One of the most complex professional relations is that between the interior designer and his/her customer. The reasons are many but I would say the elements that weigh the most in this process are first the subjective nature of design and second the emotional-financial dilemma present throughout the project.
This means that the task of choosing your interior designer has to be accomplished using all the resources you have at your disposal to help you make the right decision. An important part of the success of the outcome will rely on this bit. But this is just the start…
How you get the most out of your interior designer will determine how you enjoy the journey and the destination. Below 5 key points for you to think about:
Searching for the right designer
Having a clear idea of your concept is going to help you to find the designer that you think can interpret your desires best because of his/her style, approach and sensibility. Out there you’ll find functional designers, pragmatic designers, copycat designers, trend designers and artist designers amongst others. Which one do you want/need? Choosing well is as important as what style you want.
Once you have found them check the portfolio, quality, etc. are his/her designs in tune with what you envision? If there is a blog… have a look, you can understand a lot about a designer’s knowledge and sensitivity by knowing their interests.
And finally arrange a meeting where you can ask questions related to their approach and then you can evaluate how comfortable you feel with him/her, if there is chemistry and trust.
Giving the right brief
The brief is the first step. It is going to help you to choose the designer that matches your needs and is going to help the designer to understand your needs.
When working on your brief include as much information as possible: How do you want your home to look, what do you want to feel, what is your budget, which are the main elements that have to be considered, which are important but not necessary, some images you have found that explain your ideas and finally any specific pieces, objects, colors, individual elements that have to be considered.
Understanding the proposal and thinking into the future
If you are thinking of making all those changes in your home because you want to live your life in a different way, in an improved way, think what that means: is the project reflecting the way you want to live in the future and how you experience your new home? Will it reflect the new you?
The time you invest on this, with yourself and with your interior designer will help you to find solutions that are more assertive and aligned with your brief.
Ask “why?” more
You need to be keen to be challenged now and then by your interior designer. That does not mean you need to accept 100 % of his/her ideas but give him/her the opportunity to explain them. You hired a professional so you need to be open, to listen. If the explanations do not satisfy you, give your feedback. In this way you are going to help your designer to understand you and your needs more, increasing the possibility of a great outcome. Remember design is not a linear process. It is a circular one. Sometimes even an irregular path… So moving backwards can mean moving forwards.
During Building work
Finally during building works you are going to be facing how the project takes life. At this moment many doubts will come to mind. Am I doing the correct thing? It does not look great, etc. I would suggest not being tempted to change things in an impulsive way. This is going to cost you time, money and stress or maybe even destroy the project! Again ask questions, remember that it is the role of your designer to keep the vision alive and control the elements in such a way that even if some of them have to be adjusted the vision can still survive.
Communication, trust and keeping the right perspective will foster your project.
Trust is the keystone on which your relations with the designer have to be built. And the good designer will cherish and honor that trust as part of their professionalism.
Your home is the most precious place you have and as such it needs to be created with passion, love, professionalism and trust. That is why the relation with your interior designer is so important.
