How to Employ an Interior Designer

With so many options in the Interior Design field dying for your business, how do you choose the Interior Designer who is right for you?

Research interior designers that are available, using one from the local area is advantageous as they can drop into site with minimum notice.
Check their credentials:

-Do they have formal qualifications? (not a 10 week wonder course)

-Do they belong to the Design Institute of Australia – they have very strict criteria to be eligible

-Ask for testimonials, not just written, but people you can call

-Look at their website, Facebook page and LinkedIn page

-Remember the interior design industry is unregulated and anyone can call themselves an interior designer so do your due diligence.

Organise an initial meeting. You will be charged an initial consultation fee but they will be there from 1.5 – 2 hours giving you a lot of ideas and information on what can be achieved, something that cannot be done in 15 minutes. Most interior designers will redeem this cost if you go ahead with their services.
Decide on your budget. Be realistic and up front, don’t tell them half way through the project that you have another $5000 for eg. This will only compromise the overall design. Yes you do need a contingency fee especially if renovating but this is part of the budget.
Communicate with the designer throughout the project. Be honest, not nasty if you do not like something, give feedback but also realise design is always evolving and items seen in isolation may look incorrect. Trust is important.
Reap the rewards of using an interior designer.