What is a Home Designer and Should You Hire One for Your Remodeling Project?

Remodeling a home is like having a baby. The idea is formed and everyone is excited and then you have to carry it for 9 months, toiling over every little decision that will amount to how it will have a well cared for life. About the time you start planning the nursery, the real labor starts. Months of no sleep adjusting to people coming and going from your house, helping you care for this child in its infancy. Soon enough it settles down, you can get your normal rhythm of life back and start enjoying this new life you've formed with blood, sweat and tears. 

Ok, maybe remodeling a home isn't that dramatic, but some days aren't far off. The key ingredient in making a remodeling project less like child labor is to have a steady hand walking beside you, helping you through the tough decisions. Is this person an interior designer? We've put together the top reasons you should look for an interior designer to help you with your remodeling project. These are not exhaustive but will hopefully make you think about remodeling in a new way.

Aesthetics

This is probably the most common reason someone would hire an interior designer or home designer as some call it. Most think of interior designer as an interior decorator. This is a common misconception that needs a little clarification. 

An interior decorator is someone who is focused primarily on the topical aesthetics of a room in the home. They are a good person to consult if you are looking to change the color of your sofa to better match your curtains. They can help you rearrange furniture to better fit in a space or possibly even help with updating a few pieces of furniture here and there. This is about the extent of their services. An interior decorator is not someone who has professional training or secondary education in the field of design. Ultimately, when you are remodeling a kitchen or a full home, they will be very limited in how they can help you. 

However, when it comes to aesthetics, this is just the tip of the iceberg for an interior designer. This is primarily because their scope of work has a much further reach. A home designer can take an architect's plans and run with the client from there. They understand how to read blueprints and are proficient at space planning using software like CAD. Having this type of person working alongside the client fills a serious need within a remodeling project. The project is managed from design to construction to finish. 

Having a home designer with you to look at architectural plans while also having aesthetics in mind is a great asset in remodeling a home. Aesthetics are very important. They are the skin on top of the hard work of building the framework. What is the framework worth if it is not brought to life with beautiful tile, countertops and flooring? Yes, it would be worthless. But you can't talk aesthetics before looking deeper at the framework that holds it together.

Functionality

The most beautiful refrigerator will make you go crazy if it isn't easily accessible or doesn't flow with how you use your kitchen. A home designer knows how to bring your life together in form and function. One of the ways they do this is through a "getting to know you" interview on the front end of your relationship. If you are working through selecting a home designer, you should make sure they are trying to learn everything about you. This is the only way to give you what you are looking for in the end. If they don't know much about you, the space is going to end up looking like them. 

Home designers are really good at what they do, in part because they are really good at making decisions. They can look at 18 different tiles and know almost instantly which one works with the project they are putting together. If they haven't spent time "getting to know you", they will just pick the tile they like and not the tile that best tells your story. Our designers are trained to spend as much time as they need at the beginning getting to know our clients. This insures they will have the client's best interests in mind when looking at finishes or measuring to best use a certain space.

Functionality comes from a good designer understanding their client and taking the time to mesh good design with good function. Here are a few ways we do this with our clients. We ask questions like:

• What is your morning routine and your evening routine?
• Do you entertain and how do you feel most comfortable entertaining?
• Who is the primary chef in the house and are they left or right handed?
• What kind of lifestyle do you have?
• How does the space lend itself to best complimenting your lifestyle?
• How can the space make your life easier and more enjoyable?

How would you answer some of these questions? Does that give you a better perspective of what a home designer can do for you? As you think through how you might be able to utilize the skills of a interior designer, consider one more quality they bring to the table. 

Construction Process

So far we have been talking about what an interior designer can do for you during the design phase. One area that is often overlooked is the hand-off from design to construction. A good home designer will not leave you holding the hammer. They will continue right across the bridge with you to the sometimes scary phase of demolition and construction. If this is your first home remodeling project, it can seem overwhelming with what it takes to keep all the plates in the air. 

Once construction is underway there are going to be a lot of decisions that still have to be made. You may feel like you have been asked to count the stars in the sky as you head down this road, but your home designer can help to reassure you and give you the right advice when you need it. A good example is when construction begins to wind down and products like cabinets and appliances are starting to arrive for installation. A cabinet may be the wrong size or the refrigerator door may swing the wrong way. This is where your designer will step in and help you work it out with the contractor and suppliers to bring a solution to the table in a timely manner.  It is hard to put a price on that feeling. Little decisions and big decisions will be potholes, setbacks and rabbit trails all the way through your journey of remodeling. A home designer can walk beside you and make sure you make it through to enjoy your finished space.

In Conclusion

As you might see, there are many reasons to seek out the help of an interior designer. Their education in the field, experience in the industry of design and ability to bring various people together to create your dream home is a skill that is hard to find anywhere else. Consider these attributes as they might be necessary to bring your dream to a realty. Of course, we are always here to help you navigate the tumultuous waters of remodeling your home.