Why you should hire an Interior Designer

Why should you hire an Interior Designer? In my field, I constantly have to market my services to potential clients. Mostly my marketing consists of word of mouth from satisfied clients and people looking for help with their remodel or home build by surfing the internet and finding the design organization I belong to in which my website is linked (http://www.nwsid.org/).

If they havent already been schooled by their friends and colleagues as to the value of hiring an interior designer or architect, people will ask me why they should hire me to do something they feel they can do themselves. They've watched HGTV and the Style Network and Ty Pennington's show and DIY, etc. They have a talent or knack for design and know some "people". If you have the courage, the stomach, the time and the money for designing and remodeling your own project, go for it! It's a valuable learning experience.

I view my clients doing their own design and contracting like I view doing my own bookkeeping and my taxes. I know how to do it, I've spent hours doing it, I've completed the tasks month after month, year after year, and I've driven myself crazy, I've cried, I've made mistakes, and stolen hours from what I love doing because I thought i was saving myself money and time. That was a bunch of hooey on my part.

"Work smarter, not harder."
" Sometimes it takes money to make money."
These are my mantras for the new year.

I finally hired a bookkeeper and now I can focus on what I love to do every day. I am also not wasting my valuable billable hours working on bookkeeping - that was not saving money. I was losing money. I finally figured out that for one hour of my work, I could get 2.5 hrs of a bookkeepers time. So for 5 hours a month, I only had to work 2 hours of my time to pay them. And they knew more than me about accounting, bookkeeping, taxes, interest, etc. What a bargain!!! And I didnt have to think about it every day, every month, and every year. My business is more successful today because I am less stressed by not doing what I was not qualified to do.

I digress with my example and will expound upon the comparison of the benefits of the bookkeeper to the designer. Here is the moral of my story in parable form:

"When I meet with my bookkeeper, I hand her a pile of stuff that I know I need for my business, receipts and invoices I've procurred, and items she's requested or I've had to keep track of. She takes that messy disorganized pile I give her twice a month and makes it go away, organized into the accounting program, compiled, reconciled and any other fancy bookkeeping words that come to my mind. She can do this because she is a professional bookkeeper. She has her office for support and resources. She has her education and experience to take all of my information and turn it into something tangible. She has consultants, computer programs and references to assist her in the job of bookkeeping. I dont have these, its not my job, not my career. This is what I pay her to take care of for me so I can make better use of my valuable time. She loves it - I dont know why. It would scramble my brain trying to keep it all together, calculating, organizing, etc. every day for different clients. But she manages to bring together and organize all of my papers, receipts, etc into a functioning bookkeeping file that keeps my business on track and my taxes completed on time every year."

Now instead of using the word bookkeeper, insert the word interior designer and you will see what the value is in hiring an interior designer:

"When I meet with my interior designer, I hand her piles, boxes and folders of items that I am interested in using for my design and/or build. She takes that messy, disorganized pile of my thoughts, research, dreams, and ideas and organizes, deconstructs, plans, shapes, models and creates a tangible vision of how I want my design to be. My designer can do this because she is a professional. She has the education and experience to turn my thoughts into something real. She has the support of her office, trades, resources, and colleagues. My designer has computer programs, cunsultants, and trade references to help her figure out the best design for me. I dont have these - its not my job, not my career. This is why I hire a designer to take care of me and my project so that I can make better use of my valuable time. She loves it - I dont know why. It scrambles my brain just thinking about her doing all that she does for me and with all of her other clients. My interior designer manages to take it all in and produce the most amazing design for me and my home and/or business."

There is value to you to hire an interior designer. The same value there is for you to hire a bookkeeper, a lawyer, or a doctor. Yes, you maybe able to do what they do, but would you want to? No, but they do. Do you know all the laws, codes, legalese, technicalities, etc? No, but they do. Its their job to know and to use that knowledge to help you have a successful business, tax filing, remodel, lawsuit or face lift. You save more money and time hiring a professional to do the job you need done.

The following is an excerpt from NWSID, Southern Chapter for reasons why to hire an Interior Designer for you next project:

Why Hire an Interior Designer?
The following information is provided to you to help you make an informed decision with regard to consideration of hiring an interior designer for your next project. The following are valuable services interior designers can provide to you.

1.Provide solutions: Each project, small or large presents challenges. Whether it is lack of storage, poor traffic flow, color scheme, unusual windows or maximizing light and space.

2.Prevent costly mistakes: So many choices, too many options, and this product over that product. There are so many things that are hard to know unless you have encountered those dozens of times before.

3.Resources: Any design is only as good as its execution. Designers work with the best workrooms, contractors, and fabricators and have the clout to make sure the price matches the quality.

4.Guidance: A designer knows sources well enough to edit the options and offer seasoned advice to guide clients through the myriad of design choices.

