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10 Times to Hire an Interior Designer

A skilled design pro is especially valuable in these remodeling situations

Laura GaskillOct 2, 2019

Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Get my bi-weekly email: https://www.lauragaskill.com/thesimplelist/

Wondering if it’s time to hire an interior design pro? If you have a project that you’d love to see completed — whether it’s a single room or an entire house — getting an interior designer on the case might just be the best thing for your (design) sanity. Here are 10 times it makes sense to step away from the guesswork and stress that can come from attempting to do it yourself, and invite a professional designer to take the reins.

Salt Design Co

1. You Want to Get a New Space Finished on a Schedule (and Well)

There are so many issues that can crop up in a large project, including safety standards and building codes, moving interior walls and (of course) getting the furnishings and details just right — all of which can translate into major delays. Whether you’re renovating or just bought a house, if you want to get your space put together all at once, a designer who is familiar with the process can coordinate everything while keeping timing hiccups to a minimum.

Find an interior designer near you on Houzz

Ashleigh Weatherill Interior Design

2. There’s One Room You Really Want to Feel Pulled-Together

It could be the living room, kitchen or your master bedroom — whatever the space, if there’s one room you’d love to have feeling finished, an interior designer can help make that a reality. Instead of waffling over the hundreds of tiny details that go into decorating a space, an interior designer can guide you with confidence, editing your options so the entire process feels more streamlined. And (perhaps most important) when you opt to work with an interior designer, you’re committing to actually finishing the project once and for all.

The owners of the home shown here hired designer Ashleigh Weatherill to decorate their family room. Using several of the clients’ existing pieces and bringing in a few custom-made items, Weatherill was able to create a polished space that the homeowners will be reveling in on holidays and other special occasions.

See more of this updated traditional family room

Kelly Martin Interiors

3. You Want to Make Your Home Kid-Friendly Without Sacrificing Style

Designers have access to a wide range of fabrics and finishes that can come together to create a stylish and kid-friendly home. When a young couple with a toddler, a newborn and a dog bought the newly renovated home shown here, they reached out to Kelly Martin Interiors to add kid-friendly finishes and ample seating to create a comfy and stylish family room. Martin struck a balance between clearly practical — like the sofa covered in hotel-grade fabric that can stand up to toddlers and dogs —and the surprisingly sturdy, like the leather Eames chair and rich-hued vintage rug.

Search for area rugs in the Houzz Shop

Hinkley Lighting

4. You Want to Make a Hardworking Space Function Really Well

Interior designers aren’t just in the business of choosing paint colors and sofas — they’re also knowledgeable about how spaces get used. If you have a space that needs to serve multiple purposes, an interior design pro can help by creating custom-designed casework, reconfiguring an interior floor plan and creating 3D models so you can visualize exactly what your finished space could look like. In the space shown here, designer Barrie Spang of design firm Sapphire Pear created a flexible space with ample storage that connects the kitchen with the laundry area and garage.

Cynthia Hayes Interior Design

5. You Want to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone — at Least a Little Bit

A good interior designer will work closely with you to understand your taste and needs — but they’re also willing to push the envelope a bit. If you tend to stick with the same paint colors and furniture shapes and you want to shake things up a bit, an interior designer can help use what you already love as a bridge into something new. In this dining room designed by Cynthia Hayes Interior Design, for example, a few comfortingly familiar elements — like the white dining table and woven chairs — are given a jolt with an oversized black pendant light, bold photographic art and striking pottery.

Anderson & Rodgers Construction

6. You Want to Live Large in a Small Space

If you live in a compact space, you know that it can be incredibly hard to fit in everything you need without feeling overstuffed. An interior designer can help you rethink your space, correct flow issues, solve storage problems and bring a serene and cohesive sense of style to a small space.

The owners of a horse farm in Kentucky hired interior designer Barbara Purdy to transform a dark and dreary 750-square-foot ranch house into a light and bright guest house for visitors. One standout detail from the redesign is this special reading nook crafted to fit a twin-size mattress. It provides comfortable seating during gatherings and an extra bed for overnight guests, with drawers below for storage and shelves that do double-duty as nightstands.

See more of this 750-square-foot Kentucky ranch house

Kitty&Company Interior Design llc

7. You Want to Make Room at Home to Pursue a Passion

Dreaming of setting up a home music studio, a craft room or even a brewery? Instead of starting from scratch and trying to work out all of the technical details on your own, an interior designer can make sure you’re taking advantage of your space and following necessary codes. Designer Kitty Golding of Kitty & Co. spent time researching and talking with the homeowners to be sure the home brewery was properly vented and fully functional — as well as whipping up the fun pub-style hangout zone shown here.

