8 Things Interior Designers Want You to Know
What do interior designers do? The popular image of an interior designer toting around fabric swatches and paint samples covers only a small part of what these pros do. Like decorators, interior designers can help you choose fabrics, furnishings and paint colors. And in many U.S. states, interior designers have design degrees and are also certified to offer additional expertise in building codes, construction standards, project coordination and more.
Here’s more they’d like you to know about what they do.
So if you spy a designer whose work you love here on Houzz and see that he or she is based in a city far from where you live, don’t immediately assume you can’t work together. Some firms have offices in other locations, some designers are willing to travel to work on a project, and some are willing to work entirely long distance. If you are dying to work with a particular designer, it’s always worth inquiring.
How to Work With an Interior Designer
Find interior designers in your area and browse their portfolios
First, she says, “a lot of our vendors won’t allow us to list any pricing online. Second, a lot of the products change over time — becoming discontinued or altered, changing prices, etc. — and it would be incredibly time consuming to update all 450-plus photos anytime something changes. Finally, we have to respect the privacy of our clients, who usually don’t want us announcing how much they spent on their furniture.”
“And,” says Schumacher, “an interior designer has the skills to help with furniture and fabrics — the ‘jewelry’ of the home.”