How much does an interior designer cost?
Interior designers offer a range of services from online consultations right through to full project management and regardless of the scale of your interior design project, hiring one is a good investment.
Sometimes clients worry about whether they feel they can afford the services of an interior designer – but as far as I'm concerned hiring one is the best decision you can make for your project and as creative director and owner of Flippa Interiors I’m happy to explain why.
Here’s my reasons:
1. ‘Mistakes are good teachers’. NO - not for interior design!
Whilst this is entirely true of life lessons, when it comes to an interior design project every mistake you make comes with a price attached, and often, these are hefty – whether in terms of cost, time, or stress. That gorgeous Italian sofa you’ve ordered is delivered and too late you realise it’s just a little too big, or too small, for your space. Thousands of pounds have been lost to easily avoided mistakes. When it comes to interior design, it really is a case of ‘the devil’s in the detail’. Hiring a professional who can visualise your whole scheme, know how to deliver it on time and within budget is invaluable. They will understand exactly what details need to be checked, what measurements taken and know the right order for work to run smoothly.
Time is money.
It’s true, you may be able to do some of the jobs yourself, but most likely you won’t know exactly how to go about them or where to look, and you certainly won’t have a ‘black book’ of suppliers and trades at your fingertips that is as varied and extensive as that of a professional interior designer. We can handle the details and logistics of your project, such as ordering, delivery, installation, and coordination with contractors and suppliers. We also do the research, sourcing and can do the shopping for you. Giving you back time and taking away stress. Two things that are priceless.
Interior Designers get trade discounts.
Typically, they will pass on around 5-10% to their clients.
These discounts can be from luxury high street names, as well as trade only accounts and allow you to create bespoke one-off pieces that you won’t find anywhere else and that will give your project the ‘wow’ factor. As well as saving you money over the whole project by buying through their trade account prices, rather than at the high street retailer prices.
‘Shop your home’
Whilst it’s exciting to buy new pieces for a scheme sometimes it’s just as important to know how to integrate existing pieces already in your home. An experienced professional eye will be able to help you ‘shop your home’ for pieces and advise on aspects such as upholstering, upcycling and renovation that you may not have considered.
Translating dreams into reality.
This is just one of my superpowers as an interior designer. But it’s something clients struggle to do. It’s very common to be able to visualise part of your project, but not the whole. And in terms of creating a beautiful scheme that can mean missed details, resulting in mistakes, avoidable costs, lost time, added stress and disappointing results. We work collaboratively with clients and have developed our own style and colour psychology questionnaire over the years that allows us to help our clients ‘find their style’. It means you can enjoy all the fun bits of choosing exactly what you love, without the headaches and frustration of working out how to pull it together. The realistic 3D visualisations we also offer as part of our services, allow you to ‘walk’ through your scheme before any work has begun, and make sure you are happy with every aspect.
So if you’re serious about creating a beautiful home, then surely, the question you should ask, is not, ‘Can I afford an interior designer?’ but, ‘Can I afford not to hire one?