Happy Friday all! I have had a number of questions of late regarding the value and benefit of hiring an interior designer. How do you know if you need an interior designer to help with updates? How do you know if you can work with one? If you have some updates planned and are not sure whether an interior designer could help, consider the following questions:

1. Does your home reflect your personality?

Our homes should reflect our personal style and support our lifestyle. As you look around your home, does the current design and decor really reflect your style and attitude toward life? Does the layout and decor support your lifestyle? If you answered no to these questions, you may need to hire an interior designer.

2. Has your life changed? Are you at a different stage of life?

Our lives change over time and it is often necessary to make changes to our homes to support the age and stage we find ourselves at. Are you having children? Do your teenagers need their own space to hang out in? Are you empty nesters and want a whole new look for this stage? Are you facing changes in health that may require changes and updates to support healthy, safe living in place? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you many need to hire an interior designer.

3. Are you overwhelmed?

We are virtually bombarded every day with interior decor and design information – shelter magazines at every checkout, home improvement shows on television, online resources that show lots of pretty pictures but little to no description on how to achieve a look. The amount of information is overwhelming and can make it challenging to determine your own personal style not to mention the number of colour choices available! If you don’t know where to begin or don’t have the time to develop a design and plan for your space update, you may need to hire an interior designer to take away the overwhelm.

4. Does an interior designer add value?

An interior designer will not impose their style on you! They will sit down with you to discuss who uses the space to be updated and how often they use it, what colours you like and don’t like and what your budget is for the update. Based on this discussion as well as their expertise and experience, they will prepare a design that will fit with and support your life as well as layout the elements recommended and required to complete the project.

Also consider the fact that interior designers have access to companies that are for the trades only, that is, companies whose only clients are interior designers. What this means for you is that your designer can purchase products that you will not see anywhere else and that can be customized to fit your lifestyle, space and need. These products can range from furnishings to upholstery fabrics to linens.

5. Are you short on time and energy?

Interior designers have a team of trades they work with to complete updates, including carpenters, dry wall installers, painters, electricians, plumbers, flooring installers, window treatment specialists, etc. Designers will manage all of the trades and make those necessary trips back and forth to the paint shop, home improvement stores, etc. This will save you a huge amount of time and energy not to mention stress!

When debating whether to hire an interior designer or not, consider these questions and what you enjoy spending your time doing. If it doesn’t include developing a design, selecting the finishes and elements to complete the update as well as sourcing products and managing all of the trades required, hiring an interior designer could be a very cost effective decision for you.

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