Choosing an Interior Designer

The right residential interior designer is the one whose way of working fits yours. Start by deciding what kind of relationship you want, then look at how each designer works: their process, how they charge, how they decide where the budget goes, and who will design your home.

The usual advice is to start with a portfolio, and it's sound. A portfolio shows a designer's eye, the quality of their finishes and the kinds of homes they know. It shows what they've done for other clients. The questions below will help you understand how they work and whether or not they are right for you.

Questions to ask your interior designer

1. How will you arrive at the style of my home? The answer tells you which kind of relationship you'd be entering. Some designers sell a signature style, and you buy into their look. Some execute the brief you bring them, as quickly and cheaply as possible. Others work as a genuine partner, getting to the core of what you love and why, then building a style that's uniquely yours in ways you'd never imagined. Most will say they make it "personal to you", so dig into what they mean by that, and check that their explanation matches your expectations. All three are legitimate approaches. They're just different relationships, so it's worth deciding which one you want before you start comparing portfolios.

2. What does your process involve, and how much of it will I see? Pragmatism, transparency, clarity and real attention to detail all matter. But the degree of transparency shouldn't overwhelm you, unless you want it to. A good answer describes a process in proportion to what you need to feel informed and in control, and no more.

3. How do you charge, and why is that model right for my project? A designer should be open about their pricing model and able to explain why it suits your project. If they can't say why it's the right model for you, they haven't thought personally about your situation, and if they haven't done that for their fees, can you expect it in their design? The same goes for the early conversations: the questions they ask and the proposal they send should be shaped around your home and your brief. Ask, too, whether they take commissions from suppliers, since that affects whose interest a recommendation serves.

4. How will you decide where my budget goes? A good answer names the few places where spending changes how a home feels and functions, and the places where a well-chosen, modest piece will do. That tells you far more about how someone makes decisions under real constraints than any figure quoted at the outset. If they give you an expected budget, drill into it. You'll quickly learn whether they were taking a (possibly inflated) guess or have done the work. They might not have all the answers, but you'll soon understand how carefully they think about how to spend your money. There's more on this in What is proportion in interior design?

5. Who will design my home, and how many other projects will you be running alongside it? A senior name in the room for meetings doesn't guarantee a senior hand on the design, which is sometimes delegated further down. Neither approach is automatically better, but it's worth knowing what you're paying for, and whether the answer changes once a practice gets busy.

Choosing a designer is the first decision of your project, and it shapes every one that follows. Ask these questions early, and you'll find the person who can design your home through your eyes. They're questions I'm always glad to answer in a first conversation. If you already have an architect, see You've got an architect. Do you need an interior designer too?