5. Convenience: Designers save you shopping time and work on-site. We bring the “store” to you.

6.Set priorties: A Designer will help allocate your “design dollars” and how best to spend your money now and plan for future phases of your design project.

7. Liaison/Advocate: Designers work with trades-people and manufacturers regularly and have more leverage to get things repaired or replaced when necessary.

8. Working through opposing taste: Designers can be the third party to join taste and style between husband and wife or significant other.

9. Get the job done: Designers see to it that everything is completed. Your complete satisfaction is their best referral.


So when considering your next design or remodel project, consider the assistance of an interior designer. Not all Interior Designers work the same so check out design organization websites, surf the net for interior designers in your area, ask your friends for referrals, and make sure to interview several designers that fit your needs before settling on one. Designing and altering your home is a personal project and you want the person that fits best with you, your partner and/or your family.

How to Hire an Interior Designer - next time

Why You Should Hire Professionals to Save You Time & Money

In all the years I have been in the design and building field, I have had occassion in which I have had to "save" a project. I think all designers, architects, and builders have all had to do this at one time or another. I've had to take over design direction from other designers, I've had to flesh out bare-bone building documents created by architects and I have had to take over construction projects when the contractor has been fired or abadoned the job, always taking the owner's money in the process. I am in the special situation of being both a Professional designer and a licensed General Contractor. More and more professionals are obtaining both specialities, but as a woman, I am still a minority in this instance.

I cannot stress enough the importance of hiring a professional interior design and/or architect and a licensed General Contractor with licensed subs for your construction project. What may seem like a large up front expense to begin your project will end up tripling and getting you in the shorts by the end of you project if you fail to do so. I will have to look it up, but there is a telling quote that runs something like this:
"Pay for quality, cry only once
Pay for crap and cry everytime you see it."
Once I find it again, I will post it.

Your home is your investment, both financially and emotionally. Respect that.
You project does not have to cost a million dollars, but all successful projects start with good planning. That costs money. Its an investment. You are hiring people that will save you money in the end and are looking out for your best interests because their reputation is extremely important to them and you are their most valuable asset in referrals.

Professionals will thoroughly design your project, assess pitfalls and barriers, and take care of all issues before any construction starts. With professionals, you can esitmate the cost of your project from the beginning and have tools in which to asses the bids that you receive from general contractors or subcontractors. Designers and architects do offer services to assist homeowners with bid reviews to make sure all of the numbers are relative and within current cost estimates regionally and nationally.

Whatever you think your project will cost, multiply that by three to be fiscally safe. Planning a remodel is like planning a wedding. Unforseen conditions will add costs and something, at least one thing, will go wrong. Its how you, your designer and your contractor handle what goes wrong that will make the solutions successful. There is also a phrase that my father likes to use called "creeping elegance". You will want to keep redesigning your project as you go along. You will want to add, change, subtract, buy more, etc. If you are on a budget, stay within that budget as best you can. Designers and Architects can help you plan your remodel in phases if necessary to fit your budget. Ask the questions, pose the possibilities. This is your boat with your consultants on board helping you move it forward.

But always remember its your boat and you are in charge. Dont hesitate to ask questions, call in numbers, or stop your project if you think necessary. Everyone who works on your project is just a person, a human being. They are not God, they dont have more authority than you over your project. They may have more experience and expertise, but they work for you and this is your boat.

I say this pointedly to a lot of women as well. Even my most professional CEO women clients get shaking hands and flushed faces when talking to a designer or contractor. WE are the mystery behind the curtain, but you all know what happened when the curtain was drawn back. Just a human being who knows how to operate the controls. The construction industry is still mostly men, granted. That doesnt mean they know everything, its just the evolution of the profession. As more women become contractors, the great mystery becomes de-mystified and women find that they can do all that men can do in this field. Do we want to? Hell no!! We work smarter, not harder. Did you know that a woman invented the first continous cutting saw? Fashioned similar to a spinning wheel. Working smarter, not harder.

Alot of my blogging will focus on women as the clients. A lot of my clients are women. I am a woman. Please take my comments in that vein.

Please look for future blogs about hiring Professional for design and construction.

TTFN!

Welcome to the 20/20 for Site Interior Design blog. This will be a weekly blog providing commentary, advice, and insight to the interior design culture and profession. My name is Deborah Gaslin, Director of Design for 20/20 for Site,llc and I will be writing weekly about all things Interior Design along with Lifestyle Design including book and restaurant reviews. Design is so much more than the sofa in your living room or the draperies at your windows. Design is a lifestyle and I encourage everyone to figure out what their design lifestyle is for themselves.

I welcome questions and comments and will try to respond within 48 hours. If you are interested in hiring an interior designer, I recommend that you visit my website: http://www.2020forsite.com/. We work all over Oregon and Washington, and can be persuaded to fly to LA, Hawaii, Milan, and London.

Looking forward to sharing my thoughts, views, and opinions with all of you!

Deborah Gaslin, NWSID