Our design fees are deliberately kept to a comparable and affordable hourly rate.

Think of it as an investment. Designers are looking at the whole vision in one process. You avoid costly purchasing mistakes on singular items that you may love but don’t fit the scheme.

Do you connect with the designer? Very often you are entrusting them with your most valuable possession. Do they have the experience, necessary connections, skills, and services to create a home or commercial space you can be proud of and that makes the most of what you have?

Hiring a designer should also be fun. Pick someone who you are confident will make a stressful process a great experience.

All design is subjective. We are all different. Your exact style may not already be something we have already achieved for our other clients. Untapping the magic that will thrill you is what motivates designers. We will ask you what you like and dislike during your first consultation. The designer will be able to narrow down the options.

Bring images you like to help you choose a design direction. Style selection can be influenced by both how you want to furnish the space and how it will be used.

We work very hard to create design plans that we know you’ll love, but occasionally there might be an item or two that you’re just not feeling. We do allow time in our design fee for re-selections.

A large-scale project can be daunting when you consider the amount of project management required to handle all the disciplines of a build. A good Interior designer takes the coordination of these disparate services, and often 3rd party trades, in their stride. Some larger companies can offer a full end-to-end array of services from the moment land is acquired to the turn-key fully styled end result.

That can include:

• Design inspiration and conceptulisation
• Design Consultation and multiple lifestyle briefings
• Budget breakdown and contracts
• Architecture liaison
• Client point of contact for project coordination of trades and services
• Planning and construction team liaison and coordination
• External 3rd party liaisons
• Creative space and Floor planning
• Client visual presentations with moodboards and layouts
• Colour, Material and Texture selection tray presentations
• Cost breakdowns
• Photoreal CGI visualsation or fly through animations
• Detailed component design drawings for trade construction
• Art & Sculpture advice and procurement
• Fitted and bespoke furniture
• Furniture & Lighting selection
• Flooring, Wall and Window treatment selections
• Accessories & living essentials procurement
• Installation & Styling coordination

You’ve probably arrived at a shortlist of designers because you like the look of aspects of their work, possibly even a whole project. Or you’ve heard good things from friends and family. You want to know if they have already achieved similar to your vision already for others and a project portfolio is the natural starting point to find that. For the most part, a designer’s public portfolio rarely covers every project they have worked on. Far from it in our case, it’s a very small cross-section of examples that portray diversity. Therefore it’s good to ask if there is more evidence of relevant work the designer can privately show based on the shaping of the design briefing.

Many of our clients are in the public eye therefore discretion and privacy are of course respected. Sometimes as a consequence professional photography does not exist for many of our schemes and is in part why we show on only a handful of projects on our website.

Designers can often cherry-pick and rotate projects especially if they share many similar aspects or are not the most current. During the consultation, there is an opportunity to understand the vast body of work and to look for relevancies. It’s a good idea to ask about the costs of the elements that capture you so that you have a good understanding of what your budget can achieve.

Think about the primary purpose of the room, and who will be using it? An entrance is the chance to make a ‘set the tone’ first impression. But your bedroom is your haven and should be inviting and relaxing to you. A living room or dining room needs to be both functional for you and cater for entertaining so can also make a statement. The connection and flow of each area is key to making the most of your entire space.

If the designer isn’t providing an answer that feels right to you, it’s okay to move on. Communication is the most important part of the designer/client relationship. Don’t worry if it begins to feel like a job interview. It is a job interview! You want to make sure that you’re on the same page. Here are some follow-up questions that you might want to add to your agenda:

• WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT SO FAR? WHY?
• CAN I SEE YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT?
• WHAT DESIGNERS DO YOU LIKE PERSONALLY?
• WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION?
• WHAT IF I HAVE TO PUT MY PROJECT ON HOLD?
• WHAT BUILDERS/ARCHITECTS/CONTRACTORS DO YOU WORK WITH?

Hiring an interior designer is a commitment, but it’s also a really fun process. Rest assured, the creative innovator who possesses a keen sense of your individual style is out there somewhere.

• Have you ever worked with an interior designer before?
• What is my site location?
• Which stage are you at (Does the project have planning approval?)
• What is your timeframe?
• What is your budget? 
• What design style or styles are you drawn to? (hint: show photos of rooms you like)
• Are there significant features, period or otherwise that you would like to keep, enhance or restore?
• Is there anything you absolutely do not like?
• Will you want to remain in the home during the design?