5 Questions To Ask An Interior Designer Before You Hire Them

When it comes to hiring the right interior designer for your home remodeling, several questions can come to mind-

• Will your creative vision of what you want the home to match and align with theirs?
• Are they going to be the perfect match and understand your needs and requirements?
• Will you be able to afford them and how will the payment schedule be like?

In other words, the process of hiring an interior designer can be a very daunting and overwhelming experience. You are probably not going to remodel for the next three to five years. This means that the final design is something you need to love and be content with.

In the past few years, it seems like every contractor, furniture maker or painter has taken on the mantle of being an interior designer. However, when it comes to finding one for your home, you need to do your research and zero down on someone who is truly an expert.

In this article, we speak to one of Singapore’s top interior design houses, Eight Design. We request them to list down five questions that homeowners should ask interior designers before homeowners sign them on.

List of 5 Questions to ask an Interior Designer Before you Hire Them

1. Ask them whether they think that they will be a good fit for your project

Before you start with questions about timelines and costs, the first thing you need to ask them is why they feel that they would be a good interior design firm for the project. You need to understand that a project can stretch over months. This means that the designer team and the homeowners need to be on the same page and share the same vision for a very long time.

2. Ask them whether they want homeowners to give inputs or do they prefer zero interference

Another major area of friction that usually arises between designers and homeowners tends to do with the constant inputs and back and forth. Homeowners keep seeing things on social media and start sharing the same. This created a frustrating work environment for the designer who might then call off the project. This is an important question that can help in positive outcomes.

3. Ask them what is the Source of their Inspiration for Designing

Any professional who is involved in creative arts always has a source of inspiration. It can be anything from nature to animals, music to technology. Once you ask them about their inspiration, you can get a faint idea about the direction of the project. If you are at loggerheads over the inspiration, you would want to move on to the next interior designer on the list.

4. Ask them whether they will share how the design plays out in the form of presentations

A lot of the world’s leading interior design engineers are always sharing stage-wise developments with their clients. They do this by sharing color palettes, fabrics, and textiles that they want to introduce in the design process. The major advantage of this is that it keeps the homeowners informed and updated. This means that they are not likely to experience any major shocks later on.

5. Ask them how do they plan out the designing budget and what do they prioritize-

No matter how grand your designing budget is, there will always be some areas that will be prioritized. You need to ask the designer about how are they going to plan the budgets. If they are going all out on some elements, make sure that that is the element you want no compromises on. These are major factors that can help in building consensus for the design project.

The Bottom Line

Additionally, to the above-mentioned questions, homeowners can also ask the designers about other things as well. For example, they can ask them to share a portfolio of their work or, to share some client references that could be spoken to over the phone.

A home redecoration or remodeling can be an incredibly satisfying or rewarding experience. An interior designer can make all of your dreams come true, provided you have lucky enough to hire the best ones in the industry.

By paying attention to the above five questions, you will be one step closer to hiring an interior designer best suited for your project. If you have any more queries, you would like us to answer, feel free to mention them in the comments section below.