What would you ask an interior designer

[mikala]

before hiring him/her?

I'm considering enlisting one for a color consult and to give suggestions to improve our main area. What kinds of questions should I ask before and during our first appointment?

Thanks!!

[marit]

Other than pricing I would have liked to see her portfolio. Everyone has a different taste and you have to make sure you like hers. Other than that I would ask for 3 references. When talking to them I would ask how it was to work with her/him on a personal level - things done on time, budget met etc.

[hillview]

I would make sure her design and your budget were a match. I would also ask her to walk you through a before and after at a client site to understand how she collaborates and works. I would LOVE to hire a designer!! Tell me more about it when you can please. Is it $$??
/hillary

[BDKmom]

I would agree with the above suggestions, and especially discuss what kind of time line you are thinking. We hired a decorator to assist us with a master suite remodel. First of all, she was extremely reasonably priced, as I think some of her income comes from referrals to certain contractors, suppliers, vendors, etc. The main issue we had with her was a tendency for things to take forever to get done. The contractors were great with their timelines, but the decorator took a long time to follow up on things such as paint and tile choices, accessories, etc. So when one part of the job was finished and we were ready for the next round of decisions, she would take a while to get back to us.

I also found, just FYI for folks, that the company that did our interior painting offered a complimentary color consultation, so if anyone is just looking for paint color assistance, that may be a good route to take.

Good luck with your decorating projects and with finding the right decorator/designer for you!