How to shop for interior design

If you decide to embark on the wonderful world of interior design by yourself, you’ll want to know where to look for the best ideas, the best prices, and the best styles. Ask your friends for advice, follow good referrals, look up online reviews, and look for styles that match your idea of what is attractive. Some stores will match you more closely than others.

Look for an expert salesperson

If you’re looking for a single interior design product, like shades or an area rug, an experienced salesperson might be all the consultation you need. You can ask what other customer reviews have been of the products and how often they receive complaints on the various styles or models. One interior designer suggested, "Look around the store or showroom and watch and listen for someone knowledgeable. . . . Some of the best experts I work ‘in the trade’ with do retail sales as well and have abundant information to share."

Check out designers’ credentials

If you decide to call in an expert for a second opinion on how best to design your interior, make sure you look for personal referrals as well. Ask around to see if friends, family, or neighbors have recently had any work done and find out what they thought of their contractor’s prices and work ethic. Be sure to check out any designer or contractor’s credentials. These days, most designers have online portfolios of past projects you can scroll through to sample their work. Call the designer before meeting with them and ask some questions about their policies, procedures, and styles. This way you can weed out the ones that won’t work for you rather than wasting time meeting in person or having them over to your home.

You get what you pay for

Remember that the cheapest estimate isn’t necessarily the best. Design Sense, an interior Design website, suggests, "Ask how and what they charge. Probably, you’ll get a different response from everyone . . . Years ago everyone charged based on List (or suggested retail). Now, it’s everything from a Tiered Set Fee (depending on the complexity, size of your project) to full List, plus freight and delivery."

If this whole process seems complicated, don’t worry, it’s not just you. Making design or structural changes to your home takes a lot of time and consideration. You’re going to have to live every day with the changes you make, after all.

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Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/design-sense/2013/09/starting-a-design-project/

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