Why hire an interior designer in Dallas? Above all: to save you money. What?! What about for a drop-dead design? Ok, if you are making a real commitment to your home, then you need to read this.
Everyone wants a beautiful interior they love, and well, to showoff to their friends. But, I often hear from people:
“Why should I hire a Interior Designer? I know what I want.” or “I can buy that myself, why do I need a Interior Designer? ”
In truth, there’s a lot more to successful interior design than knowing what you like and buying it yourself.
Would you trust yourself to write your own legal contract if you were selling your Park Cities home or make your own gown for the Crystal Charity Ball? You could, but would it be easy for you? Would it be amazing? Probably not.
Hire a professional. Designers deliver a successful result every time using a wealth of experience. Here are 5 key reasons you’d be smart to hire an Interior Designer for your home:
1. To Avoid Costly Mistakes
Pick one: wrong color, wrong size, poor quality – I have heard all of these issues when people agonize about very costly mistakes they made in choosing the wrong furnishing pieces.
Friends always ask my opinion:
“ Hey, do you like this sofa?”
I offer my opinion, but preface it by saying:
“ Yes I do; but it’s hard to be 100% sure without knowing the plan for the rest of room.”
Good Designers think about the big picture and the details all at once. Will the sofa fit through the narrow back stairs, work aesthetically with the room’s colors, or align with the height of the side tables, for example? Designers create a comprehensive room design. They include a scaled furniture plan and a list of decorative elements – all ideally before anything is purchased. You can’t make confident choices without it.
This brings me to a related point: The Dallas Design District has a wealth of resources. Countless furnishings mirror the wide range of home styles in the Metroplex. And, in Dallas we all love glamour. Without a clear direction, it’s easy to choose the “shiny penny” for every piece. Good design is about balance and restraint. Behind the scene, Designers spend time measuring your space, researching and sourcing tons of furnishings that align with your style and objectives. Then, they skillfully edit the choices and present you with a thoughtful collection of wonderful pieces that work as a whole.
Having a design plan like this keeps the project on target, accurate and without regrets. So, if you want to splurge on that amazing Christian Liaigre coffee table from the David Sutherland Showroom, you can with confidence. Designers charge a fee for their design plan, but it’s well worth it.
2. To Get a Trained Eye
Good Designers are quick to assess your interior issues and help define your personal aesthetic. Designers will recommend tricks to improve small spaces, or identify elements and upgrades to make your rooms dynamic. For example, with fresh eyes we can re-purpose existing furnishings (that a client could never imagine working in their new home) just by revamping it or moving it to a new location in the house.
Today, a dilemma many of us face in Dallas with vintage homes is how far and how much to spend with a remodel. We all want to get our money out when we go to sell.
A good Interior Designer can propose spatial changes and material finish updates that will transform your existing interiors with or without gutting the interior. In this effort, Designers offer suggestions on practical interior layouts, state-of-the-art materials and finishes, and offer a voice of reason to guide clients away from impractical choices. Probably because of my East Coast roots, I love classic old homes. If the bones are good, remodeling can produce a beautiful end result for your wallet and your eyes.
Designers keep inspiration files and collect resources throughout their career. Hiring a seasoned Interior Decorator gives you access to their design library. I personally have design resources accumulated from projects in France, London, Los Angeles, and The Hamptons for example. Plus, regular visits to the Paris Flea markets, The Milan Furniture Fair and Round Top Antique Fair and other furniture fairs, uniquely shape my perspective and vendors on each design project.
You may actually not “know what you want” until a Designer shows you something you never even knew existed!
3. To be a Liaison with Your Architect and Builder
Good interior designers work collaboratively with an architect to ensure a balance between inside and out. For example, master bedroom windows may need to be realigned on the exterior elevation to allow a wall large enough for the client’s king size bed. Also, a plan needs to be considered early to combat the intense Dallas sun. Designers propose appropriate window treatments and make sure the proper ceiling pockets and electrical locations are included for concealed motorized sunshades.
Similarly, many of my Dallas clients have great art collections and want to showcase them with special lighting. Confirming art walls on the interior furniture plans and in turn the appropriate electrical requirements for its lighting must happen early.
Clients can get into budget trouble when the interiors are not designed and specified in advance. There is a budget disconnect on a project when a $5/square foot tile is budgeted by a builder, but the client falls in love with a $30/square foot tile later. These types of changes can add up fast. Designers will review the budget and make recommendations where to splurge with cost allowances in mind.
A good Designer stays one step ahead in construction – creating detailed design & furniture plans, and defining the materials selections in advance. This ensures the interior build out goes smoothly and costly contractor Change Orders are minimized.
4. To Save You Time
Time is money. Designers allow you the luxury of removing yourself from managing every small detail and decision. The process to research, resource and procure products is very time consuming . Also, a typical interior design projects can have 0ver 100 Purchase orders.
It’s not as simple as choosing a beautiful fabric. Designers resource widely and collect many options before editing down to the one presented. For example, that beautiful mohair fabric is presented only after we check the lead-time, ensure the fabric has no minimum order, confirm the cost aligns with the target budget. Plus, we confirm the color way and durability properties, confirm its suitability for the upholstery piece, and request a cutting for approval to check it matches our initial showroom sample.
Probably the most challenging piece of the interior design project is ensuring items arrive correctly and in perfect condition. One custom sofa can have 5 vendors involved between the frame, fabrics and trim, and delivery company. Good designers have good vendors. Through experience, they manage the design and procurement efficiently and are skilled at preempting shipping pitfalls. Taking the product procurement process off your shoulders is a luxury well worth the cost. This saves you time and frees you up to focus on your family, job or other interests. If you plan to redesign or decorate an entire home in Dallas, hiring a turn key Designer with these skills is critical for success. They have the back-of-house software and invoicing systems in place to keep organized and on schedule.
If you do decide to tackle the interior design and execution yourself, I highly recommend hiring a Designer for a day to hash out and confirm ideas prior to beginning product procurement. It will save you time and mistakes in the long run. To learn more about this type of service we offer click here.
5. To Improve Your Home’s Resale Value
Good Interior Designers understand what it takes to make a room exceptional. Designers can create a dynamic look – with scale, and color and beautiful pieces. They are confident in their choices and will combine elements in creative ways for that “wow” factor.
Having worked in store design at Ralph Lauren, I learned the art of layering interiors and creating small “moments” within a larger space. One of the biggest mistakes people make is not adding a final layer of accessories and styling. Without it — rooms lack personality and soul. A talented Designer will carefully select and balance furnishings, creating an interior that home buyers find irresistible.
Also, Designers know trends and will steer you in the right direction when remodeling. I’ve been told more than once by my clients that my interior design work got them hundreds of thousands of dollars more when they sold their home. People enjoying move houses within Dallas, so having a customize designed haven also pays it forward when you go to sell.
I hope this post has helped you understand more about Interior Designers and the value they bring to home improvement projects.
Informative and insightful. Thanks for writing and sharing this post with us.
We’re glad you elaborated on interior designers and how they’re able to re-arrange a piece of furniture in a brand new way. We’re interested in buying new furniture pieces in a few weeks, but we’re worried about which style we really want, so we think we’ll follow your advice and find an interior designer. My wife and I appreciate your tips on how to create an attractive space that suits our personalities.