Whatever reasons you might have for renovating your home, it’s always beneficial to engage an interior designer, as their experience and creativity are invaluable in helping you design a home that’s unique to you and your loved ones. But before you hire an interior designer, there are some things you need to first do to ensure that the person you choose is the one that best suits your needs.
- Determine your style
Scandinavian, industrial, eclectic or retro… there are just so many design themes to choose from. But don’t panic if your style contains several elements of various themes and can’t narrow down your style to a pre-existing look. More often than not, determining your style is about figuring out what are the things you like, and finding out how the different elements can work together in the same space. As you brainstorm ideas, be sure to make a note of what you don’t like as well as what you do like. - Create a mood board
Once you’ve determined your style, spend some time creating a mood board. This can come in the form of a physical scrapbook of magazine tear-outs and photographs, or done online through bookmarking of images from sites like Pinterest and Instagram. While not completely necessary, a mood board will better help your designer understand your preferences, and draw inspiration from it. In turn, they will be able to come up with a design that best matches what you have pictured in your head. - Set a budget
Renovation projects are expensive, there are no two ways about it. While there isn’t a set fee structure in place, depending on the extent and severity of changes you want made, the costs can quickly add up. It’s also worth remembering that the interior designer fees don’t include the cost of furnishings. As such, it’s important to set a realistic budget. Then, make it a point to share your budget – especially if you have a strict one – when you’re meeting with designers. This way, your search for a designer will be better streamlined as you’ll know who will be able to achieve your desired style within your desired budget. - Do your research
With the extensive number of interior designers available in Singapore, deciding on who to work with requires quite a bit of research. While it’s no doubt a tiresome process, it’s best to really spend some time conducting the search to ensure that you’ll end up working with someone who matches your style. If you have had friends or family members who have just gone through a home renovation, you can ask them for referrals as well. After you’ve narrowed down your list, do a quick search for reviews on the various companies. Checking on their testimonials will help you better gauge a designer’s work, and will also help you avoid any rogue companies. - Interview potential designers
After you have finalised your list of interior designers, set up an appointment and have a chat with them. Renovating your home is a very personal project, and you’ll likely be spending a lot of time with this person throughout the process. As such, it’s important that both you and your designer’s personality match in order to have a good working relationship. This can only be achieved through an in-person sit-down, so don’t be afraid to ask a tonne of questions during the interview.
