A Completely Unbiased (LOL) Case for Hiring a Designer

Design and Photo by Margo Gardner Interior Design

Oh hi there! So glad you stopped by. Isn’t this bedroom beautiful?! It’s also colorful, fun, and quirky, just like my clients wanted it to be. Keep reading to learn about how you too can have the bedroom or living room or any other room of your dreams! (And see if you can spot the T-rex sculpture that was on their “must have” list. Such a fun project! )

Today I’m going to give you my completely unbiased thoughts on why hiring an interior designer is the smartest thing you’ll ever do. Lol. Ok, it’s not unbiased at all, but I think I make some very sound points, so keep reading!

Hiring an interior designer is an investment. There’s no doubt about it. And in some ways, deciding to hire a designer is a process without many parallels in the world of home improvement. You could easily convince yourself that design work is something you could tackle on your own. It’s not like rewiring a house or rerouting plumbing for a new bathroom. Those are things that you literally cannot do without a trained professional, unless you’re willing to risk, oh I don’t know, electrocution or an accidental water feature in your living room. These are not DIY projects!

Interior design is different. Yes, you technically can buy a sofa and a coffee table on your own. You can go to a store (or, let’s be honest, a website), pick out some pretty pieces, pay for them, and schedule delivery. When they arrive, you’ll be able to sit your little tush on that sofa (probably…although keep reading), and you will absolutely be able to toss your magazines and phone on the coffee table. And because you have eyeballs, you definitely can pick a paint color or a wallpaper that can be applied to your walls without any risk to life or limb.

But should you? Now, that’s a different question entirely, and the answer is…it depends! Even I will begrudgingly admit that there may be occasional situations where you could go it alone. If you have a lot of free time on your hands, love shopping for home furnishings, know exactly what you’re looking for, and feel very confident in your ability to pull everything together in a way that looks good and meets all of your functional needs, then no, you probably don’t need to hire a designer. In fact, you should probably be a designer! But if this doesn’t sound like you, a designer is absolutely an investment worth considering.

Still on the fence? Here are three questions to ask yourself before you make a final decision.

1. How much do you prioritize the way your home looks and feels?

This is actually not a rhetorical question. Some people really are all about utility. As long as they have a roof and walls to protect them from the elements, a comfortable place to sit and sleep, and a few surfaces to eat and work on, they’re totally content. What the place looks like and the overall vibe is immaterial. If this sounds like you, then no, hiring a designer is probably not the right choice.

But, as you might have guessed, this is NOT me!!! And if you’re reading this, it’s probably not you either. I’m very sensitive to the way my surroundings look and feel, and when I look around my house, I want to see beauty everywhere. And I want a specific version of beauty - a version that feels comfortable, personal, and inspiring to me. Do you want this too? If the answer is yes, then you’re one step closer to deciding that a designer is a good investment.

2. How much free time do you have, and how do you want to spend it?

The fact that you care about the look and feel of your home doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the time to turn it into the place of your dreams. I spend hours upon hours sourcing the perfect pieces and finishes for my clients, because that’s my job and I love what I do. But if you’re not a designer, chances are pretty good that you don’t have the kind of time it takes to sift through the bajillions of sofas, chairs, and tables that are on the market until you find the pieces that make your heart sing.

Our days are full of work deadlines, overflowing inboxes, family obligations, after school shuttling, grocery runs, school events, trips to the post office, and on and on and OMG I’m stressed out just typing all of that!!! Life is crammed full, and when we do manage to carve out a little down time, we should spend it doing things that are 100% relaxing or fun or energizing or whatever other adjective feels right to you.

Even if you’ve somehow managed the unicorn of a life filled with an abundance of free time (please, please tell me your secret!), scouring every last store for the perfect dining room table or chandelier might not be your idea of a good time. You might find it stressful or overwhelming or tedious or even boring. If that’s the case, and you’d rather spend your time on travel or music or art or volunteering or exercise or friends or literally anything else, then do those things!

