The expense of Interior Designer feels indulgent, but let us explain why and how this is a wise move for more reasons than just financial!
'My interior designer...' oh it does sound bougie! Hiring an interior designer is perceived to be a luxury, in fact, hiring an interior designer is a necessity, more than anything else. The space you have is precious and we're sure the last thing you would want is to end up working or living in a space you constantly keep thinking - 'Could have been better!' Interior design and renovation can be a very expensive minefield and a professional is here to help you come out glowing rather than getting burnt!
In brief an interior designer has knowledge, experience, connections, education, supplier discounts, design skills and invests their time in staying on top of what's best. Here we go into detail different reasons explaining why is hiring an interior designer important.
"Everything is designed. Few things are designed well."
– Brian Reed
1
SAVE MONEY
No I’m not kidding; It might sound strange to say that hiring someone to design your home would save you money as there is an cost associated with employing an interior designer. However, in the long run, their knowledge can actually enable you to save money. They may help you avoid expensive errors, allocate your funds more efficiently, and steer you toward purchases that will increase the value of your property. A costly mistake I saw recently was a client who spent £3000 on a custom bed frame with a deep curved headboard, only to realise on installation that because of the additional depth of the headboard it didn’t fit in the room; they had to either climb over the bed or put it in front of and block the only window. The bed was un-returnable, and after putting up with it for 6 months they sold it at a huge loss and inconvenience. As well as handling so many other tasks a designer will ensure all pieces are appropriate for the space.
2
PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT
After assessing the interior and what needs to be achieved, the Designer can create a solid plan of action as far as your situation, problem solving, layout, products and tasks to be completed and in what order. For example on products; what you should invest in, what can be repurposed or should be edited, and the order of things to source as far as priorities and where you can compromise later on. This will not only effect the budget but help you to spend it more efficiently.
3
BUDGETING AND PLANNING
A designer will save you endless amounts of time researching products, brands and prices; it’s their job to know where to go for resourcing everything related to interiors so can keep you on budget and save you time and effort. They’ll have all this readily on hand, and should they not, will spend time researching more effectively so that you don’t have to. Then all products and potential price point options will be presented so you can see the overall cost.
4
VAST RESOURCES
There are things available to designers that are not available to the general public in terms of connections, resources and general merchandise. By culminating these resources designers can help to make your space look more collected, unique and pulled together. There are also numerous Trade only shows that designers visit every year to find fabulous new suppliers and products.
5
CONTACTS
In addition to vendor resources, designers have many home improvement industry contacts, or can turn to their network of colleagues across the country for insider recommendations. They can save homeowners time and headaches trying to identify reliable, contractors, electricians and plumbers for their projects.
6
LIASON
A designer can head off design misses in your overall plan and are the extra set of eyes that are trained to see and notice things you may not and could ultimately get overlooked. For example, it’s so important that the lighting and furnishing needs are addressed before construction; If your living room sofa is floating in a the middle of the room you want to make sure you have the proper placement for floor sockets. The designer makes sure everyone is on the same page from the architect to the contractors, and that the details aren’t missed or functionality compromised by planning and communication.
7
WOW FACTOR
Thinking outside the box is what designers do every day and what makes them so special. Designers are trained to think differently, spatially and to see an overall picture that clients often struggle with, and can help to give you the “wow” factor you’ve been looking for. I know my clients have been beyond thrilled with the final results; just check out my reviews on Houzz.
8
VISUAL STORYTELLING
A designer can make your house a home by helping you tell your visual story and make a space both personal and aesthetically beautiful. Interior Designers have a natural flair and also a real skill tuned over years of experience, and theirs is an art that will only enhance the space and the quality of your life in the space. Hiring a professional raises the level of that experience, I can’t think of a better reason than that.
9
HOME VALUE
You’re also investing in your space to help you increase your future home sale value, by boosting buyer appeal, to set your home above the competition. This increased appeal can exponentially speed up the amount of time your home sits on the market before it’s sold. The benefit here is two-fold, a faster turn-around time and more money in your pocket.
10
A TRAINED EYE
A designer has a trained eye that can not only tell you if there is something wrong with a space but can give you creative solutions to resolve it. Having that immediate consult is a major advantage when making aesthetic decisions and is the result of years of experience and will result in getting you to spend money investing in the right solutions. Homeowners often will try to do it all themselves, but not achieve what they want even after spending lots of money; non only do they not fix a problem, but don’t have the confidence to push the design out of their comfort zone and end up with something blander than the images they drool over in magazines, or create a space that doesn’t stand the test of time by investing in sub-quality products or by being influenced too much by the current trend. I had a client who’d purchased a TV console unit in a very long thin room. They wanted a super minimal look but for family life in a house with little storage. I suggested instead having a long slim console made that spanned the room with lots of low inbuilt storage and mirror panelling on the upper wall; it would make the room fee bigger and hide away all those toys that clashed with the aesthetic when they entertained.
11
TIME
Why waste your precious spare time struggling to achieve good results and spending hours researching. A designer has the know how, experience and resources to achieve amazing results quicker than you ever could. Concentrate at what your great at (Job wise) and use that to fund hiring a designer to concentrate on what they're great at!
12
REFLECTION
Your space should perfectly reflect you, your life, your needs, your desires, your success and your future aspirations. Are you a DIY'er who wants to cut corners? No. You're someone who hires professionals to get the best results.
At Magpye Creative Interiors we create unique space for unique clients. To enquire about working with us to create your dream interior please get in touch.
Katie
Katie Longshaw-Pye
Creative Director | Magpye Creative Interiors
Ribble Valley