Interior Designers Reveal Their Biggest Pet Peeves

Taking the leap into the world ofinterior decorating可以是一个可怕的事情，特别是第一次左右。就像含苞待放的关系，一个装饰项目的启动能够带来情感的交响曲：对心脏肿想象的最终结果时，蝴蝶察觉自己的梦想沙发时，神经刷信用卡时，等待时的疑惑交付......它是一个不错的选择？它会持续多久？我一定会喜欢它？幸运的是，室内设计师谁可以指导你通过与他们的专业知识的每一步。But there are several factors you should consider to ensure you and your designer enjoy a beneficial partnership.

To help you take the decorating plunge, we tapped our favorite designers to share everything you should know before hiring them. Take notes, and get ready to enter the partnership that will make your house a home.

大多数专家认为，有一个清晰的愿景聘请设计师时是最好的。“从一张白纸的客户端是一个神话99％的时间，说：”设计师马克斯·汉弗莱. "I actually enjoy working under existing parameters because I like a challenge."

"When working with clients, it’s extremely helpful to get an idea of their aesthetic and what they naturally gravitate toward," says凯蒂·霍奇斯. "That being said, I think the best types of clients are those who have their own style but hire an interior designer to bring something new and refreshing to the table." Homepolish co-founderNoa Santos同意："The more inspiration the better. It's part of the fun."

Interior designer David John Dick ofDISC Interiors有一个稍微不同的方法：“我们当然喜欢当客户来启发，准备合作，但据我们了解，一些客户都没有这个时间在他们的生活中要做到这一点，而且我们太激动了，与他们合作我们的目标是把他们最初的灵感或想法在房间应该如何运作，然后用自己的想法运行，并最终执行[他们]为自己的梦想内部。”

The bond between designer and client is a sacred one. In order to have a successful working relationship with your designer, you need to be able to trust them implicitly. "I would advise clients to stay true to who they are, yet keep an open mind and allow their designer to…well, design," shares Hodges. "An interior designer will usually be able to find the right balance between your comfort zone and their vision." Dick agrees: "We love when clients trust us, and we understand trust does not happen instantly," he says.“但是，当信任发生，漂亮的事情都可能发生。”

Beyond trust, Santos believes that camaraderie is a fundamental pillar to a great partnership: "Find someone you really love," says Santos. "You're going to be spending a fair amount of time together, and the process should be fun for both of you. My favorite clients are the ones I can have a cocktail with."

Finding the right designer upon which to build this productive relationship isn't easy, so doing your due diligence is of utmost importance. "All the online research in the world doesn’t make up for a one-on-one meeting or at least a few phone calls," says Humphrey. "It’s an intimate connection between a client and a designer since we’re in their homes and lives, so just plucking someone off of the internet because they have cool taste can lead to disaster if you don’t click personally."

你应该真正寻找一个设计师？“这是同样重要的是要了解你，作为客户端，从你的设计师想要的，”桑托斯说。“你希望有人谁将会是更加自信，或者你想要一个设计师，谁是有根本指导吗？你希望有人喜欢以电子邮件或做你喜欢发短信？个性和工作风格常常被人们忽视，但这就是我们专注于在我们的广大关注Homepolish. Great designers can typically work within a款式范围，但你需要的爱和信任你决定要一起工作的人。”

你应该在哪里找设计师？“我们的大多数客户都是通过推荐，但我们喜欢当客户端通过网络，Houzz看到我们的作品，Instagram的, or a press article," says Dick. "It really is so much about a personal connection when looking for a residential interior designer, so we recommend asking friends or co-workers who you trust and whose style you admire." Hodges also believes in the power of Instagram: "Instagram的账户usually have more content than designers’ websites, and you can see what designers are drawn to and inspired by."

"Communicate your likes and dislikes in any way you know how, whether visual or verbal," says Dick, who often tells clients to give as much information as possible in the beginning. "Discuss your plans with your significant other, and what your combined vision looks like. Don't expect the designer to always be able to decipher if you disagree with your partner and have different visions for the space," he adds.

Few designers nail the design on the first try, but how many revisions it's acceptable to ask for can be a touchy subject. "Every designer will have their own policy on how many changes they accept, so it’s important for a client to understand their potential designer’s policies prior to working together," says Hodges.

Most of the designers we spoke to agreed that multiple revisions were entirely fine during the design phase, but not so much during execution: "If the design presented is not what you had in mind, it is perfectly okay to communicate the changes that need to occur," says Dick. "But once the client enters into the purchasing phase, changes and exchanges may not be allowed by vendors, so it's important to understand your designer's vision before proceeding, and to read all invoices and contracts."

