Why would you hire an Interior Designer?

‘Interior Design’ can often conjure up one of three responses:

1) It means transforming a room in 48hrs with haphazard upholstery and painting (think Interior Design Masters or Changing Rooms).
2) A luxury service, only open to those who can afford it.
3) It’s something anyone can do, if you have a decent eye for it.

Here are my thoughts -

1) I’d say this is possible for a quick fix (providing you’re armed with an available team of skilled trades), but avoid for the sake of the environment and your budget. This will not be a design that lasts and inevitably it will need to be re-done sooner than you think. Plus an Interior Designer (namely me) will never recommend/specify plastic plants!

2) Historically yes. However software and the way we live has changed, making it not only more accessible, but also increasingly necessary (to prevent the waste from ripping out work that ‘doesn’t work!’ as above).

3) There’s more to it than you might expect. Similar to deciding to do your own flowers for your wedding vs. hiring a florist - you might feel like you’re saving money, but this is only superficial. However, it doesn’t mean that your great taste and eye for style won’t be utilised…Interior Designers work incredibly closely with their clients to produce a design that suits the way the client lives and their personality, not to their own personal taste (again, bar the plastic plants).

So let’s go, Why would you hire an Interior Designer?

PROCESS.
Have you ever started a room and not finished it? Ended up living with a blank wall in your bedroom because you can’t find that ‘right’ piece of art? Or hurried into buying a sofa because ‘it’ll do for now?’ And then the weeks turn into months and when you re-visit that room to ‘finish’ it and hear yourself saying, ‘actually, I’d do it differently now…’ ?

Bringing an Interior Designer on board, means you’ll be taken through an end to end process.

We’ll pull together how you live, your aspirations for the space, consider your existing furniture, artworks and the natural lighting in the room and we’ll align this with who will use the room and what the room will be used for. From here we can present you with a design concept, a scaled floor plan and general layout drawing, a lighting plan in addition to a mood board which will detail all the colours, textures, finishes and fabrics. To help you to visualise the space, we can create a digital or hand-drawn perspective of what the design will look like in 3D.

An Interior Designer will look at the bigger picture and the minutiae of the detail, meaning before anything is bought for your space, you’ll have a wholistic plan and scheme to work to. You’ll avoid unnecessary spend on impulse purchases, items not the right size or paint not the right shade - saving you money and wastage. And, we’ll save you time. This process will prevent you from trawling DIY stores only to feel overwhelmed and scrolling the endless rabbit warren of Pinterest, where yes you might gain ideas, but you’ll only fall in love with what has already been done, in someone else’s house. You, your family and your space are unique - never forget that.

BESPOKE.
With planning comes clarity. An Interior Designer can advise you on creating bespoke furniture for your space, either creating from scratch or adapting an existing piece of furniture that works better for your needs and for how the room will be used.

We work with talented craftspeople, skilled at their trade, which will allow us to create furniture (and artwork) for your interior space (home, holiday home or AirBnB) that is unique and personal. Something that will last and be loved for generations.

This means we can design pieces specifically for a certain space, down to the bolts used to join it. We project co-ordinate this process and provide the maker with technical drawings. New isn’t always the answer, oftentimes, we’ll look at how we can adapt a piece of furniture you already own or acquired secondhand to make it work with your space and your chosen scheme.

COHESIVE.
When doing design DIY, you are limited by your time, your skill and your budget. Projects may start strongly, but due to these limitations, they may not finish before your tastes change.

Working with an ID (Interior Designer), will help you to focus singularly on the room or Interior spaces in question. We will consider all elements of the space, from the layout to the light, to the power needs and how best to serve them. We’ll give you the confidence to incorporate bolder colours, patterns, shapes and textures that you might not have felt sure about otherwise - we’ll provide you with samples that you can touch and feel and guide you through the properties of them that make the suitable for your room and those who’ll use it long term.

This will allow you to walk into, live in and share a space where the rooms flow cohesively from one to another, giving a pulled together look (much like a great outfit) as well as a thought through story that showcases your personality, lifestyle utilising a curated and considered selection of colours and finishes.

SAVE MONEY.
As I said at the start, DIY interiors can be like doing your own wedding flowers. You may have a great eye and know exactly the style and type of flowers you want to use but you’re already planning the rest of the wedding - do you really have the time? Will you know where to source the flowers you want? At a price you can afford? How will you know that the price you are quoted is fair? Will they wilt before the big day? Plus how do you actually arrange a bouquet?

Exactly.

You are balancing your work, family, holiday plans… - your time is limited. Bringing in an Interior Designer will allow you to pass the heavy lifting associated with home design off of your shoulders, whilst allowing you to focus on the key details, reviewing new ideas and signing off plans.

We can express your requirements in scaled drawings, concept boards and physical mood boards. Provide drawings for adapted furniture for your joiner to use, and give your electrician a lighting plan that is aligned to how your room will be used and where your furniture will placed (as opposed to a basic grid spotlight layout!).

You’ll also be guided to materials, paints and finishes that you may not have considered. At Stephanie Elaine Interiors we’ll guide you towards non-toxic paint, that protects your health and the health of the environment, help you to create a scheme using reclaimed and antique pieces sourced from our favourite antiques market and advise you on choosing fabrics to withstand family life so they can be enjoyed long term.

So although working with an Interior Designer may seem like additional spend at first, we’ll save you money by ensuring your choices are considered and substantiated and you’ll only need to redecorate once* vs once a year!

SUPPLIERS.
As an Interior Designer, we benefit from close relationships with trade suppliers and local craftspeople. This means we’re best placed to help you create unique living and working spaces using a mix of off the shelf, bespoke and reclaimed items. As a result, we’ll be able to source more widely and pass benefits from our trade discounts where possible, exposing you to materials, finishes and makers you may not have access to alone.

And finally, if you share your space with a partner or loved one, we can be that neutral, advisory party to help resolve your design differences and discover schemes and layouts that you’ll both love.

Bottom line, can you afford to not use an ID?

Our services start from a one off consultation for £75.00 to discuss your challenges and ideas. Get in touch below to arrange yours.

*although we can’t make any guarantees!