Interior Design Project: Is It Worth It or Better to Save Money

Hanna Lisyshyna, architect at Letto Interior

Ten years ago, interior design services were only available to the wealthiest apartment owners. Others usually made all the choices themselves, often basing their decisions on magazine photos at best. More often than not, the choice was determined by chance: all finishing elements were bought separately — just a set of items that pleased the buyer, without any connection to the space.

Today, the market is full of offers, and interior designers try to attract clients with increasingly complex solutions, unusual combinations, or, in simpler terms, images that are difficult 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.

Design: Ekaterina Tretiyakova
Pros
1. A timeless interior

It is assumed that a 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 affects 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 If an interior is done in a style that is already outdated, your own apartment will stop pleasing you rather quickly.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.

2. Space potential

Design serves not only decorative purposes but also practical ones. Those who do the renovation themselves often don't use all the potential of the space. A designer, however, creates a layout from scratch or improves an existing one. As a result, the resulting space meets all family members' needs and takes into account their lifestyle, habits, and preferences.

3. Smart savings

Adherents of DIY renovation don't always know where to save money. As a result, they end up with low-quality, overpriced laminate, tiles of irregular shape, or kitchen cabinets that look honestly cheap. A designer, on the other hand, knows exactly where to invest and where it's okay to cut costs. Moreover, professionals have a list of regular partners and favorable discounts, and if the designer is generous, they're happy to share these discounts with clients, reducing the renovation budget.

Design: MA Team
4. Nothing extra

A well-thought-out interior design is a guarantee that your home won't have such things as extension cords, adapters, extra wires stretched across the room or wall from a TV to an outlet. A designer plans everything in advance, knows exactly where to place outlets and install lights. For those who decide to do the renovation themselves, it's often hard to plan ahead by two or even three steps.

Cons
1. Taste differences

It's incredible but a fact: often, working with inexperienced specialists results in disappointing outcomes. The design project reflects the designer's taste but not the apartment owner’s. 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 might appeal only to them but not to the client.

2. Technical difficulties

The same creative, young, and ambitious designers who lack practical implementation experience create and sell to clients what is technically impossible to recreate. Left with such a project and a team alone, clients usually end up with dozens of gray hairs.

Design: Andrey and Alena Timoniny
3. Shopping burden

The third point follows from the second: not all designers provide shopping lists. The client gets a project at best with a couple of dozen drawings, but the items used in visualizations don't exist. That means you can't just go to a store and buy a sink, cabinet under it, sofa, bed, or lighting fixtures. What remains is either to find substitutes on your own or order custom items, spending not just one day but possibly a month on selecting contractors and filling out briefs for execution orders.

Important:
It's important to note that all the cons can become hypothetical if the client carefully selects an executor, evaluates previous works, and reviews the documentation package. For example, it's good if the executor uses up-to-date material and furniture databases directly from suppliers when creating the project.

If a custom item is required, the designer should have the phone number of a company that can produce the furniture precisely according to the project in a short time, at high quality, and at an attractive price. To ensure that the result truly satisfies the client, it's essential to hold a pre-installation meeting, record all preferences, and then review the project at intermediate stages.