Can anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced Interior Designer? We need some assistance in design/decorating. No kitchen or bathroom work needs to be done. No walls coming down. 3 bedroom, LR, DR. It's things like deciding/figuring out built-in vs stand alone units for entertainment/TV center, bookcases and shelving, desks in the kids' rooms. Choosing window treatments. A little bit of lighting... [more]
Can anyone recommend a good, reasonably priced Interior Designer?
We need some assistance in design/decorating. No kitchen or bathroom work needs to be done. No walls coming down. 3 bedroom, LR, DR. It's things like deciding/figuring out built-in vs stand alone units for entertainment/TV center, bookcases and shelving, desks in the kids' rooms. Choosing window treatments. A little bit of lighting design/selection of overhead lighting, sconces etc. May need a little bit of electrician work for the lighting. Some new furniture/carpeting selection. Selection wallpaper vs painting to improve the overall look.
I've gotten a couple of quotes which sounded pretty exorbitant (ie. prohibitive) when you consider that the quotes included a per hour fee, then the designer charges additional fees based on the value of goods and services purchased for the project (sounds like double dipping to charge per hour for the cost of finding the right sofa then also charging 20 or 30% of the price of the sofa itself. Yes, I understand they can pass along a "designer discount" but I have encountered many stores are willing to give a similar discount to anyone on non sale items.
We are looking for a contemporary look to the apartment.
Any recs would be appreciated. Thanks
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Response by 300_mercer
over 2 years ago
Posts: 10536
Member since: Feb 2007
One option is to split up the project. This clearly means more work for you and ensuring that everything co-ordinates well. The results may or may not be the same as hiring a single person to design everything.
Go to California closet or other similar companies for this.
>> It's things like deciding/figuring out built-in vs stand alone units for entertainment/TV center, bookcases and shelving, desks in the kids' rooms.
Find a furniture place you like and they will give you suggestions on layout and carpet color etc for a small fee. You can also hire the salesperson at the side for some design work for a fixed fee.
You can supplement by online design consultants who are typically on hourly basis.
I haven't actually worked with her but I've met her and she has a great low-key vibe. Her aesthetic is approachable and elegant at the same time. https://www.emma-montgomery.com/about
To all the posters, thank you for your input. I looked at those websites and each of those designers seems to do great work based on their portfolios.
300Mercer, thank you for the suggestion of the spruce website. They gave high marks to "Decorilla". Checking out the Decorilla website, it sounds like what I'm looking for. Seems like around $1000-$2500 (depending on the plan) per room, and you get 2 designers giving you 2 distinct design plans to chose from. Sounds like all the bells and whistles of working with an experienced design team, including furniture discounts, but at a more reasonable (but by no means cheap) and FIXED price. I'm going to reach out to them to see what devils will be found in the details. I would love to know if anyone on this board has used Decorilla, or knows anyone who used them for their interior designer and what was your experience?
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Response by stache
over 2 years ago
Posts: 1292
Member since: Jun 2017
Just generally speaking adding a surcharge to purchase price of items is pretty standard procedure.
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One option is to split up the project. This clearly means more work for you and ensuring that everything co-ordinates well. The results may or may not be the same as hiring a single person to design everything.
Go to California closet or other similar companies for this.
>> It's things like deciding/figuring out built-in vs stand alone units for entertainment/TV center, bookcases and shelving, desks in the kids' rooms.
Find a furniture place you like and they will give you suggestions on layout and carpet color etc for a small fee. You can also hire the salesperson at the side for some design work for a fixed fee.
You can supplement by online design consultants who are typically on hourly basis.
https://www.thespruce.com/online-interior-design-services-4147517
No idea what he charges but his designs are fun and I guess you'd say maximalist:
https://www.instagram.com/frankdebiasi/?hl=en
I haven't actually worked with her but I've met her and she has a great low-key vibe. Her aesthetic is approachable and elegant at the same time. https://www.emma-montgomery.com/about
Another suggestion: https://www.arditidesign.com/
To all the posters, thank you for your input. I looked at those websites and each of those designers seems to do great work based on their portfolios.
300Mercer, thank you for the suggestion of the spruce website. They gave high marks to "Decorilla". Checking out the Decorilla website, it sounds like what I'm looking for. Seems like around $1000-$2500 (depending on the plan) per room, and you get 2 designers giving you 2 distinct design plans to chose from. Sounds like all the bells and whistles of working with an experienced design team, including furniture discounts, but at a more reasonable (but by no means cheap) and FIXED price. I'm going to reach out to them to see what devils will be found in the details. I would love to know if anyone on this board has used Decorilla, or knows anyone who used them for their interior designer and what was your experience?
Just generally speaking adding a surcharge to purchase price of items is pretty standard procedure.