See how this basement was transformed into a home brewery

Home Glow Design

8. You Need to Meet Clients in Your Home Office — and It’s Looking Less Than Professional

If you’re starting or expanding a business that involves meeting clients in your home, hiring an interior designer or decorator can be a smart investment to ensure your space looks and feels as professional as you are. Homeowner and interior designer Amy Mitchell of Home Glow Design transformed a 176-square-foot former blacksmith shop on her property into the new hub for her interior design business (shown here) in just six weeks. Working with a general contractor, Mitchell ripped up the floors, repaired and painted walls and replaced two windows before installing wall-to-wall-seagrass carpet, a mix of high and low furniture pieces and custom window treatments.

See more of this she-shed transformation

Copper Leaf Interior Design Studio

9. You Want to Faithfully Restore an Old Home, or Add Something New

If you live in an older home and want to respect the integrity of your home’s architecture, a trained interior designer can be sure your interior aligns with the appropriate period details. For the space shown here, the homeowners asked designer Pam Holschuh of Copper Leaf Interior Design Studio to give their turn-of-the-20th-century Victorian a complete remodel. Along with more traditional touches, the designer added a hidden bar in the library where dinner party guests can mingle.

See more of this secret bar in a restored Ohio Victorian

Meredith Heron Design

10. You Want to Treat Yourself

Does your dream space look like a cozy home library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a toasty fireplace? Or a luxurious master suite with elegant wallpaper and cushy carpeting? Working with an interior designer to realize your dream project is quite possibly the most fun reason to hire this type of pro.

Your turn: Have you worked with an interior design professional you loved? Share what made the experience work well for you in the Comments.

More in This Series
10 Times to Hire an Architect | 10 Times to Hire a Landscape Architect | 10 Times to Hire a Kitchen Designer | 10 Times to Hire a Design-Build Firm | 10 Times to Hire a Professional Organizer | 10 Times to Hire a Closet Designer

More on Houzz
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Comments (30)

See 27 more comments

celestina89

I'm in the process of a 5 year project. This is year 3 and I'm working with a landscape architect, building designer, and interior designer/decorator along with my builder. It took me a long time to find the right interior designer for my cottage in the woods project. I interviewed 6 designers, 2 decorators and sent letters of introduction and invite to consider my project to approximately 25 designers and interior companies.

The main thing is I was wanting: a person who can 'see' my vision and be able to work with my chosen builder and builder designer aka architect without a license, but has the same education. This narrowed the list down rapidly.

Then I interviewed the remaining group. Those that weren't eliminated got a short package from me with samples of my ideas and basic description of the cottage and what I was after.

That process eliminated the original list of about 50 to 3. Then it was getting into details of budget, costs, contacts in the trade and so on. From there I selected the interior designer and she wanted to work with me on the project.

So, it's important to be very clear about your vision (show examples) and hold nothing back about things you wanted. Don't trade off for a 36" fridge when you really only wanted a 30" one. Forget the sectionals if you want a cosy 2 seater and so on.

However, be flexible and be clear about your iffy areas. I was clear about the stone floor but open about the designI want in the kitch and the dining rooms, but iffy about the rest of the cottage. I was clear about the type of windows I want aka gothic in dining, but flexible in others and so on.

This way, the interior designer and other pros you hire know and understand what you want and where you have flexibility.

It's always a two way street.

annnw3

#13: when you've lived in your new-build house for 2 years and realize that you should have done a few things in the kitchen differently.

My kitchen is open to the living room and NOW (when it's too late) I want it to look less "kitcheny". My when-I-win-the-lottery fantasy is to hide all the major appliances behind doors and panels that match with the existing cabinetry. I think that would mean a built-in fridge instead of the stainless steel behemoth, changing the oven/microwave combo for burners built into the countertop with the oven underneath or elsewhere, putting a free-standing mirowave in the pantry, and covering the dishwasher with matching wood panels. Phew! Just thinking about it is overwhelming. That lottery money would definitely have to stretch to cover the advice and guidance of a designer to co-ordinate the whole thing.

therealnester

#6 - Want to Live Large in a Small Space certainly resonates with me. Does it ever. We've never lived in a home with such small spaces and it's challenging to figure out how to accommodate our lifestyle.