The pros and cons of doing your own decorating or hiring an expert
Whether you’ve bought a new home or you want an all-new look for your existing one, it’s time for some interior design! First, get a strong idea of how you want your home to appear. Once you have a vision established you’ll need to tackle the question of whether you can pull it off yourself, or if hiring a pro is necessary.
If you’re absolutely convinced that you’re going to do it yourself, here are a few articles that may help you in your conquest to design:
- Picking out the perfect couch
- Picking out curtains
- Picking out the perfect dining table
- Finding some antique pieces for your living room
The emergence of affordable interior designers for any size home is something short of a phenomenon. It wasn’t too long ago when the idea of paying someone to decorate a home’s interior seemed to be an extravagance afforded only by the very rich. It’s even reached the point where the hiring party can now dictate the level of involvement of the designer. They may be given full control or be in an advisory capacity only or some other level of collaboration.
It could be a matter of confidence, if you haven’t entered the realm of decorating previously you could benefit from observing a professional at work. Or you might have a firm grasp on your strengths, in which case you may want to give yourself the benefit of the doubt and go for it!
It should be pointed out that going the DIY route doesn’t necessarily save you money. When you consider the investments of your time, the decisions to be made, and the consequences of potential mistakes, you may not be acting as cost effectively as you had hoped. Sometimes the ‘big picture’ is even larger than you expect.
Hiring a designer will expose you to many more benefits than you would experience otherwise. Trade-only fabrics and relationships with craftspeople
are among the perks that a professional designer will share. They have not simply cultivated knowledge but contacts as well. This could serve you in a variety of ways, especially when you’re looking for that missing piece that is otherwise only available to industry specialists.
On the other hand, you could face some unwanted challenges after hiring a pro. Be mindful that you could be working together for a long time, sometimes over a year. It’s a business relationship and like any other there’s always the possibility of disagreements. They can become your friend and confidant or something to the contrary. Personality clashes are possible in all facets of life. Needless to say, it’s important to do a little homework when picking someone to work with. Ask for references. See if they have reviews online.
Communicate your goals and budget clearly to your designer, those are likely the most important factors you don’t want to find yourself at odds over. Naturally, you can’t expect to hire someone known for working with huge budgets to come in and shop for you at Wal Mart. Be realistic and you will happily manage your expectations.
If you have weighed your options and decided that a minimal collaboration works best for you, simply hire a decorator by the hour and work together on the layout, furniture, fabric and colors. After getting the necessary preliminary work fleshed out, finish the project on your own.
Another collaboration option is to do the design work yourself but hire an hourly designer to aid you with your selections, or to provide counter-insight in regards to certain ideas you have that might need improvement. You may even seek help online with a virtual designer. Simply send photos or a floor plan via email and they will reply with a consultation (for a fee, of course). In this day and age, working with someone you never actually meet has become something of the norm.
If you’ve yet to decide, but find yourself checking out furniture stores often, why not look to see if any of them offers free interior decorating services. Some stores do, and will happy to work with you. Sure, you’ll be expected to buy the furniture from them, but by then you should know what they have and whether there’s an abundance of what you like. In that case, it’s a bit of a win/win scenario – they have what you want and they’ll work with you to get the most out of it. Now that you’ve decided, it’s time to get something done! Consider a few remodels to make your closets a little more glamorous.
