What Does an Interior Designer Do?

When I meet people for the first time and they find out I am in the interior design business, I am often asked what is it an interior designer does. I tell them, simply put; residential interior design is working with people in their home environments.

Primarily I do residential work along with smaller commercial projects. Professional office spaces, apartment lobbies, and model homes for a builder.

Selecting a sofa or choosing new carpeting can be hard enough, but when it gets into a whole refurbishing, upgrading your kitchen and bathroom or purchasing a new home with an opportunity to start every room afresh, with the number of choices available, even the most decisive person can feel they have been set out to sea, not to mention doing a major renovation. That’s when you need the services of an interior designer. A professional approach will pull the project together and help you create an environment that reflects your taste while meeting all the needs of you and your family. Many times it is in ways that you may not ever think of, either decorating or spatial problems.

Decorating a space can take considerable time, but a designer can help save you a large chunk of it because you don’t have to spend your own valuable time going from store to store searching for furniture, and fabric samples, or tracking down competent trades and suppliers. That’s part of our job. In the long run designers save you money. Not only in a time investment, but also in avoiding costly mistakes and disappointments. No matter what the scope of the job is, whether just selecting paint colours, or decorating a whole room, designing a new kitchen or doing a 2 storey addition, professional guidance will save you time, money and frustration.

Not all jobs require creating a whole new environment. Sometimes a change in paint colour, rearranging furniture or fluffing up with a few new accessories can give you the fresh look you are after. Some people are only looking for advise on what to do and they will do everything themselves. I can spend two hours with them and make suggestions and give colour selections. This usually is a one-time consultation, but sometimes they grow into larger projects or the client calls back and goes the next step of embarking on a whole project.

What we do is very subjective. It all comes down to personal taste, and usually not ours. Listening to the client, hearing what they say allows us to work with what the client has, to create what the client wants. Personality is important; we work with clients in their personal space. Good communication and trust are paramount

How do we do this?
First meetings are important, and that everyone involved knows from the outset what is happening. Questions and more questions.
The interview comprises many aspects, lifestyle, children, pets, hobbies, colour preferences and dislikes. Many people are quite certain of what they don’t like and never want to see.

Where to begin, focusing on a particular project or problem gives immediate focus to the job.
Ideally the client will have done some initial homework, with magazine pictures, ideas and an indication of budget. By talking with them I can make suggestions to direct them to the home of their dreams.

One last piece of advice on choosing a designer to work with; be sure that you make a “connection” with your designer. It is a personal thing and you must work well together.