"There’s definitely such a thing as too much inspiration," adds Humphrey. "I like a client who can pick out a few tear sheets orPinterest的引脚but, once we decide on a direction, can stick with it and stay off the internet for the rest of the process."

“我使用‘触摸和去’的模式而设计，补充说：”霍奇斯，“这涉及让在设计过程中的客户端的基准，以衡量他们的感情朝着一个特定的设计方向。这允许客户端在设计开发阶段的权衡，最大限度地减少或完全减少，修订和使客户感到沿途更舒服。”

Be prepared to start with a clean slate and part with items that you may have initially wanted to keep. "I like being challenged by clients," says Humphrey. "With that said, I don’t like when clients are too sentimental about furniture or objects that they’ve owned for years and can't part with. One client of mine was really attached to somebedside tablesthat she found on the street when she was in college, and I had to physically throw them back out onto the street."

A simple styling gig can be finished in a week, while large-scale projects can take years to complete, but no matter what your timeline is, designers agree that patience is key. "Timelines depend on two variables," says Hodges: "the scale of the project, and how quickly a client makes decisions (with the latter being most important). Some clients take longer to pull triggers than others, which definitely impacts the pace of the project."

"Furnishing a whole house can take six to nine months, typically," says Humphrey. "I can come up with the design pretty quickly, so a lot of it has to do with how long clients take to make decisions and then we’re at the disposal of the dreaded lead-time." Larger furniture and custom-made pieces can have long lead times, which clients need to be aware of.

“管理的期望是最重要之一t aspects of my job, so I make sure my clients are well informed about lead times and process before I start any project," says Hodges. "However, there are still times that clients think that things can be done overnight. Concepts take time to develop and furniture is not made by robots with superpowers—patience will always pay off in the end."

Each designer has their own pet-peeve. For Hodges, it's texting late at night. "As an interior designer, I form close relationships with clients because the nature of the job is very intimate," she says. "But I wish clients understood that there are times (such as at 10 p.m. on a Sunday) when I am off duty."

请务必将你的设计师的付款政策的强烈把握。“每个设计师似乎有不同pricing structure, which can be confusing when choosing a designer," says Santos. "Homepolish clients pay a flat rate for design time as their project progresses so they can move as slowly or quickly as they like."

一些设计者，像凯蒂霍奇斯，在50-50模型，这意味着50％的保持器的工作是由于前期，并在结束由于50％的平衡。其他客户的收费是按月或按双周，适当的前期家具采购。

至于折扣，这完全取决于设计者。“有一种常见的误解与室内设计师工作时，客户将永远享受折扣优惠，说：”霍奇斯。“零售商店提供非常小的折扣（如果有的话）的室内设计师，因为他们的主要客户对象是homeowner. However, when custom furnishings are involved, interior designers are usually able to recreate an out-of-budget piece by using local vendors and artisans, so clients do get the best value out of those pieces."

“谁不标记零售件有些设计师会收取较高的设计费用，”汉弗莱说。“一般情况下，客户没有得到根本转嫁到他们，因为大部分设计师赚来的钱委托的零售折扣。”

"We try to extend enough of a discount on products to pay for our service fee," says Santos. "Hiring Homepolish is the same price as if you did the work yourself. We want working with us to be a no-brainer."

All interior design firms work differently," says Dick, "so it's important to ask [financial] questions upfront, and to be specific about your project. Whether it's a kitchen remodel or decorating a living room, the discounts and rates can vary."

"For clients, figuring out an interior design budget is often a challenge because they don’t know what furniture costs at their particular price level," says Hodges. That being said, it's important to have a realistic overview of your finances, and what you're prepared to spend. "An interior designer can usually help a client figure out a baseline budget," she adds.

“客户经常会问大概的数字，每一次我们礼貌地拒绝，直到我们完全明白他们正在寻找的，”迪克说。“我们的大多数客户都花费了相当多的购买他们的家，我们的目标是确保室内设计，我们为他们将持续多年，工作他们的生活方式。”

Interior design budgets vary wildly. Ask 20 designers for a ballpark budget, and you'll get 20 answers. "I could point to a one-bedroom apartment that costs $10,000 and another where the client spent $1M," says Santos. "Design should be an ongoing conversation. It should change as you do, so the design of your space should start with who you are and what you care about, not how much money you have. There are good solutions at almost every price point."

The most important quality that designers look for in clients? An appreciation for their craft. "My favorite types of clients are those that truly appreciate andunderstand designyet don’t know how to implement it," says Hodges.

“我爱客户谁相信设计和艺术的事情，补充说：”迪克。“谁欣赏的质量和工艺，并寻求美的客户更愿意承担风险和协作。”

桑托斯还爱客户,有一个独特的设置啊f challenges. "The best solutions come from solving interesting problems."