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DO YOU NEED AN INTERIOR DESIGNER?
By ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
Would you like to enhance the design of your home? Do you need help with space planning, adding functionality or developing a comprehensive scheme that can carry throughout your house? Are you overwhelmed by the endless design choices, afraid you’ll make a mistake? Would you like to know more about available products and new resources? Do you and your partner have trouble agreeing on design decisions? Do you have limited time to devote to the project? Are you having difficulty defining your personal style, or do you just need help pulling it all together?
These are all good reasons to contract the services of an interior designer. Interior designers work on projects of all scales, from a one-hour color consultation to building a new home.
It is never too early to involve an interior designer in a remodeling project.
Today’s professionally trained interior designers are essentially interior architects. They have studied at accredited schools and have passed qualifying exams. They are experienced in space planning, barrier-free design, kitchen and bath design, custom cabinet design, furniture layout and lighting plans, as well as the finishing and furnishing of a home’s spaces.
They can save you money by allocating resources wisely, eliminating costly mistakes and adding another layer of creative thinking. They can make a project go more smoothly by anticipating design decisions.
An interior designer will help to prioritize your wish list, suggest trade-offs and establish future lifestyle patterns—to move beyond “how we live now” to “how we plan to live.” Interior designers will help restructure, reorient and reorganize interior space, producing smart, cohesive designs unifying diverse spaces. They will help to define your style, incorporating your wishes and aspirations for your home.
A remodeling project involves lots of planning. You need a clear idea of where you are going—a roadmap, so to speak. The interior design process begins with an in-depth interview to determine the aesthetic, functional, budgetary and prioritization of project goals. During the interview the designer will begin to ascertain your tastes and lifestyle preferences. A good exercise to help communicate your goals to the designer is to think of adjectives that describe the look you want to achieve: for example, formal, informal, cozy, peaceful, romantic, lively, elegant. Also, a great tool for conveying your style is to pull pictures you like from home magazines, compiling a file to share with the designer. All existing conditions and furnishings to be reused are documented during this initial phase.
From this information, detailed drawings, including furniture layout, are developed and in place before beginning any structural work. Next, any built-in cabinetry is designed. Built-ins add architectural interest and extra functionality to a home. Finally the color palette is developed and the finishes are researched and specified. These would include flooring, furniture, window treatment, fabrics and wall coverings. Paint should be the last thing chosen. As all design decisions affect all other design decisions, a comprehensive master plan outlining and prioritizing all design decisions should be completed before any furnishings or finishes have been purchased.
The better the planning, the smoother the project. A successful collaboration between the homeowner and the designer throughout all phases of the design process—planning, design, construction, finishing and installation—will produce the best results: a more beautiful and functional living space.
Interior Designer Elizabeth Williams owns and operates Elizabeth Williams Interior Design in West Harwich. She has been in business for more than 27 years. She can be reached at beth@elizabethwilliamsdesign.com.
For a complete list of verified Interior Designers, see our Verified Directory.
