Thinking about hiring a professional interior designer? Below I explain the top eight interior design questions to ask and why they are important. An interior designer can create a beautiful, functional space in much less time, and with less stress, and heartache, than most people could do on their own. Sure, you can scour Pinterest and daydream about the fabulous rooms you see on Instagram, but creating something similar in your own home?
It may feel impossible, especially when you consider the millions of options available, and the fact that just because something looks beautiful doesn’t mean it will work in your house with your existing furniture pieces and finishes. But don’t feel bad! Designing a space that meets your functional and aesthetic goals, all while staying on budget, AND feeling confident that your choices are, in fact, ones you will love, and work with your home, is not an easy feat for most people.
Interior designers, on the other hand, have access to a multitude of resources and can put together a cohesive vision that meets all your goals AND will withstand the test of time. Simply put, when you hire a designer, you are hiring an expert to solve your problems.
There are many benefits of working with a professional interior designer. We have extensive expertise and knowledge that allow us to hone in on solving unique design challenges. We have access to a vast range of products, and we have connections to reliable contractors and skilled tradespeople.
When it comes to hiring an interior designer, you will likely have a myriad of ideas about how the whole process will unfold. So you can be an informed consumer — and to ensure an effective working relationship with your interior designer — it’s important to ask the right questions.
While your interior designer should know and be upfront about costs, invoicing, payment terms, and timelines, there are a few key questions I think are the most important to ask your interior designer to better understand what the process will really be like. Below, I explain eight interior design questions and why they are important.
1. What is your design process?
This question is critical to understand what to expect as you move forward working with an interior designer. Although most designers follow a similar process, it is important for you to understand your designer’s particular progression from initial design ideas through to the completed space. Here’s what you can expect when you work with Studio Black Interiors.
BEFORE YOU’RE A CLIENT:
- Discovery call: The process begins with a free 20-minute discovery call. This will allow us to chat about your project and make sure my services are right for you.
- Consultation: After our discovery call, we’ll schedule a one-hour design consultation. The consultation is an opportunity to meet and ask questions. I will propose the best way forward, tailoring a service for you and your budget.
- Design fee proposal: After the consultation, I will prepare an in-depth scope of work that is conveyed in a design fee proposal. All work is quoted up front, so there are no surprises down the track!
ONCE YOU’RE A CLIENT
- New client onboarding: Once you have formally engaged Studio Black, your project will be scheduled into our work program. We then progress to our more in-depth “getting to know you” stage so a detailed design brief can be developed to form the vision of your future home.
- Design phase: The next step involves exploring design concepts in response to your brief. This includes working on all the interior design drawings required for your home. We work together to get the concept exactly how you imagined; talk you through the plan for each room and note your feedback down. This is our blueprint for how to bring your home to the next level and make it everything you dreamed it could be.
- Specification and documentation: Once we fine-tune the concept, I will start building the colour palette, collecting physical or electronic samples and working on the details of the design, such as the selection of fixtures and finishes. This is the longest part of the design process. This is the point in the process where decisions need to be made. We will work collaboratively together to ensure your dream house is exactly how you imagined. I’ll then complete a full set of detailed design documentation for pricing and construction.
- Design management /Support phase: Once your build is underway, I will offer continuous support throughout the construction process, acting as a consultant for the builder and various trades involved in the project. I am committed to being by your side every step of the way.
The timeline for an interior design project can vary depending on the scope of the work. On average the whole process takes around 12-16 weeks for a typical home.
2. Have you done a project like mine before?
Make sure your type of project and end goals are in alignment with the services your interior designer offers. Some designers specialise in just kitchen and bath renovations, others concentrate on decorating-only projects. Some may only do new builds, but not renovations. At Studio Black Interiors, we specialise in new builds, full home renovations and decorating projects.
3. What will you need from me?
You’ll want to know what your time commitment will need to be throughout the interior design process. Every interior designer offers different services with varying levels of support and access, so you’ll want to make sure you fully understand whether you’ll need to be hands on or hands off, or if there are certain parts where you’ll be more involved than others.
Yes, you are handing the bulk of the work off to a professional — that’s the whole idea, so the design process will be easier on you and your family. But to ensure your interior designer has everything they need to design the perfect space for you, your involvement in providing key information about your needs and your vision is critical.
