Once upon a time, interior design services were considered a luxury only the rich and famous could afford. My aim when I started out in business was to try and break down this barrier and create an interior design service that isn’t just for the multi-million dollar clients.
Here are a number of ways hiring an interior designer can actually save you money:
Save Your Sanity & Your Time
Finding the time each weekend to visit the furniture showrooms and shops is a real pain. It gets boring very quickly and stressful if you have the kids tagging along too. Hiring a designer means you get your weekends back and someone else can work out if this cushion goes with that rug which means those niggly 3am worries about your home disappear in an instant
Avoid Costly Mistakes
I’m willing to bet you have at some stage in your life walked into a store and thought “that armchair will work perfectly in our lounge room” only to get it home and realise it’s totally the wrong shape, size and colour for the room. Our job as interior designers is to assess all the decorating elements (you can read more about my five decorating elements in my book HOME). From there we then make sure that all the choices we make for your home are cohesive. That way, you just unpack the box and fall in love with your new armchair, not want to set it on fire!
Buy Once, Buy Well
I wrote more about this in my second book, Keeping House as it’s something I’m quite passionate about. In years gone by our grandparents and ancestors were gifted furniture for their weddings or invested in certain pieces that remained in the house until the day they die. And were then passed on to the next generation. I have inherited some beautiful pieces of furniture from both of my grandmothers that I have either repainted or reupholstered to suit my own home.
But, I often think when I’m purchasing on behalf of a client, “I wonder if this is something they would pass on to their children one day” and I tend to think in our disposable world we wouldn’t really do that like our ancestors would have. When I work with clients I have this in the back of my mind at all times. Is this piece going to last the distance? Are the bones of the piece of furniture good enough that if we were to reupholster them in the future they’d last? This way of thinking, albeit a more expensive outlay will actually save you money in the long run. Rather than buying new furniture each time you move house or each time something of lesser quality breaks.
Save You Money
A little known fact, interior designers can get you discounts! Yes, correct! We have access to a huge range of wholesale furniture, decor and soft furnishing suppliers that don’t deal with the general public. We have access to their wholesale prices too which means we can pass on some great savings to you when you purchase.
Save Your Marriage 😉
Ok so this one isn’t probably true but I often joke with my clients that I should add “Relationship Counsellor” to my business card. Often I will come in and meet with a couple who have spent the last two months arguing over the sofa fabric or bathroom tile selections only to never come to a conclusion. Consulting a third party is often the only solution. I present practical reasons as to why I’ve made certain choices and this generally helps both sides see why my choice is the right one.
If you’d like more information about how my decorating services work, click across to this page. Or shoot me an email hello@emmablomfield.com.
Emma xÂ
