Doing renovation, consider hiring an interior designer.

Josey Wales

Hi,

We will be doing a large renovation on our home this year. We hope to start as soon as the planning application process is over.

We will have a new large space in the house and really no idea on how we will want to decorate it. We really want to do the job right and don't want it looking like the house has looked forever.

We are thinking of hiring an interior designer and are looking for suggestions. What does the process actually entail? What would be a ballpark price for such a service.

Miu88

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MisseyB

In my experience interior designers in Ireland work very differently from one another, making it hard sometimes to compare like with like. Some supply and fit or provide construction management service as part of their service. Others work more like architects and offer constultancy services only.

I suggest that you speak to a good few and get a feel for what they can offer. Then write a brief and then ask a few designers to quote on it. That should make it easier to compare.

You should also be aware that some designers gets commission on the products they recommend, others don't, so you'll need to know if that's the case otherwise the lower quote might end up costing you more than the higher one at the end of the day.

Depending on the work you should ask if the designer has Professional Indemnity insurance, and - if they offer construction management services or supply and fit - contractors insurance. The insurance is really to ensure that there is enough money to protect your losses should anything goes wrong, although you may have to go to court to get it!

This might be worth checking out too http://theinteriorsassociation.ie/about-ia/

E

Woodville56

We're also about to decorate our recently purchased home, starting with a blank canvas. We've had a few informal/casual conversations with interior designers / colour specialists in the course of instore demo's and free advice and they all seem to want to make a massive project out of it, covering fixture & fittings, furniture etc etc. We're not planning a trophy home or glossy magazine feature home, just a comfy cozy space for us, uncomplicated and functional, yet when we ask for colour advice on paint we get the whole spiel about coordinating curtains and floors and furniture, even though we haven't bought our furniture yet but have ideas of what we want. Also, we plan to have most of the decorating done by tradesmen we know ourselves but the designers we've spoken with seem to want to take ownership of the whole project - one told us there wasn't much point in engaging with us until we knew what we wanted ! We thought we did know what our vision was and we're just looking for some colour scheme advice but the few simple questions about certain colour schemes or matchings took on a life of their own, extending to everything from curtains to rugs and everything in between! We don't have a limitless budget for the decorative work but from our interior designer enquiries so far it's just seems like it's an all or nothing package with them!

stra

There's no doubt that a good interior designer can make an average room or space look amazing. If cost is not an issue then I certainly would hire one. For most of us though we need to budget. I find most of my inspiration online from pictures of new houses etc. Even looking at the mega money houses on daft can give you great ideas on style and furniture as they've normally paid already for interior design services.

MisseyB

Some designers should be happy to just give hourly advice if that's what a client needs. I know i did when i was working in this field but i suppose that's because i worked on the basis of consultancy fees, i.e. not design and supply / fit.