Interior designer?

[crl]

We are house hunting and I have been thinking about trying to hire an interior designer/decorator when we finally manage to buy a place. We can't afford to buy all new stuff or have him buy what we do need. But I was thinking it might worthwhile to hire someone to help with the general direction, if that make sense. So, maybe help pick paint colors and suggest a finish that suits the house and our tastes for any future lighting and other fixtures and suggest styles of window coverings. Then make general suggestions like, yes, you can make a brown leather couch work in the living room, look for this size and general style and pair it with two small blue chairs and keep your eyes open for an medium wood antique armoire for that spot.

So basically help set the general plan and make suggestions that we can implement over the next two to five years as we furnish the place and replace furniture with nicer stuff. I guess I am thinking this would be around five hours worth of the designer's time? Maybe I am way off though. . . .

Is this something some designers will do? Anyone used one like this? How did it go? How much did it cost (if that's not too nosy)?

Thanks!
Catherine

[candaceb]

My mom did exactly what you are talking about when she moved 2 years ago. The designer picked paint colors and did floor layouts including accessories. My mom paid about $600 for it in the detroit area, so much lower COL than San Francisco.

[crl]

Thanks! I was thinking around $1000 so maybe I am not totally off-base. Is you mom happy with the results?

Catherine

[HannaAddict]

Interior designers, real ones with homes featured in magazines, run $100 an hour for associate time on up to several hundred an hour for the name partner. Some very good ones are around $200 an hour. Five hours really isn't much time but the paint palette can make an incredible difference and someone trained is really worth it in my opinion (if you can afford it). That said, before we could afford an interior designer, we had an amazing painter who helped with a palette and worked with soapy high end folks he was able to tell us what worked too. A good interior designer will also help you prioritize and figure out scale, what to do first and suggest non-retail, to the trade options that can be great and sometimes even less expensive than retail (wholesale plus 20-30% mark up and freight). I would meet with a couple and have them see the house and give you a proposal, you really get a sense if they "get" what you are trying to accomplish. Have fun!'

[Mali]

We hired a colorist to come pick out paint colors for us when we remodeled our house. I think it was about 2 hours of her time and we paid somewhere between $200 and $300 after travel costs (SF Bay Area pricing from about 1-1.5 years ago). We had a very clear vision of the style/palatte that we wanted though, so if you're open to anything and everything, paint selection could take a lot longer.

That said, it was some of the best money we spent for the entire project.

I shudder to think of what the house would have looked like without her help (I was so tired of picking things out that I actually told DH that I was perfectly fine with the "sparkly beige" we had before in all the rooms other than the kitchen where we repainted it the exact same shade of yellow it was previously). She also in the course of chatting with us suggested the company we ended up using for our bathroom mirrors and glass shower door as well as saying why we should have the mirrors go all the way to the ceiling and not cut them short.

[crl]

I don't think paint would take super long for us. I have a favorite painting that would go in a prominent spot (perhaps over the mantel if the house has a fireplace). It has blues, greens and yellows in it, which are my usual color palette. I have been pretty successful in choosing yellows in the past and would probably choose one family of yellows to paint all the "public" rooms. (So entryway would be the middle yellow, living room would be the next lightest, dining room would be the next darkest, or something along those lines). So I think I have a fairly clear direction for paint and someone could help me finalize those choices in a short period of time.

I am hopeless at window coverings, so that would take more time. And I think I could use some help choosing a finish to unify lighting fixtures (I like a bunch of different ones and would probably want to go with what is most appropriate to the house).

And then, as I said, some general guidance on furniture layout, mostly for the living room. I would not expect any sample boards or drawings or any specific recommendations for purchase, more just: look for a brown leather couch with tuxedo arms around 72 inches in length and two small blue chairs.

Maybe five hours isn't enough to accomplish all of that?

Thanks everyone,
Catherine

[HannaAddict]

You probably don't need an actual interior designer for those types of suggestions. Maybe color person and help from a store, many have "design services" or even home stager type person (there are some who do these quick consults as well as staging). Five hours really isn't much time for an interior designer to really think it through versus just throwing out some ideas.

[crl]

Thanks!

Catherine

[AnnieW625]

We paid $90 for a paint consult, it was well worth it. I think that is her normal hourly fee. I think I would budget for $1000. Another nice thing is their access to "to the trade only" furniture marts (I am sure there is something like that in SF). My grandma saved a bunch of money on furniture that way.

[hillview]

We paid $90 for a paint consult, it was well worth it. I think that is her normal hourly fee. I think I would budget for $1000. Another nice thing is their access to "to the trade only" furniture marts (I am sure there is something like that in SF). My grandma saved a bunch of money on furniture that way.

how did you find a paint consultant??

[AnnieW625]

how did you find a paint consultant??

she is an interior designer who is friend and does paint consults as well. I would think most interior designers would do them as well.