Hiring a Designer or Do it Yourself?

You are buying a new (or old) home and you want it to look and feel just right. You think about hiring an Interior Designer, but you aren't sure you need one. You know what you want. But do you know for sure that it will fit in your home?

I recently spoke to a would-be client. She was moving to a temporary abode while she waited for her new place to be constructed. "I'm buying a couch," she announced.

"Do you have a floor plan?" I inquired. "Are you modifying the floor plan in your new home? If so, did you measure? Will the couch fit in both your temporary home and your new home? Have you thought about the colors of your new home? Will the couch match the cabinets in the open-floor plan kitchen nearby?"

"I just need a place to park my butt," she replied. I wished her a happy shopping spree and she went off with a friend to find her couch. Not surprisingly, she didn't end up buying one.

A modicum of advance planning can save an enormous amount of time, effort and money. This is where if you are not "the planning type," a few hours with an Interior Designer can actually save you money in the long term.

Most Interior Designers have umpteen checklists to help you determine exactly what you need, and can plan everything down to the last cabinet knob before you spin your wheels. Furthermore, another timesaver, we know the places most likely to carry the precise item that you are looking for.

Because as Interior Designers, we know that there is nothing worse than spending hours and hours hunting for the perfect couch on which to "park your butt," only to find that none of them are quite right. Or worse yet, choosing the make, model and fabric and buying the "perfect couch" only to find that ultimately it doesn't fit in your new space.