Tips for Your First Meeting with an Interior Designer
1. Determine Your Goals
Before offering our professional opinion, please give us an idea of why we are meeting. Do not worry; it's okay to not exactly what you want! After all, your designer will work around your needs, so it is best to have some goals in mind before your initial meeting.
These goals should be used as what you want to get out of the particular space. Whether that is your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, you name it.
What do you see for the space? What about this room is missing for you? What kind of pieces can you see in this room? Descriptive words are always helpful. Calm or relaxing? Looking to make a statement? A more casual feel? Descriptive words like these make it easier for your designer to get your exact vision.
2. Gather Inspiration Photos
Now, this is the fun part, gathering inspiration photos! Maybe you saw some unique desks, eye-catching cabinets, or the perfect chandelier while searching the web. An effective way to capture your ideas is through developing an inspiration "gallery" or saving some online photos of rooms/items with the feel of your vision.
These bits and pieces of inspiration can be valuable tools to get you and your designer on the same page. You can have very few to many different inspiration pieces, and we will make the magic happen from there!
These platforms are helpful when finding inspiration:
Houzz - Home Design, Decorating and Remodeling Ideas and Inspiration - includes inspiration from thousands of interior and exterior design projects from interior designers, builders, and architects all over the Nation. You can search by room, keywords, styles, regions, and colors.
Pinterest - Pinterest is a visual discovery engine for finding ideas like recipes, home and style inspiration, and more. With billions of Pins on Pinterest, you'll always find ideas to spark inspiration. When you discover Pins, you love, save them to boards to keep your ideas organized and easy to find.
3. Think About Your Budget
At Innermost Designs, we can serve customers with a wide range of budgets. By coming into your first meeting with a budget idea, we can quickly determine the scope of your desired project. This is always important before deep diving into a project and later realizing we are out of budget.
Furthermore, this allows our designers to be clear on projects opportunities and limitations with our clients to fit the needs of their project best.
4. Prepare Questions
During your free consultation appointment, we will have many questions for you. After getting the jest of your project, it's your turn (if need be)! Feel free to bring a list of questions with you during your first appointment. Some clients find it comforting that they won't forget any important talking points.
Some Common Questions Include
Can you work within my budget?
How much do you charge for a designer's fee?
How long will it take you to complete this project?
How will you present your design concept and ideas?
Have you ever worked on a project like mine? Do you have any success stories?
Any Other Design & Construction Questions
5. Trust Your Designer
Overall, your designer is there to help bring your vision to life. Happy clients are why we enjoy this business so much, meaning a successful design project is when our homeowners are overjoyed with the outcome of our process.
You've hired a designer for their expertise, style, and ideas. Our team has many years of experience and brings a unique blend of experiences and styles to your disposal. Sometimes you may not envision the project right away, but trust that you are in the right hands with our designers. We always focus on your project vision, but it is totally normal to feel uneasy at some project edit suggestions.
Living in the same place for a while, it is hard to envision parts of your home being different colors, styles, and more. It can be scary at first, but oh, does it turn out to be so fun. Your designer will take in all the different accounts of your project to create a plan to truly blow you away.
Lastly, our designers will always have your back, and you will work together as a team to make YOUR dream come to life!
These five tips should ease any worries you may have about your first design meeting. If you have any questions about our process or are interested in working with us - please contact us!
