Does your scheme look like it steps out of the seventies, and your furniture has seen better days? If it lacks style, colour and harmony, the next call you should make is to your interior decorator. Interior decorators are the right fit for the job when you are wanting to improve the aesthetic qualities of your home. They are the experts when it comes to making decision on colour schemes, wallpaper flooring, lighting and other accessories.
If, however, you start to think about how great it would be to gut the interior and start some interior decoration from scratch – get your interior designer on speed dial. Interior designers are trained to match the aesthetic features to the structure and layout of the room. They talk the lingo with contractors, architects and builders. As such, interior designers offer a cohesive scheme for the room or the entire property.
What should you look for when hiring an interior decorator or an interior designer? Many would jump to their qualifications. Sure, you want to confirm that they have the knowledge required, but we recommend making sure they have the skills to back it up. The best place to find this is in their portfolio. This will also give you the opportunity to make sure their sense of style matches your own.
Next on the interior decoration agenda is to discuss your budget to ensure it aligns with the scope of the project outlaid by your interior designer or decorator. You will find that both professionals will usually offer a flat or hourly rate – negotiated based on the scope, duration and degree of the task.
At the end of the day, there is a lot of semantics involved in the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator and it comes back to the individual professional and how they choose to market themselves. If you want to really get confused, you can throw terms like interior stylist into the mix and we’re off on another tangent!
If your fingers are still hovering over the phone, wondering whose best to call in on the job, keep this in mind as a rule of thumb: Designers can decorate but decorators don’t design.
Want to learn more insider interior design knowledge and tips? Undertaking an online course in interior design will provide you with expert advice and support. The Professional Interior Design Course offered by The Interior Design Academy will provide the first step to unlocking the interior designer within you. Get in touch with us today.
