Ten Reasons Why You Should Hire an Interior Designer
I’m going to be very honest here and put this out there. When I tell people I’m an Interior Designer I get a bit embarrassed. Its because I think people associate Interior Designers as working on great big houses, charging a fortune and buying ridiculously expensive furniture while saying ‘darling’ a lot and air kissing their clients. I might be very wrong, it’s a hunch! If that’s what you’re after I am most certainly not your girl. Of course there’s a top end design market driving trends, new products and ways of doing things that I have a huge amount of respect for and really enjoy following. But what I do, honestly, is much more basic. I trained and got into this because I have a fundamental belief that it is really important to love your home. And I believe you can do that stylishly and affordably if you know how.
I spend quite a lot of time telling people what I do and why, so I thought what better way to kick off the year than by sharing that here. For anyone who would love to have some help putting their home together but has always thought it was too extravagant, or for anyone who is stuck and just needs someone to run things past. Here’s the most popular reasons why people hire me and how I can help.
1. Get the fundamentals right. There is a lot of work to be done on a space before you get to cushions, curtains and paint colour. If the space doesn’t function properly then regardless of how lovely it looks you’ll hate it. Getting the function and layout right, specifically for the people who live there, is essential. Then there’s the lighting, when that’s wrong the whole room looks wrong. You wouldn’t believe the difference some cleverly positioned lamps can make. Position is also key - where to put sofas and tables. And scale - what size should everything be? I’m always telling people to go big on mirrors and artwork, mostly people wince but it looks so much better. When all this is right, then you can add your colour and style. It’s not a long process, and it’s not expensive, just thoughtful - kind of like getting the foundations right before you build a house... It’s the ‘dull’ bit at the beginning but without it the house will fall down.
2. Know where to start
Designing your home can be overwhelming. If it’s a new home the list of things to do is always endless. If it’s a home you’ve been in for a while you’ve probably done some work and then got side tracked by something major like a baby arriving or a job changing. Maybe you just can’t see the wood for the trees or your budget is tight and you’re not quite sure how best to spend it.
One of the major reasons that my clients have found me is because they lack the confidence to make some big decisions. “I’m just not sure…..” is often how it starts. Most people know what style they like, or at the very least they know what they don’t like. And they know how they want their home to feel. That’s all we need. With years of experience putting homes together we can bring the confidence to say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to the questions you’ve been dwelling on and offer alternatives when you’re not sure.
3. Avoid making silly mistakes
We’ve heard it all. From sofas that have arrived and don’t fit, rooms that have been copied from Pinterest that don’t look how they should or DIY that has gone horribly wrong. We’re great trouble-shooters but it shouldn’t need to get to disaster before you hire someone to help. Mistakes can be costly, stressful and take a long time to resolve. Hiring someone who knows what they are doing avoids the mistakes in the first place. You wouldn’t think twice about hiring a plumber or an electrician to do the job you can’t do. If you can’t make your home look the way you want it to, why would you stop at hiring a designer?
4. Work with trusted professionals & suppliers
Our partners in crime @owlconstruction
There are no real secrets to interior design, most of it is common sense and practice. But one thing that every designer has is a black book of carefully selected experts and places to go for the things they need. We work with some really lovely local experts from builders, stone masons and stove specialists to curtain makers and sofa suppliers. For example, Check out our interview with our carpet expert Paul. Working closely with these companies regularly affords us discounted rates which we can pass on to our customers. We can also pass on the knowledge that these people are trustworthy and good at what they do - which in our book is priceless.
5. Reuse and recycle
“I’m not sure if I can re-use this…..” Sofa? Bed? Old coffee table?” Nine out of ten times you can, you just need some ideas on what to do with it. Often it’s something that can be done yourself, a new coat of paint or simply a polish. Maybe it’s just moving it or repurposing it. We firmly believe in recycling and re-loving our furniture and we’ve helped clients to save a lot of money just by repurposing furniture they couldn’t see a home for.
6. See how things will look
How can you ever make a good decision about your home if you can’t ‘see’ what it will look like? Having a vision of how something will look when it’s done is either something you can do or you can’t - I’m sure you can learn, but let’s be honest not everyone has time for that. An interior designer will supply you with 3D renders or sketches of what your space will look like.
This is a 3D render for our Lewes Crescent Project
They will be to scale so you can make sure everything fits just how you want it. In fact the technology has got so good that sometimes you can hardly tell if it’s a render or a real life image. Properly seeing how your space will look, stops silly mistakes from being made and gives you the confidence to design a home you love. Spending money ‘blind’ is stressful and should be avoided at all cost.
7. Save time
Our clients often tell us that they just don’t have time and need some help putting their home together. We love this one and we offer all kinds of ways of working with our clients so they get the service that they really need. One of our recent clients is a busy teacher with a young family and we worked closely together as a team. With our designs, our client purchased everything for her whole-house project when her budget afforded it. She made the purchases and did a lot of the sourcing work with our suppliers to allow her budget to stretch to us designing every room in her house in Shoreham. It worked really well. For some clients we provide a shopping list, others want a full design and build service where we manage all the ordering, deliveries and inevitable returns. We’re totally flexible around our clients, and everyone is different.
So many people put off a home project because they don’t have the time and feel stressed just thinking about it. Hiring a designer to help with your home gets the job started and the job finished.
8. Make your holiday home or rental just right
It’s not surprising, with Sussex as gorgeous as it is, that lots of people choose to have a holiday home or rental property down here. But the very fact that it’s away from home means that they’re not based here. They don’t have the contacts, the tradespeople, the local knowledge and chances are that their holiday home is quite different in style to their home. Our Lewes Crescent project was a second home and we loved being able to design this really special space for our clients. We were able to be there for important meetings with suppliers and trades, work with the builder and offer a complete service to get their lovely home ready. Click here for more on how we can help you style your rental.
9. Increase the value of your home
A great car in good condition holds it’s value, and homes are no different. By investing in your home, making it function well and look great, you will add value to your investment and get to enjoy it in the process. A lot of people struggle to justify the cost of a designer as it always seems like such an extravagance, but when you look at it simply against the value you could add to your home overall the cost seems much more worthwhile.
10. Re-love your home
And finally, my old favourite. But it’s so important. Your home is your sanctuary, your safe place, your castle. It should make you feel secure and comfortable and ‘home’. I believe a lovely home should reflect the people who live there from the minute you open the door. Make it yours, make it personal and love it. It’s so important.
So there you have it - my top ten reasons why you should hire an interior designer. Which brings us back to the word itself again (still don’t think it’s right for me - I’m going to find a better word!). In conclusion getting your home how you want it doesn’t have to be expensive and can actually save and make you money.
At The Sussex Home Stylist we work really flexibly. We often charge by the hour so our clients can have as much or as little design time as they need. It’s totally transparent and it’s affordable. There is absolutely no air kissing but we do love a cuppa and a biscuit goes a very long way! Check out our pricing here.
If you have any questions or queries or you’d like to talk through our prices and how it works please don’t hesitate to give us a call or drop your details below. Whether its a large project or a small one, we’d love to hear from you.