At Studio Black Interiors, our clients are the most involved at these key phases:
- Onboarding. I want to know all the details about your lifestyle, design style, and functional needs. This is what will allow me to fully understand your style and goals to ensure I design a space you love. Typically, during the onboarding phase, our clients start with a design kick-off meeting which is our in-depth “getting to know you” stage so a detailed design brief can be developed to form the vision of your future home.
- Design Phase. During the design phase, you’ll want to set aside time for around four face-to-face meetings. These meetings allow us to review and refine the design and selections for your project.
4. How will we communicate throughout the project?
You don’t want to feel left in the dark at any time during your project: why isn’t my interior designer calling me? Is anything happening? Are they even working on my project?
These thoughts can be very anxiety-provoking and in my experience with my clients, it’s more often that “no news is good news”. But, you’ll want to make sure you understand the interior designer’s process and key milestones so you aren’t worried if you don’t hear from them during a certain phase.
Once you know their process, you’ll have a full understanding of all the things they’re doing behind the scenes to keep your project on track. Another important thing to be aware of is your preferred communication style and your designer’s.
If you prefer phone calls but email is how your interior designer and their team communicate best, you may need to adjust your expectations OR find a designer who is readily available via phone.
You’ll also want to know who you’ll be in contact with throughout your project. Is the interior designer the main person you’ll reach out to if you have questions? Or, is there a designated support person at their office who will handle a majority of communication so nothing gets missed?
At Studio Black Interiors I pride myself on my proactive communication. By providing a weekly email update and scheduled design meetings, my clients always know what to expect and I can minimise surprises and delays.
5. Who is on your team?
Before your project starts, develop an understanding of who you will communicate with on your designer’s team and who will be contributing to your project. Is there a design assistant that will reach out about meetings? Is there someone specific who handles invoices and payments? Is there a designated project manager who handles all appointments or, will the designer be the only point-of-contact throughout the process?
It is comforting to know who you will be interfacing with and how much support you’ll receive. At Studio Black Interiors you work directly with me.
6. Is there anything else I’ll need to pay for throughout the process?
Hopefully the interior designer’s fees are well understood right from the start. But you don’t want any surprises down the road. Make sure you have a full understanding of all costs that will be associated with your project.
How many revisions are included in the design phase? Is there a re-selection fee if you change your mind at the eleventh hour? Don’t be shy about asking these questions!
At Studio Black Interiors I believe in transparency and have established a range of fixed design fees and hourly rates for design projects. If you’re interested in working together, once you submit a Project Enquiry Form through the Contact Page. I’ll share in-depth information about our services and pricing so you know what to expect.
7. What if I don’t like the design you come up with?
The reality is that experienced interior designers are very well-versed in collecting all the right information from you to help ensure the design concept will be perfectly aligned with what you are hoping for (and, maybe exceed what you are expecting!).
They know the right questions to ask, how to spot patterns among your inspiration images, and how to distill everything you tell them into a design that is custom-suited to your needs and wants.
But there may be instances when a designer misses the mark just a bit. And you want what you want, right?! So make sure to understand your designer’s process for revising the design concept, or making re-selections of items that just don’t resonate with you. There should be a workable and efficient process in place if you are not 100% happy with what your designer proposes.
At Studio Black Interiors I want you to love your design and that’s why I spend so much time during the onboarding phase of each project to truly understand each client’s style. Then, once they’ve seen the designs, there will be a dedicated revision period specific to the service booked.
During the revision phase, our clients are able to request changes so we can make new selections that work with the other design elements.
8. What happens at the end of the project?
Hopefully, your interior designer won’t ghost you in the thick of things, but to make sure you know what to expect, ask about the process of bringing all the finishing parts together, and, be sure to understand what their design services include. Many designers provide project management and construction administration services, but some don’t.
At Studio Black Interiors I offer continuous support throughout the construction process, acting as a consultant for the builder and various trades involved in the project. I am committed to being by your side every step of the way.
I hope these questions have been helpful for preparing you to hire an interior designer.
The relationship between designer and client is a special one. I work closely with my clients for months or years on a single project and they become like family, and, the privilege of designing someone’s most sacred space, their home, is an honor I don’t take lightly. If you are considering hiring an interior designer and have enjoyed learning about our design process, I’d love to hear from you.
