Your Guide to Hire an Interior Designer

Remember the time when you bought a new house and spent long months to make it livable, and it still has major defects?

Are you dreaming of redecorating your living room, and have collected all the reference images you need but you are struggling with selecting the right colour code?

Have you decided to hire a designer and you are looking at all these beautiful ads on Facebook and Instagram but you still have doubts?

How many times did you stumble across similar design issues and you wondered how anyone makes such mistakes?
Well, you are not alone!
And that’s why interior designers are needed!

Every day we hear tons of stories about challenges and frustrations of home owners trying to establish or renovate a space.

If you have similar experiences, then it is time to hire a qualified interior designer for your upcoming renovation project. And NO, it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and leg to do so.
I will tell you how!

Who AM I?

My name is Engy Samir.
I am a certified interior designer from the National Design Academy in England, and founder of ES DEXIGNS, a Design & Build firm working on both residential and commercial interior projects located in Egypt, with numerous years of experience in interior design, project management and contracting business.
In this guide I will walk you through the journey of hiring a qualified interior designer. A designer who is ideal for you and can deliver the space you have always dreamed of, both aesthetically and functionally.
You learn what you need to look for in an interior designer, what to expect, and how to get the best value for your money.

What do interior designers actually do? 
A well-trained interior designer creates spaces that are functional, safe and attractive without overlooking the specific needs or budget of each client.
He works on every detail, from space planning, color palettes, material selection and combination, furniture style and placement, lighting, window treatments to finally adding the touches of accessories and artwork.

What other benefits would you get from hiring a designer?
You might think the only benefit of hiring an interior designer is getting an appealing space.
Well, No!

Hiring an interior designer has much more benefits than that, here are some:
1.     Hacking a budget – A savvy designer knows how to best allocate funds. To do that, he needs to know your budget to suggest the best alternatives, so be open and realistic.

2.  Wide network of skilled tradesmen and service-providers – While nowadays, thanks to social media, you can easily find any service provider you need, finding the right calibre will continue to be your main challenge.
The designer’s trustworthy network of professionals will save you this hassle.
3.  Preventing expensive mistakes – From missing out adding electric sockets where they are mostly needed, to buying a misfit sofa, an interior designer saves you the high cost of such mistakes as he is trained to be attentive to every minute detail.

What kinds of services do interior designers usually offer?
Consultation services – Proficient designers have an eye for interior design, they can look at space, whether it is blank or furnished, and they can tell right from the start what it lacks.
In case you are tight on budget while you still need to get expert advice, some professionals offer consultation services at relatively low cost.
You can get this service from independent designers or through online platforms like Havenly and Modsy, which can provide mockups, mood boards and even product suggestions for your space.

• Tip: Read “8 companies that offer free or inexpensive interior design services — from virtual consultations to online chats” article from “Business Insider” to find out other affordable interior design consultation alternatives. 

Design-only services – The scope can vary from a simple concept design to a full construction package.
The more the details the interior designer provides in his drawings, the more accurate offers you get from contractors, and of course the better the end results, as everyone will exactly what needs to be done during execution. But of course, it all comes with additional cost.
Professionals offering design-only services are usually involved only before the actual execution starts.

If this is the kind of service you are looking for, you need to make sure that your designer has broad experience and that his designs are implementable. You do not want to hire an interior designer who shows you fancy rendered designs then you find out they either they are impossible to achieve or achievable at very high cost.

• Tip: When you talk with your candidate, ask him to show samples of his design work and the completed projects to see how far his designs were feasible. Encourage him to tell you more about the challenges he faced with his designs and how they were overcome.

Design & Build services – This is more of a turnkey project, where the designer is involved right from the design concept phase, until the end of the construction, installation & furnishing. Usually, he acts as the project manager who organizes the work of tradesmen, manages the purchases and delivery of material and furniture on your behalf.

• Tip: When discussing with a candidate interior designer, it is important for you to understand the scope of his work. Some designers DO NOT do the contracting work, they provide only the design and may supervise the contractor/trade people that you hire. In this case you will be managing the communication between them all, so be prepared!

What do you need to do before hiring an interior designer? 
Before meeting with the candidate designer for your project, there is some homework that you need to be well prepared:
1.     Make a list of your requirements
While a professional designer is skilled in making the best out of the space he is decorating in terms of functionality and aesthetic, you, as a homeowner, still have to provide him with your requirements, expectations, likes and dislikes.
It is then his job to translate this list into a design that matches your unique taste and living style.
The more information you share with him the better his output, and the faster you reach the design that you long for.

Be prepared for the first meeting with the following
1. A must-have list – things that are crucial for you, for example a closed office space if you work full-time from home.
2. Can’t have list – things that you dislike, like colors to avoid, challenges you have with your current space, like not enough electric sockets or poor daylight.
3. Good to have list – things you would be happy if he could incorporate in the design, like having a dedicated laundry room or extra storage.

2.     Collect inspiration images – be prepared with some images of spaces you like to share him, so he gets a better idea of your taste and style. The more images the better.

Tip: The best tool for finding inspiration is Pinterest which is an image sharing social media service. Check these links to learn how to create , organize  and  share a board on Pinterest.
3.     Set your budget – and be realistic. Nothing would be more frustrating for both of you than a project you cannot complete.
 You might think there is no problem starting a renovation project and spending a few years before you can finish it.
Well, actually there is!

IT WILL COST YOU WAY MORE!

