So you’re getting ready to re-decorate your house or decorate it for the first time. Either way, you might decide to get some help. Nothing wrong with that! But who you chose to decorate your house is a crucial decision. You need to ensure that your vision gets translated into your home as beautiful as it is in your head. 

Choosing an interior designer is a big task and you must do it carefully. It will determine the functionality, and aesthetic of your living spaces for a long time to come. It will also determine if your work gets done in a timely fashion and without compromising on quality.

1. Thoroughly Look At The Portfolios

This might sound like an unnecessary mention as anyone hiring a professional would undertake this step. However, there is a more important reason that people forget while looking at the portfolios of interior designers. What you see is what you’ll get. 

While a lot of interior decorators would like to try new styles and work on your project even if it’s something they haven’t worked on before, it’s important to understand that they might not execute it exactly like your vision. 

Instead, looking at their portfolio and finding the aesthetic that you want to execute will help you understand whether they are able to pull it off.

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2. Choose Something From An Existing Portfolio

Since you already have a vision in your mind, you would be tempted to have replicated it exactly. The smarter thing to do in such a case is to find a designer that has something similar in their portfolio. This means they can tweak their original plans according to your taste and produce something strikingly similar to your vision.

In case you don’t have something particular in mind and are open to exploring your home design options, choose a portfolio you like. Choose an interior designer that has options in their portfolio that excite you. Such a professional will be able to put together options that have a high probability of getting selected by you.

3. Allow Room For Creativity

We’ve talked about your vision, let’s talk about the interior designer’s vision. Of the few designers you have shortlisted, invite the best ones to take a look at the space you want to be decorated. Let them give you a rough picture of how they visualize the space taking into consideration what you’re going for too. 

Take all these opinions and shorten the list again by selecting only the couple of designers whose vision for your home resonates with you.

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4. Check Their Last Deliverables

Let’s say you have their portfolio and have decided you really like the designer. Now, check the details of their past projects that aren’t available on the portfolio, like the delivery time, and price.

Check whether the vendor delivered the project within the time promised and at the price promised. If there are any discrepancies between the two, check the degree of discrepancy and if it’s a common occurrence. A few projects can get extended due to operational difficulties and might cost a little bit more in the end due to variables. But if every project that the interior designer has worked on has been extended or has added costs over the initially quoted price, it might be best to skip to the next designer.

If possible, try talking to previous customers to find out what their experience with the interior designer was.

5. Have A Budget And Make Sure Your Decorator Respects It

Luxury goods can cost as much as one is willing to pay for them. Luxury furniture and furnishings can get as expensive as you want. Thus, having a set budget is very important before you go into an interior designer’s studio. Every designer would want to add the best possible furniture and furnishing in their projects as it also helps build their portfolio and target a better clientele. But, a good designer would only do that considering your budget.

If your interior decorator isn’t willing to help you achieve the desired look on a budget, if feasible, then it might not be a great fit for you. This doesn’t mean that the designer cheaps out with low-quality fixtures. Designers and decorators generally achieve this by using good quality replacements for expensive materials. For example, they might use a good faux fur rug to give a plush look instead of an expensive rug made of real fur.

6. Get One Room Digitally Decorated

Many designers offer services where-in they design one room in your house. This digital design is available to the availer of the service along with the materials and approximate cost they would incur on doing up the room.

You can opt to avail of such services at a much lower cost than the designing of your whole house. This will help you understand if the interior decorator is able to grasp your vision for the design. This is one of the last steps in the shortlisting process as you can’t have every designer you look at design a room. Although the price for this service is comparatively cheaper, it still costs money and isn’t financially viable when it comes to a large number of designers.

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