Bottom line, good design is time and labor intensive work. If you want a beautiful home but don’t have the time or the inclination to do it yourself, then hiring a designer is a wise investment. Once all is said and done, you’ll look around your home and thank yourself every day.

3. Do you enjoy design but have a hard time pulling everything together?

It takes a good eye, along with some serious planning and coordination, to find pieces and finishes that you not only love, but that work together and provide the function you need in your day to day life. There are SO many combinations of colors and patterns and textures and styles and measurements (this last one is SO important!!) to consider. Designers live and breathe this stuff every single day and we know the furnishings market inside and out. We know exactly where to look for what styles, and we have the expertise to make everything work together seamlessly. We also have tools to help our clients visualize the end result BEFORE purchasing a single piece.

I often get SOS calls from potential clients in one of two situations.

Situation #1: They’re trying to put together a new room and they’ve managed to make a decision or two - a paint color, a sofa, or whatever - but that was like 6 months ago and progress has since come to a screeching halt. They feel boxed in by something about the new purchase. Maybe the new wallpaper is really hard to coordinate with upholstery colors, or the massive size of the new sofa makes it really hard to find other pieces that will fit in the remaining space, or the graphic rug feels like the wrong style for the kind of traditional furniture they’re really drawn to. Whatever the specifics, they feel trapped by the decisions they’ve made so far and don’t know what to do next.

OR…

Situation #2: This one is WAY worse. These clients have made a number of expensive purchases, but they don’t work together aesthetically and/or functionally. The pattern on the new chair doesn’t work with the rug, the custom non-returnable (arghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!) chandelier is too long and is hitting everyone in the head, the wall color is all wrong with the new sofa, and worst of all, the new sofa WILL NOT FIT THROUGH THE DOOR!!!!

The culprit in both situations? – starting the design process without a solid, thoughtful plan in place. When I work with clients, I develop a complete top-to-bottom design plan - furniture, rugs, paint, wallpaper, art, accessories, etc - before we buy A SINGLE THING. I take detailed measurements, put together 2D design boards, and build 3D models so that (1) we know everything will fit the dimensions of the space, and (2) my clients have a very good idea of what everything will look like together long before pieces start showing up at their front door.

Below are 2D design boards and 3D models from two recent projects with two very different styles. You can see the very colorful, quirky end result of the first project in the pictures above (the reveal for the second project is coming soon!). They’re two very different spaces, but in both projects, these tools helped my clients feel very confident about their designs before a single order was placed.

Clinton Hill Bedroom

2D Design Board by Margo Gardner Interior Design

3D Model by Margo Gardner Interior Design

Summit Living Room

SO, if you’ve ever found yourself in the midst of any sort of design nightmare, or if you haven’t but want to avoid it, call a designer BEFORE you start your next project! Take the stress and regret out of the process, and find the joy in a beautiful new space that’s truly worthy of your investment.

The bottom line

So, here’s the bottom line. If you want a beautiful home but you can’t seem to make it happen on your own, a designer is exactly what the doctor ordered! Yes, it’s an investment. But it’s one I know you won’t regret. We spend SO much time in our homes, and with the pandemic having permanently blurred the boundaries of work and home for so many of us, this is probably more true now than it ever has been.

Also, consider this: Hiring a designer might actually save you money if it prevents you from making costly mistakes that can’t be easily corrected. Spending thousands of dollars on a new custom dining room table or new wallpaper and then hating it is a super special kind of garbage-y feeling. Not only have you wasted a ton of money, but you have to be reminded of it every time you walk into your house. No one wants this! I don’t want this, and I don’t want this for you either! When you make that sort of investment in your home, you should absolutely love the end result. It should make your heart happy every time you walk in your front door.

If I’ve convinced you and you’re ready to take the plunge, reach out and schedule a consultation with me today! Because not only do I think you should hire a designer to help you with your next project, I think it should be me! I work very hard to help my clients build unique and beautiful homes that they feel proud of and inspired by everyday. I’d love to do the same for you!

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