How to Select the Right Interior Designer: P2

Welcome back to another part of how to select the right interior designer!

In the last part, we have covered that low quotation does not necessarily mean good quality, and it is important for the designer to have good design standard requirements and a good company profile.

Now, we will be talking about getting to know your potential Interior Designer more!

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[4] Interior Designer's Professional Ability

Not every Interior Designer are the same. There is no standard professional course, legal regulation, or formal industry standard. As the interior design industry encompasses many aspects, from designing to various trades, it has numerous stakeholders. It is almost impossible to have a formal industry standard. Therefore, during visits to different interior design firms, homeowners will feel disoriented due to the different proposals, pricing and advices from the interior designers. The professional standard of the interior designers can differ very much.

The key of maximising the budget and to minimise potential disappointments will be to get an Interior Designer who is experienced and capable to take on your project. The key to know which Interior Designer is qualified is to go through multiple interviews with them before signing on the paper. Through this interviews, and from the proposals and advices, it is relatively easy to gauge their professional ability.

You would want a mature interior designer to manage the contractors of different trades and have sufficient knowledge on how the various interior design spaces should be used and designed accordingly.

[5] Interior Designer's Personality

This is the most important factor! Designing and managing a renovation project is not an easy task. At the very least, your Interior Designer should show they are responsible . A responsible Interior Designer will prioritise their customers’ interests and usually only engage reliable sub-contractors to minimise potential hiccups.

An irresponsible Interior Designer will usually prioritise cheaper priced sub-contractors so that they can maximise their profits. Other than having interviews with the Interior Designers, you can also gauge the Interior Designer’s personality through their customer reviews.

[6] Pushy and Aggressive Selling

The first red flag for potential renovation disappointment is pushy and aggressive selling. There is only so much work each Interior Designer can take at a given time. If your Interior Designer is pushy, it can be a hint that:

• They do not have enough jobs (which is likely if they are relatively new or didn’t do enough good works to have referral businesses)

• They may be just interested in getting as many deals (profits) as possible without considering whether they can manage the projects.

Aggressive selling are usually done by promoting lowly-priced renovation packages with free gifts, and limiting time for homeowners to make hasty decisions. A reliable interior designer usually has continuous inflow of work requests and do not sell lowly-priced packages, less said using aggressive selling to clinch a deal.

Before committing to any Interior Designer, homeowners should get as much information in in-person interviews. Although there is no fool-proof formula, this will minimise any potential unhappiness for what it should be a happy journey of renovating a home.