5 Essential Questions to Ask When Interviewing an Interior Designer

Hiring an interior designer is a big step. You are placing in them a lot of faith that they will be a good steward of your home as well as your finances. It is important that you make the right choice, and the right choice for you may be different from the right choice for your best friend or your sister. So, while a referral is great, be sure to interview and ask the right questions, time invested now can be time and money saved later.

I have narrowed down a list of 5 essential questions to ask when you interview an interior designer and why they are important.

1. Tell me about how you became a designer

A white bedroom with a modern silver lamp on a nightstand.

You will find that the path to interior design for a lot of people is not a straight one, for some it was straight to college for others it’s a second career, following a lifelong passion. What you are looking to hear in this question is their passion for design, this is not an easy process. You want to hire someone who is dedicated to the profession and committed to making your home the best for you.

2. What is your design philosophy?

A rustic wooden side table topped with a bowl of roses is next to a dark wood and wicker chair.

This is where you start to separate the people who are good from the ones that are good for you. My design philosophy is that interior design is a form of portraiture, which means each project looks like the family that lives there, rather than a particular design style that is repeated over and over again. For some they want a designer with a very particular look. You need to decide which you are.

3. Are you comfortable working with a budget?

A stainless steel and wood kitchen with a marble-topped island. Spun glass chandeliers hang above.

For some designers a budget is a challenging thing, and for some clients the budget is equally unimportant, their goal is the end product irrelevant of cost. For most people, budget is very important so you need to know how your design will deal with that. In my interior design firm we will typically show you three options, one below , one at and one above budget, that allows our client to make informed decisions about the pieces in their homes.

4. Can you incorporate my existing pieces?

A traditional chandelier hangs above a marble topped table surrounded by modern silver chairs in this dining room.

Creating a home that looks like you often means that using some pieces that you already have is an important thing. For some designers this is challenging, as they have a complete vision of your home and want a blank slate to work with. Asking this question will give you an insight into how collaborative your designer tends to be.

5. How do you deal with finances?

A cozy family room with a couch, TV, and pool table.

This is, of course, one of the most important questions, but I put it last as you really want to get a sense of whether this is the right person for you before you even delve in to this one. Before you ask, have a sense of what is important to you. As a designer, I feel that one of the best ways to build trust and financial confidence with my client is through total transparency, we have an open book and happily show original vendor invoices when requested. Not every designer does this and for various reasons, so it’s best to have these discussions up front.

Like any good relationship, open and honest communication is the key. The goal of these 5 questions is to give you insight in to their passion, process and priorities so that you can see if they align with yours.

Got any questions? Feel free to comment below or reach out directly to our office. I am always happy to hear from you.