The Best Way To Save Money When Working With An Interior Designer (via Architectural Digest)
If you’re following us on Instagram , you probably saw our post about this very subject last weekend. It was so good, we thought we should do an entire blog post about it!
Let’s get this out of the way first: Interior Design is a luxury service. We know that - sorry, Chip and Joanna, we simply don’t have the same market as Waco, TX.
But we still have clients wondering: how can I save money on my project?
Let’s start with where we usually find clients trying to save money (and we’re gonna tell you why it’s not working):
A) Clients want to do legwork on their own and purchase items from big box stores or online portals.
Why this doesn’t help: Sure, you can go to a big furniture store and start to source furniture yourself to save on design hours. But one of the things you’re missing is the attention to detail. Good designers see every little detail, such as the contrast welt on a chair that can make or break how it relates to the rest of the space. If you purchase it on your own without taking into account those small details, then we spend twice the amount of hours trying to “fix” that and creating a cohesive space with something that you purchased! And what about those online portals? Don’t get us wrong - those places have cute accessories for styling (love me a good candle or bud vase!). But furniture pieces are just not worth the risk. The quality may not be up to par, and instead of purchasing a quality piece for a bit more money that will last forever, you’ve just purchased something that will need to be replaced shortly - therefore spending just as much money!
photo by Kyle J Caldwell
B) Clients search on the internet for accessory items and let us know while we’re designing the rest of the space.
Ok, people. Get off the internet!!!!!!! It’s like a doctor saying, don’t Google your symptoms because you’re going to think you have cancer! If we’ve just spent 10 design hours sourcing the furniture, paint colors, window treatments, etc. for your room and you send us the “PERFECT ARTWORK” (and it’s totally the wrong color!), then we have to try to (again!) fix the issue. Once again, we’re spending additional hours trying to make your “perfect artwork” fit in the space. By this time we know your desired aesthetic and you have to trust us with getting you the right accessories.
It's informative and entertaining!
C) Getting other professionals involved in the project before hiring a designer.
Here’s another area where we find we’re coming in too late to the game. Many times homeowners hire an architect and begin getting bids with GCs before they get input from an interior designer. If you haven’t read our blog series about what each trade does and the collaborative process, I HIGHLY recommend reading it. The Bees LOVE working collaboratively with a team of Architects, GCs, Kitchen Designers, etc. In fact, those are the BEST projects with the best outcomes. But when we’re brought in too late, we may not be able to create the “perfect” furniture layout because we’re working within the confines of an already existing drawing set. If you were envisioning a sectional for your space, build it, and then find out a sectional doesn’t work; well, that would be downright disappointing!!! Bring us in early; even if it’s just for some consultation hours to give input on how the furniture might layout. It’s well worth it to make sure you’re getting the furniture layout you WANT!
photo by Kyle J Caldwell
Now, how CAN you save money with a designer?!
We keep talking about the ways you end up spending more money than you want/need to on a project. But we’re here to also give you the BEST tip of how to save money; and we couldn’t have said it better than Charles de Lisle (an AD100) in Architectural Digest.
I always explain to clients up front that the best way to save money is to stay efficient and trust your designer. The faster you make decisions, the cheaper things are - that is 100% always true. The internet and online resources have complicated the nature of decision making. We’re constantly reminding people to sort of put blinders on - stay focused and trust us, because we’ve been through this multiple times. The clients who roll with that get in and out with the best budgets.”
WOW. I mean, it makes total sense right?! But no one ever says it quite as succinctly as that. Bravo!!!
But in all seriousness, this is what we try to educate all of our potential clients up front in every onboarding meeting. You MUST trust us - you hired us based on our portfolio, right? (Well, I hope so, cuz if you like contemporary/modern interior design, we’re definitely NOT the designer for you!!). But if you hired us for a timeless, classic look (with maybe a touch of Cape Cod style), then you KNOW you’re going to get a beautiful outcome. So put your blinders on and TRUST us.
Mic drop. 😉 The Bees are out.
Cheers, and have a WONDERFUL weekend - I hope it’s warm enough to get the kids out to play!