4.     Know your schedule – Be prepared with the time boundaries you have for the project as it might affect the work items, material used. For example, share with him the date you have to leave your current lodging and move to your new place.
5.     List and images and dimensions of must-keep furniture – Share your plans for re-use or renew any furniture pieces you currently have. Better to share item images and dimensions as well, so that he can utilize them into his design.
6.     Decide on the level of involvement you would like on the project – Would like to be consulted for all the decisions and material selections throughout the project? Or are you planning to delegate the decisions to him? Share your thoughts with him.

Where and how can you find an interior designer?
1. Referrals – Get the names of local designers from family & friends. Real estate agents can also provide you with valuable references but beware that some of them take commissions from professionals on every closed deal.

• Tip: Once you have a list, start doing some online research to review their portfolios. You may also contact some of their past clients who have reviewed their service.

2.Exhibitions and Tradeshows – Plan to pay a visit to the coming round of The Design Show which is the premier and the only specialized architecture, interior and product designs trade fair in Egypt.
And do not overlook the 2 main furniture exhibitions, Le Marche and FURNEX, where some of the exhibitors offer design services as well.

3. Behance – An online social media platform for creative work, where you can find numerous designers showcasing their design work.

• Tip: when contacting a designer on Behance, do not depend on designs in his portfolio. Make sure to request to see pictures of completed projects 

What major skills an interior designer should have that you must look for?
– Creative– ask your prospect designer to see samples of his/her work. Thoroughly look at pictures on social media and try to figure out if they are authentic samples of his work or just images he grabbed online. Request that you visit any of his work-in-progress sites. Don’t shy away from asking specific questions about certain projects that you liked, like project location, material used, .. etc.

– Exceptionally good listener – Just like a therapist, an interior designer has to be an extraordinarily listener.
While designers, like any artist, tend to think highly of themselves which makes them more prone to talk than actually “Listen”, you wouldn’t want to hire someone who doesn’t spend time listening attentively to your needs and requirements on your first meetings.
A good designer would spend the first few meetings genuinely listening to every detail, drawing a visual of the lifestyle of his client, reading between the lines what he likes and dislikes.
Usually, he would come to his first client’s meetings with a detailed questionnaire or a notebook to help him grab as much details about you (as your lifestyle) and your requirements. if isn’t the case, reconsider giving him the job.

Outstanding communication skills – Design work is all about a designer’s ability to communicate his thoughts with different parties; clients, contractors, technicians and retailers. They use different methods to communicate; tons of images, sketches but never ignore their ability to communicate verbally.
Ask your prospect about his communication plan, how often you will meet, especially when working on the requirements and design, and how he will share his work. Set together the best time to have your calls.

Detailed oriented – He has to be very attentive to details. On your first meeting, was he prepared with a questionnaire/checklist? Does he take notes? In the following meetings, do you see your requirements incorporated in his proposal or did he miss them out?

Can work on style you want – While some designers can easily jump between different styles, others are specialized in certain lines. Make sure you find the right calibre.

How is an interior designer different from a general contractor, CAD technician and Interior decorator?
While there are some common skills between these professions, an interior designer has a unique set of skills that makes him standout.

This table highlights the differences between the 5 professions.

What different ways do interior designers charge?
Designers use multiple methods to charge for their work. Each professional can use one or more method to scope and amount of work. Here are the most commonly used in the Egyptian market.

Price per meter square – usually used for design-only work. You are charged according to the required drawings and level of details. When setting an agreement with a designer you need to understand what you will get for the price. Deliverables of interior designer include Mood-board, 2D plans drawing, 2D elevations, workshop drawing and 3D renders, bill of quantities.
You also need to agree with him on the number of revisions/modifications you can get for the price. Most designers set their prices to include up to 3 revisions. Requesting more modifications will come at extra cost.

Design fees range from around 80EGP per m2 and reach more than 10 times that price.

• Tip: If the scope is design-only, you need to ask whether the cost covers site visits and supervision or not. In case it is covered, you need to know for how many visits and what would be the additional cost in case more visits were required

2. Percentage over cost – known in the Egyptian market as Cost Plus. Usually used for Design & Build services. Here the designer usually charges between 10% to 20%, of the entire project cost, including labor and material. 

• Tip 1: Many clients think they can save some of the designer’s overhead by purchasing the material themselves. 

Well, this is a wrong practice, do not do that!

The designer is solely responsible for the on-site storage and installation of the material. Which means that if anything goes wrong, he will have to pay to fix it. Hence, he needs to be paid to take over with this responsibility. 

•  Tip 2: Designers usually have special discounts from suppliers, which is usually part of their profit.

Consider discussing with him these discounts and see if you can reach an agreement to benefit from some of it yourself.

3. Bill of Quantities (BOQ): – The more the project details, the easier to work with a pre-set bill of quantities and the more precise cost estimation you will have. The BOQ is created once the detailed design drawings are completed and approved. It would all the work items with detailed description, quantity and cost. The cost of each item would include labor, material and designer’s supervision fees, but you wouldn’t see this breakdown.

Predefined Packages – Basically, interior design houses have a set of predefined packages, usually 3 categories, Standard, Intermediate and Premium. The price for each package is per meter square and it includes both design and build work. 

Design and contracting firms invented this method for cost-sensitive clients, but it is considered the worst charging method, and all well-known design houses never use it.
For the design houses to make profit with this method, rest assured that they use low cost, low quality material and labor and pay almost no consideration for client’s needs.

If this is the method the interior designer offers you, just RUN! RUN far away!

Are you ready?!
Hopefully, by now you feel better prepared for your quest to create your dream space.
Always remember that selecting the right designer to work on your most personal and intimate space is a decision that will affect your and your family’s well-being for years to come.

In case you need any guidance on finding an interior designer, do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help!