So what is it you want help with? This needs to be explained before we can even give you advice.

There are several stories on Houzz about hiring an interior designer. Start with this one:

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-an-interior-designer-stsetivw-vs~112598632

Well, I want to get a feel of how much I'll be spending from beginning to completion. I have two living rooms, low ceilings, and a stair case that's inches from the front door smack in the middle of the two living rooms. One living room sits on the other side of the kitchen and has a fireplace; the other has a wall to wall unit in oakwood (which I don't like but my husband does). I live in a 1942 house, not particularly attractive, in CT, and will likely move within the next 5 years.

I also want to know how to single out a designer that's the right fit for me.

I've looked at some designers on line and our local magazine. One in particular that I liked was Sandra Morgan Interiors, but quite frankly they may be too expensive for me, and while I like some of their designs, some I don't (the lavender rooms). I also worry whether if I go to a higher end firm, I'll be assigned a designer less qualified by the designer I like and that person may not be the right fit for me.

Another thought is whether I can comparison shop: in other words, which designers' work I like whose cost is within my means. I don't want to go ahead with a designer unless I'm sure I'm going to love the finished product.

a lot of designer will come down probono to look at the job and see what needs to be done and then give a quote. its hard to tell how much the job will run you because it depends on the items that you choose to decorate your house with. unless your doing a job with a set price. a lot of designers charge by hour. some designers charge by the job and then they take a percentage of whatever you spend on the décor of the house.

It is strictly redecorating, no remodeling. I have a price range in mind for two rooms 13 x 15-1/2 feet.

I"m paying $750 for plans to decorate a Living/Dining area. I met with the decorator at my home, we talked about what I wanted and agreed on the price. She came back a few days later to take measurements. The price includes 3D renderings of two different layouts (I have a challenging floor plan), and two different comprehensive options for each plan, including where to purchase each item. I think it's a fair price.

That's a great price. I was thinking more like 20k. Where are you located?

wow, $750 for all that seems way inexpensive.

Tibb - what is your designer located and who is she/he?

$750 sounds too good to be true. Buyer beware...

Wow! I'm shocked that $750 sounds so low! It is only for the renderings, it doesn't include any actual furnishings.

would you provide your designer's name, please?

One more voice to the astonishment of that price- $750 for a great deal of work and a lot of experience to make the work matter. This is either the bargain of the century or something less than stellar. I hope its the former.

I really don't want to put her name out there without her consent, but she is a legit, educated designer. She has a Masters Degree in Interior Design from Drexel University. I've seen her portfolio. If $750 for renderings only is low, what is an average price. You all are making me nervous!

Designers? Anyone?

I found it lol. Thanks for that, but I don't get how it relates to my question. What do you think is a fair price for the service I am getting?

Oh, sorry, I explained my rationale for linking in the disappearing post. I just thought this piece would give you an idea of how designers work and thus give you a better basis for conversations and expectation setting with those you meet.

I have worked with two designers. The first was a full service, she made a 3-D rendering of everything she wanted to do and I loved it all and paid up. I am thrilled with that experience- it was quite costly, to be sure.

The second, I worked with a designer based in one of my favorite furniture stores. I explained to her that I knew more or less what I wanted, but could use a more practiced eye to get my more of a wow factor than what I would do without any hand-holding. Anything I bought from the store where she worked would cost me nothing extra wrt her time and anything that had nothing to do with her employer would cost me $200 per hour of her time. She and I discussed everything from paint to curtains and door knobs. She did not provide any renderings (I did not need or want them, since I saw myself as the lead and her as a consultant, which was the opposite of my work with the regular designer I used.)

I am not sure any of this is directly helpful to you. For me, I just like gathering information about how others work and what arms are, in order to move forward. I apologize for not having anything more directly helpful to offer.

Thanks for sharing your experience, it is helpful.

but quite frankly they may be too expensive for me, and while I like some of their designs, some I don't (the lavender rooms). I also worry whether if I go to a higher end firm, I'll be assigned a designer less qualified by the designer I like and that person may not be the right fit for me.

I would contact the firm/designer to ask how they charge, how they develop their designs, who would work with you, etc.

If the firm is responsive to a client's wants and needs, the end product may be "the lavender rooms", rather than the designer/firm having their own style that they impose on all clients. Which I would thin is a good thing.

In any situation, I would definitely ask for references and check them. Checking up with what you can find online is not enough.

