Interior Designers & Decorators.

An interior designer or decorator can translate your tastes and ideas into a home design that suits you and your space. Not entirely sure what you want? Interior designers are skilled at honing down on people’s styles. With contacts and resources at hand, they can also save you time and money when it comes to purchasing furniture and home decor. So, for an aesthetically pleasing home that is also practical and efficient, seek the help of an interior design company and read on for more advice.

What does an interior designer do?

A good home decor professional will help you tell a visual story and turn your house into a home. They look to you for design inspiration, to hone your style down to its very essence. Interior designers and decorators can be involved as much or as little as the client desires. Many clients who hire an interior designer – particularly those who are renovating – have a good sense of how the room should look and what products they should use. Often clients will insist that the interior designer use the products already present in the home. Other times a designer will need to start from scratch with little more than your saved ideabooks of interior design ideas!

On occasion, interior designers will need to subcontract help from other professionals to help create the perfect look for your home renovation. These may be specialist installers or interior decorators. Here are some related professionals and vendors to complement the work of interior designers & decorators: Architects & Building Designers, General Contractors, Home Builders, Design and Build, Photographers.

Why should I hire an interior design company?

They say life is what happens while you’re busy making plans. Some of us are just too preoccupied with a career and/or family to think about colour schemes, wallpaper, flooring and lighting. A professional interior designer can save you bags of time, stress and months, if not years, of living in a half-finished home. It’s their job to stay on top of the latest trends and to have contacts and visual references coming out of their ears. Interior designers and home decor professionals can also save you money, sourcing products via trade contacts or offering affordable alternatives to blowout iconic designs.

How should I prepare for my first meeting with an interior designer?

Start by asking yourself what you want your space to become and how it will be used. List your must-haves and decide on your budget. Interior design services can add up fast, so be upfront with potential interior designers from the beginning. Also, pick a designer that fits your style. Browse through their interior design portfolio on Houzz and ask yourself if you’d live in any of those houses. If the rooms inspire you, take note of what elements you appreciate.

Questions to ask a prospective interior designer:

Can I see your interior design portfolio?

Have you worked on similar projects to my style, room and budget before?

How long will the project take, and do you foresee any obstacles?

Do you charge an hourly rate or a flat rate, or use the cost-plus method or a mixed method?

What will I need to provide?

Find interior designers and home decor specialists on Houzz. Scroll through this page to find interior designers in your area. Then, browse their design portfolios to see how their work compares to the scope of your project. You can read reviews to see how other homeowners rate their work, and message them directly to to ask any specific questions.

Another way to find an interior design specialist is to browse Photos on Houzz. If there’s a photo you like, find out who designed it and strike up a conversation with the professional responsible.