sartorialan interiors magazine

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03 7 things to look for in an interior designersome things are obvious, others not so much!

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7 things to look for in an interior designer It can be initially so exciting when you decide to update your home.  You have big ideas and have probably been planning this for some time.

And then you start looking for items, sketching out cabinetry, figuring out what size furniture you need.  

There are great resources out there like Houzz and Pinterest and forums and  there are all the retail shops and online stores to visit.

It's very very easy to spend weekend after weekend looking for items and ultimately become confused and overwhelmed.

How frustrating is that! You feel like you're going in circles, not achieving a thing. It can be so tempting to give up, right?

Calling in a designer to work with you can meana much smoother experience.

Because they know where to go to get various items, it saves MASSES amounts of time.  Then if they filter all the options out there to 2 or 3 great ones, it cuts through the overwhelm and indecision.

Then they will help guide you ensuring the results reflect your tastes and lifestyle in the most polished, considered and sophisticated way possible.

What's not to love?  "Shut up and take my money"?

Great! Let's get started!

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A great place to start looking for a designer is by exploring Houzz!  Look for designers that do a style close to what you're after.  Check out their other digital footprints (website, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc).  If you like what you see, reach out!

The first meeting is your opportunity to let your designer understand what it is you're after, in other words, the scope of the project: e.g. the need for more space, light or storage, colours, styles, finishes, fixtures, lighting, budgets and time lines.  There's a lot of ground to cover!

Make sure you've collected images that you love- whether they're on Pinterest, Houzz or magazine wear sheets.  This information tells VOLUMES to the designer ultimately helping them help you!

1: make a good first impression!

If you have floor plans, give them in soft copy to your designer.  

Your designer will also take photos, get additional measurements and names of any samples you may already have sourced.

Quiz them about what they include in their presentation and their time lines.

This is the chance for the designer to really let you know how they'd handle your project.  Stepsin the design process, perhaps some initial responses to your wish list and budgets.

Don't forget to ask them about their media coverage, customer service and any reward programs!

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This may seem obvious, but the designer needs to understand the language of design.

Plans are vital to show layouts, traffic flow and helps illustrate to all parties how this will work.  In 3D too!!

Light plans, finishes schedule, and clever storage are all important things to be considered in these plans.

In conjunction with plans, your designer should provide you with mood boards, sketches, inspiration shots, personalised Pinterest boards,schedules of finishes with samples for you to keep are all aspects that can be included in the presentation of your concpets!

2:  understand a plan! 3: have industry knowledge There is A LOT going on in this industry....it's really rather exhausting! (LOL!).

There are the seasonal trends, good design practise, awareness of a wide range of local and International designers, where and how to sourceboth ready-made product and custom made items.

There's the media - both print and online.  

There's understanding the manufacture process and lead times.

There's also the logistics side of things. And having a great relationship with suppliers is essential!  

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I've won a number of customer service awards via Houzz, a colour competition and become Highly Commended in a national photography competition!  I'm also called as an expert by the press & guest blog for high profile sites.

I have heaps of positive reviews - all of which are publicly available.

Some clients have even become proper friends because we've so enjoyed working together and creating something fabulous!

I am super passionate about my work and I think this is reflected in the consistently positive feedback I get from both clients, suppliers andmedia!

Your designer should be able to demonstrate something along these lines too!

4:  have form

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Absolutely EVERYBODY has a budget!  And in myexperience, this budget is nearly always tested!  A good designer can work out ways to stretch the budget to try to achieve everything on thewish list.

This may be substituting less expensive items when they're not key pieces.  Or some clients opt to wait until they can afford the piece they love.  

A $2000 sofa can look a gazillion dollars with custom made luxurious feather filled cushions in exquisite fabrics.  The use of clever paint colours can lift a room.  There are so many tricks of the trade, and your designer should have some up their sleeve!

5: be creative with a budget!

6: be professional

People take on designers for a number of reasons.  Perhaps they simply have no idea of what they need to achieve a polished and sophisticated outcome.  Maybe they know (sort of) what they like but don't know how to achieveit.  Or they could know what they want but don't have the contacts or even have the time.  

Whatever the reason, you're investing good money into your project and should get nothing but excellent customer service, constructive criticism and quality products delivered on time and on budget.

Basically, the utmost in professionalism should be the expectation!

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A designer gets to know some pretty personal information about you and your household!

On top of that these projects can go on for some length of time and may involve the odd hiccup.

Your designer should have a great relationship with you!  They should be reliable, resourceful, creative and quite frankly, fun to have around!

bonus point: be joyful to work with!7: work with a schedule

Trades, lead times for custom items, shipping delays....all these things eat in to the schedule.

Designers really need to be clear about the order of things, the time needed for different stages of the project, to deal with any blow outs that may occur and to keep you in the loop with regular updates!

The flip side is that you also need to communicate anything that may impact the schedule or any particular deadlines you'd like tomake.