Buying a home is one of the best feelings in the world and it is the dream of every individual living on the planet earth. Having your own home is something you work for and making it the best place in the world is your responsibility. Here, an interior designer plays a pivotal role in decorating and designing your home and you need to ensure that you hire the best one in the market.
If you search on the internet for interior designers, you will come across several options to choose from. It makes things difficult for you rather than making it an easy choice. Thanks to the digital marketing efforts, each interior designer seems fine and competent and hence, it creates a dilemma for you to choose the best interior designer in the town.
What to do in such case? Let us help you. This blog depicts 7 questions that you need to ask the interior designer you are hiring. Stay tuned.
1. Ask the designer to show the portfolio
If you want to know whether the interior designer you are hiring is competent enough or not, the best way is to ask for the portfolio. The portfolio consists of works and projects the designer has done so far and it will give you a clear picture of capabilities and competence of the designer. Most of the interior designers put their portfolios on their website for clients to see the work. However, not all designers follow this practice. If you don’t find the portfolio on the designer’s website, ask for it during the personal interview. An ideal and professional interior designer will happily hand over the portfolio to you and also discuss the work with you. Choose one that has a promising and explored portfolio.
2. Ask about whether he or she invites the client’s involvement in the work?
This is a very crucial question to ask the interior designer. Some designers love to involve clients during each process of interior designing. They know that it is the client’s home and their preferences and choices do matter. They will give their consultation and suggestions, but in the end, they will happily oblige to clients expectations and preferences. However, some designers want total control over creativity. They don’t want clients to interfere in the process and they don’t even appreciate it. It is up to you whether you want to get involved in the affair or not. In addition to that, some designers allow clients to give their suggestions but oppose some of them if they don’t find them appropriate. It is your call to hire which interior designer. Take your call.
3. Where do you find inspiration?
There are many places where interior designers get inspirations for their work. Some visit different places and get motivation and some are sheer genius and explore different cultures and traditions and inspired from that. The main thing here is to ensure that the interior designer is original and has his style and design to give a new and eye-pleasing look to your home. Getting inspired and simply copying from readymade designs are two different things and you need to catch the difference here. Look at the portfolio and check whether you are satisfied with the style and elegance of the work the designer has done so far. Take your time and choose a designer who has his style and one who can experiment with designs and styles.
4. What is the most challenging part of the interior designing process?
If you are dealing with an interior designing firm, this is something very important to discuss with the team. If you ask the designer or a firm about the most challenging part about the designing process, it will make the communication smoother and straightforward in the later phase of the contract. For example, if you want to go for an ancient styled interior for your home and the firm has not designed something like that, it means you should hire someone else who has experience and expertise to design ancient styled homes. It will save your time and efforts and you will be able to find the right designer for your project.
5. How will they communicate with you?
Whether you believe it or not, communication between the designer and the client plays a pivotal role in the success of the project. Ask the designer how frequently and in which way he will communicate with you. Some designers will keep you in the loop during the entire process from showing you designs to implementation and execution. You need to hire an interior designer who informs you about almost everything from floor plans, renderings, finishes and fabrics. The project management is also a significant thing to ask the designer. How will they manage the project and what will be your role and involvement in the entire process are two crucial questions to ask the designer.
6. Ask for some references from previous clients
The successful interior designer must have some happy clients who will happily refer the designer to you. Modern websites have the testimonial section on the home page where previous clients talk about the services the designer has offered and how satisfied they are. However, it is very difficult to check the authenticity of these testimonials. The best way is to ask for the references directly from the designer. Ideal designers will happily give a few references to you and even give contact details of the clients they have served to. It will give you a clear indication that the designer is highly professional and reliable to work with. It means that you can hire him without any second thoughts.
7. What are the things you prioritize while planning a budget?
Understanding the priorities of the designer while planning a budget is very important as it might differ from your priorities. If you discuss this thing before getting associated with the designer, it will avoid confusions and hassles during or after the project. It is best to discuss this straight with the designer in the first meeting and make it clear. In addition to that, if you have any queries or concerns related to the budget presented by the designer, discuss upfront with him in the first place to avoid problems later on.