Also, just as a cautionary tale, I'm dropping this recent thread here,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5568447/would-appreciate-advice-on-bad-interior-designer-experience#23893070

Another good blog post with good advice from the same blogger Rita suggested,

"help! i hired the decorator from hell" which includes the "Ultimate Guide To Avoid Getting Stuck With The Sucky Decorator From Hell (or how to find your perfect interior designer)" : )

Beckysharp: thank you for that. Reinforces how careful one should be.

Tibb: I don't think you have to be concerned about the low price because it's only for renderings and you obviously like your designer's work. I also understand why you may not want to post her name. I also think if she came onto this post, she would probably drum up a lot of business.

As for me, I'm thinking I might try Modsy since it's so inexpensive and then if I'm not satisfied hire one of the two I've been thinking about.

I'm adding one more request:

Designers, what is typical for a CT old home, low ceilings 13 x 15 room, 10K, 20K, 40K for everything?

Try this site to explore their cost estimates: https://www.homewyse.com/

“Typical” doesn’t exist. When you go car shopping, do you shop for a economy Chevrolet, a mid priced Toyota, a luxury Cadillac or the latest MaseratI? It’s the same with designers and houses. There’s no way that a cheap Chevy gets parked at the CEO’s 8 bedroom house with the heated pool. And there’s no way that the just graduated and just married’s need that 40K custom Maserati sofa.

If you’re the economy Chevy, you’re probably going to want to work with someone cheap, at $100 an hour or so for basic work. That’s someone just out of school who hasn’t figured out her business model yet. Or it’s someone with no formal training, who just hung out their shingle one day after deciding they had a way with color. Buyer definitely beware on the low end side. And she hasn’t figured out if she is good and will make it, or mediocre and won’t. She’s still learning the real world, and hope to goodness she has spouse with a good job or she will starve. She's clueless about overall job pricing and her pricing, even though she may fake it. She probably does not have the industry sources that a more seasoned designer would have, so access to the trade merchandise will be limited. You may end up shopping at all the retail shops yourself, with a “plan” she put together, for less than 1K. For all new everything living room, you’re talking a 8-15K mostly off the shelf completed room here. That is if nothing existing is worth keeping. If you’ve been wise in investing in quality pieces, the figure can be lower. Or, if you want better quality pieces to carry into your next life phase, that figure can be higher.

If you're the mid priced Toyota, you are over the scrimping and economizing to pick poor quality fad stuff that breaks, and are focused on getting value for the long haul. Your Designer will likely be $150-250 hourly, plus commissions on products. Most designers in this range will be survivors of the Budget Chevy type, and be seasoned, have good to the trade sources, and will work off of whole room budgets instead of hourly consults. They may have graduated to having an assistant. They’ve learned that splitting jobs up into 100 different parts to be paid for is self defeating, both for the customer and designer. She may offer you a paid hourly initial consult, but her focus will be on the whole job, and giving you that value by doing the whole job. You will get better results, and she will get paid better, because of those to the trade resources. Don’t begrudge her commissions on product. It is what keeps her in business. You’re still paying less than retail, and the bottom line is what is important. You’ll get better quality than Pottery Barn, at a lower price, Your complete living room project can be 25-50K, which is average for better than average retail quality for a complete soup to nuts. Again, if you made wise quality purchases in the past, the figure can be less.

The Cadillac won’t have an hourly rate. Room rate whole package only. Or product purchases only. Sure, if you’ve been a past customer, and want a new sofa and wall color for a room she did for you 10 years ago, she will work with you. But no one else is going to get that small type service, unless it’s from a junior. She likely has her own showroom, and junior designers to do the running down of items. She just does the high concepts. She will have a good name locally, and will likely have a niche style that she is known for doing well. You’ll be getting very good to the trade products, and the design will be impeccable. You also won’t need to be involved in any of the uncomfortable scheduling snafus and details. The designer will handle everything with no stress to you. A living room project is likely 40-90K. They also can do a Toyota project with a junior, or a Maserati with the principle sourcing some uber designer products. This type of firm will be the most versatile, and have the most resources to fit all your needs.

The Maserati Designer is a “name”, even if it’s not country wide known. They may have their own name on a products line from a retailer. They may or may not be selling education and skill, and a well done room with that name, but most clients are looking for the prestige of that name. You’ll be in 40K custom sofa territory here. 100K antique rugs. You likely will not be working directly with the name. You will be working with a junior at the firm, and may get to meet the name once. If you are a name yourself, or have an unlimited budget, or have a quirky and interesting house suitable for a magazine, the name may create the initial concept for the juniors to work on for you. This is the “if you have to ask, you can't afford it” category.

