Interior Design Project: To Do It Yourself or Save Money — Weighing the Pros and Cons

Ten years ago, interior design services were available only to the wealthiest apartment owners. Others usually made all the choices themselves, at best referencing photos from magazines. Often, the decision was made by the mighty chance: all finishing elements were purchased separately — just a set of items that pleased, without any connection to the space.

Nadezhda Lisyagina, Architect at Letto Interior

Today's market is full of offers; interior designers try to attract customers with more complex solutions, unusual combinations, or simply put, images that are hard or even impossible to implement. Let's look at the main pros and cons of working with designers. We promise that after reading this article, you'll make your own decision.

Let's examine all the "pros"

It is assumed that the designer knows everything about trends, material and color combinations.

If you carefully choose a professional, the result will be current and, most importantly, in line with your taste. Why is this important? Because overexposure influences the overall perception of space. If an interior is done in a style that is already outdated, your own apartment will stop pleasing you rather quickly. Therefore, design in this sense is a guarantee that the space won't bore you for a very long time.

Design serves not only decorative functions but also practical ones.

Those who do renovation themselves often fail to use the full potential of the space. A designer, on the other hand, creates a layout from scratch or refines an existing one. As a result, the space meets the needs of all family members and considers their lifestyle, habits, and preferences.

Design: Ekaterina Tretiyakova

Adherents of self-renovation don't always know where to save money.

As a result, you get low-quality swollen laminate, tiles of irregular shape, kitchen cabinets that look plainly cheap. A designer knows exactly in which materials to invest and where it's possible to save. Moreover, experienced professionals have a list of regular partners and pleasant discounts. If the designer is generous, he or she will gladly share these discounts with the client, reducing the renovation budget.

Thoughtful interior design

Carefully planned interior design is a guarantee that in your home there won't be things like extension cords, adapters, extra wires stretched across the room or wall from the TV to an outlet. The designer plans everything in advance, knows exactly where to place outlets and lights. Those who decide to do the renovation themselves sometimes find it difficult to plan two or even three steps ahead.

Design: Alexandra Parmont

Let's examine all the "cons"

The result may disappoint

Incredibly, but it's a fact: often when working with inexperienced specialists, the result is disappointing. The design project reflects the designer's taste, but not that of the apartment owner. Experienced designers know that design is not only creativity but also the ability to listen to the client. If a specialist gets carried away by creativity, the design project may please only him or her but not the client.

Difficulties in implementation

The same creative, young and ambitious designers who have no practical experience in implementing design projects create and sell to clients what is simply technically impossible to reproduce. Left with such a project and a team alone, customers usually end up with a dozen gray hairs.

Missing shopping list

The third point stems from the second: not all designers provide shopping lists. The client gets a project at best with a couple of dozens of drawings, but the items used in visualizations do not exist. That is, you cannot go to a store and buy a sink, a cabinet for it, a sofa, a bed, lighting fixtures. All that is left is either to find analogs yourself or order custom-made items, which can take not just a day but perhaps even a month for selecting contractors and filling out briefs for execution.

Design: Yurov Interiors

It's important to note that all "cons" can become hypothetical if the client carefully selects an executor, evaluates previous work, and reviews the documentation package. For example, it's good if during project creation the executor uses an actual database of materials and furniture directly from suppliers.

If a custom item is required, the designer should have the phone number of a company that can produce furniture precisely according to the project in a short time, with quality and attractive pricing. To ensure that the result exactly pleases the client, an installation meeting should be held to record all wishes and then approve the project at intermediate stages.