Your home provides a base to build upon for expressing your personality in any number of ways. When you place a piece of furniture in a room corner or layer acrylic wall art on a prominent surface, you say to visitors, “This is me!” But what if you are not sure you possess the skills to translate your vision successfully when altering or updating sections of your house? You might consider hiring an interior designer to take you forward; here is how you can decide if that is the right move for you and your home.
1. Can You Afford It?
This question may seem to be a matter of putting the cart before the horse: If you do really feel overwhelmed by decorating tasks, leaving your decisions to chance can only mean you will end up spending money to undo your mistakes. For example, when you finally conclude your new blue chairs do not quite highlight your desired black wallpaper, you will likely consider exchanging your pieces for a more harmonious collection. However, if hiring a decorator is not within your budget, the move could increase your stress levels, so you really do have to weigh the benefits.
2. How Much Control Do You Want?
Ideally, your interior decorator and you will work as a team. This professional will strive to translate your ideas into reality — or if you are floundering, present an even greater range of options for you to consider. But if you do hire a decorator, you need to be flexible enough to trust in this expert’s wisdom and experience, or you may as well take on the challenge yourself. After all, you can find plenty of options yourself for purchasing wallpaper online along with rugs, furnishings and decorative pieces.
3. Do You Want High-End Designer Decorations?
Here is where the answer as to whether you can budget for a decorator may lean toward the affirmative. Decorator-store showrooms and home design magazine layouts are created to appeal to the consumer’s aesthetic tastes, which sometimes means they present rich tapestries of expensive designer-industry products. If your tastes lean toward these offerings, your interior decorator can purchase them for a fraction of what you would pay — thus defraying a portion of your project costs.
4. Do Your Spaces Contain Significant Problem Areas?
A room’s layout or location can present design challenges:
- Large radiators along the walls
- Minimal sun exposure
- Excessive permanent fixtures
- Excessively low or high ceilings
Good interior designers are problem solvers. Sometimes you need an expert to help you get over the hump as much as to enable your vision.
5. Do You have the Time To Do It Yourself?
Just as with the affordability question, the answer to this query could be cut and tried. Time is finite, and if you have significant commitments (family, work) that fill each day, you might be unable to devote the time to research, plan for and follow through on a big redecoration; if not, consider the value of handing those tasks over to an interior decorator.
Still, interior decorators do not need to be all-or-nothing commitments. If your heart is set on elegant acrylic wall art, for example, your professional will work with you to incorporate them into the overall scheme. In the end, you may find the answer to your home design dreams comes from a shared design approach.