Don't let the skeptics freak you out. We are so conditioned to believe "you get what you pay for," but in my experience, that is definitely not always true.

Over the past 30 years, some of the best work done at my house was by professionals who came in with lower bids Typically they were as interested in doing a good job as much as they are in the paycheck. They took great pride in their work, had exceptional manners and cleaned up as if it were their own home.

Many have been local, older tradespeople who didn't have hefty mortgages or college tuition payments hanging over their heads. They seemed to be working in good measure because they enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done. They took jobs close to home so they didn't have to get up at 4 am and could be home well before dinner.

Our current GC is one of these. Unlike the other GCs who bid on the job, it was apparent from the get-go that ours was as motivated by intrinsic satisfaction as much or more so than money. He's turning 70 next month but has more energy than my husband and I put together! He arrives every day with a smile on his face and is excited to build. Neighbors who have hired him said they ended up adding 20% to his final bill because they felt he went above and beyond.

I've seen the other side on this as well. My own beloved father was a firm believer in charging higher prices for his consultation practice---he knew people believed "you get what you pay for," and thus higher fees would make customers feel they were getting the highest quality service (even if they might not be). That always stuck with me.

All this might not apply to the interior design world, but just my two cents! (And I'm sure I'll be shredded for here.)

Something else you might want to consider is looking for a home stager who does Occupied Stagings (working with the homeowner's furnishings) who also does redesign work.

As a professional home stager, I can't claim a degree in design, and my rooms will likely never be featured in a shelter magazine. But I am very used to working with many different types of homes and different types of furniture, and working with tight budgets (home sellers rarely want to put a lot of money into a house they're selling). I also start by working with what the homeowner currently owns, unless they tell me specifically that they hate something and want to get rid of it. . Often times I will go into a home where the homeowners think they need all new furniture, and then they end up keeping what they have and loving the finished result.

Here's two quick examples of what my redesign work can cover:

(1) Homeowner scheduled a consult (initial consult always two hours) because she was unhappy with her living room, wasn't sure what to do with it or if she needed to buy new furniture. In those two hours, I corrected her carpet and furniture placement (we moved it together) and gave advice for additional accessories that would help to pull her space together, which she felt confident doing on her own.

Sorry for the quality, but these are just some quick cell phone picks that I took while I was there.

Many of my consults are single visits, like this, where I never return. These homeowners actually like decorating their homes themselves, and only want a professional to help them when they get stuck or have decision paralysis.

(2) This homeowner scheduled an initial consult, and then scheduled additional billed hours for shopping and for me and an assistant to return to style/hang art in a few rooms. I did a whole house color plan, helped homeowners with choosing updated flooring, chose new lighting, and a few new accessories. This stretched out over several months.

In this dining room, the only new items that were added were the lamps on the buffet and the mirror. We repurposed the light into the kitchen.

I'm just adding this an option to consider, since looking at home stagers is likely not on your radar! :) Best of luck!

There's a lot to chew on here. And now I'm thinking of a different avenue as a first step with little loss, and that's Modsy. Has anyone here tried them? They seem to have good reviews.

POH, you got some good replies last year in this similar thread,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5279737/has-anyone-had-any-experience-with-modsy-service#n=5

And I knew there was a reason I was skeptical. Thanks for redirecting me. That's when I thought we had another 2 years here. Now it seems likely to be at least 4 but no more than 5. Thank you.

Skeptical about what?

There have been threads about other online designers, I'll see what I can find.

Skeptical because that post has a very negative review attached.

Well, I did hire a designer - a fabulous one - this past summer. I decided on a budget which was more than double the cost I had originally had in mind and feel she was worth every cent. I learned so much from her and can't wait to see the finished product (late January). I posted a picture of the initial paint job here - which she allowed me to keep out of her budgeted cost - but before I post pictures of the actual design, I would want to get her permission to do so.

Way to go PeaceOfHome....it looks like the contributions (above) helped in some way. I've just read through them and concur with most.

The "finding" is part of the exploration of "self". You need to have someone who's style you ADORE and who will help you come closer to showing off your own style. The homeowner needs to do some soul searching (for lack of a better phrase). To find the match you need to know what you are matching.

I'm so glad you found someone who meets your vision of where you want to go. It also appears to have answered the question "how much" is enough for an interior designer. The answer is, "Enough is when you can hand it over to them and never worry about the outcome."

For those looking to hire an interior designer, I would say "enough is what you can afford and finding a designer that fits within that realm- then knowing in the back of your mind how much you can afford to go over budget." Always remember, nothing is ever worth what you cannot afford.