidden away.

What if I decide to go the DIY (Do It Yourself) route – or want to work with a limited budget?

There are tools and books and sources –online and off -if you want to take on your own project. Some stores, showrooms and resource personnel will work with you, but most don’t have the ability, time or desire to help you through the process. It’s not going to be like HGTV. Sorry!