Interior designers can turn your house into a home, or your underwhelming office into a professional space that impresses your visitors and potential clients. Bringing out the best in any room requires a trained eye, so hiring an interior designer is key to creating a space that is functional, comfortable, and attractive.
Need help finding an interior designer near you? Enter your zip code to be connected today to local design companies. If you’re still not sure whether or not you really need one, read on to learn more about what interior designers do and how much it costs to hire one.
What Does an Interior Designer Do?
Designers will ask you about your budget, tastes, interests, and requirements for a given room. Taking into consideration any building codes or safety issues, they will tie together lighting, colors, artwork, and furniture and arrange it all in a way that looks appealing and allows for flow within the room. Designers are committed to your tastes and preferences. It doesn’t matter what colors or styles they prefer. They work with the information you give them to create a finished product you’ll find satisfying.
Your interior designer will draw up a plan and discuss it with you. Through his or her connections, the designer can usually recommend contractors, painters, suppliers, and other professionals to find the materials required or complete any remodeling that needs to be done as part of your chosen design.
Decorator vs. Designer
The terms “interior decorator” and “interior designer” are not interchangeable. These are two different professions, and the main difference between them is the level of education.
- Interior Decorator: Becoming a decorator doesn’t require any formal training, and they are not qualified to make structural changes to your home. They focus on decorative aspects: paint, wallpaper, window treatments, and so on.
- Interior Designer: Designers have a college degree in something like interior design or interior architecture and have passed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification exam. Because of their education and knowledge about building codes and regulations, they can work with you to complete more complicated design projects.
Cost to Hire an Interior Designer
Hiring a designer will save you a lot of time and possibly a lot of money. Designers have all the necessary tools and equipment, so you won’t have to buy anything that you’ll never use again. The price range for interior designers is huge, partly because different designers use different price structures. The average cost of an interior designer, including materials and labor, is $5,592, though the price can range from $450 to $20,000.