I will probably not answer your question right, but a while back we bought furniture from a furniture store and got their 'free' decorator to come out and look at our home. She really helped us pick out the right size/shape/style of sofas for our difficult-to-decorate rooms. She also helped with the furniture placement, which was critical, as I have an open floor plan with NO walls that are at a 90 degree angle. She also suggested additional items that we were not interested in at that time, but have since added them on our own. She went through the whole house, and if I had been smarter, would have asked her for her opinions on every room - whether I was getting furniture for that room or not! Hope this helps a little bit.

Yes, an interior designer can be hired for a consult. Do you have friends, family, neighbors that have worked with someone they would recommend? The hard part is finding one that can see what you want, can feel what you want.

Or to start, you can take a lot of photos and post each room here. We can do your design for free. There are a lot of talented people here with a lot of good ideas.

They can be a big help, but I've always eyed decorators somewhat askance since my teens. I went with my cousin to look at a sofa her decorator wanted her to get. "ButÂthe fabric's on inside out," she said. The decorator assured her that her (my cousin's) husband had been in and loved it for its subtlety. "Well, okay, I guess," said my cousin.

The following day I went with Jim to get the sofa. "What? She wanted this? The fabric's inside out," said he. "Oh, your wife just had to have it," said the decorator with nary a blush. They lived with that sofa for years, each shrugging at the other's taste, when neither of them liked it at all.

But I presume the decorator did well from it.

I am not sure you will get much of an unbiased opinion in here, more likely a list of awful experiences for every response that yes, they can be helpful.

The key thing is that if you are getting a consult, you should try to find out if you like their work first. Because it is a consult, you are not paying a fee only if you like their ideas, the ideas aren't free. You are paying for their time and ideas. If there is a local ASID chapter they may have a referral service or website for you to look at the work of designers in your area. Perhaps you could also ask to see their portfolio of work before you hire them for a specific consultation.