How to Hire an Interior Designer

You’ve made the decision to dive into a home renovation project and work with a pro. The next step is figuring out how to hire an interior designer, which can feel like an overwhelming task if it’s your first time. But working with a designer can be an excellent use of both your time and money. They can use their expertise—whether it’s managing a kitchen remodel, hiring the most sought-after millworker, or selecting sofa options for a tricky spot—to help you create a new home or update an existing interior space that aligns with your vision. As anyone who’s needed to find interior design services can tell you, it’s worth putting in the legwork to hire someone who shares your aesthetic, fits within your budget, and seems like the kind of person you’ll be able to work with comfortably. Remember, depending on the project, you’re going to be in constant contact with them for a stretch of weeks, months, or even years.

Here’s how to hire a professional interior designer and what to know about the process. 

How to find and choose a designer

Plugging in the phrase “best interior designers near me” in the search bar is one way to do it, but it shouldn’t be the only way. To steer yourself towards a talented design pro, consider these strategies.

Tap into your local network of friends, coworkers, and neighbors to get the inside scoop on local designers in your area. If you’ve recently purchased your home, your real estate agent may also have good recommendations for designers who have worked on interior design projects similar to the one you’re planning. Does your neighborhood or block have a local list serve or Facebook group? Those are other great ways to crowdsource. Once you find a few interior designers and arrange initial consultations, you can also ask them to share references for past clients (experienced designers are usually happy to do so). Try to email the references or set up a short phone call so you can ask specific questions. 

Most interior design firms will have their own website, and many have also branched out to social media channels like Instagram and TikTok, where they might share real-time updates about ongoing projects. If you’re in a major urban area like New York, you may also be able to find design-related news articles that feature specific interior designers as experts, and work backwards that way. 

The Interior Design Society (IDS) and the American Society for Interior Designers (ASID) accept members who must meet specific standards such as related degrees, licensing exams, and a certain number of years of work experience. Both have search tools where you can look for an accredited pro in your area and filter results by specialty.

Recently launched by the AD editors, this indispensable tool allows homeowners and design enthusiasts to easily find their favorite designers for hire—and discover new talent to love too. The AD PRO Directory is an up-to-date, open-access list of AD-approved interior designers, as well as architects and landscape specialists, that anyone in need of design services can search by profession and location to find the right professional for their next project.

Budget considerations

Before your initial consultation, it’s important to set a budget and be honest with the interior designer about what you can afford to spend. 

When you hire an interior designer, they will have their own way of charging, and it may vary with the type of project. For something relatively simple that only involves swapping out living room furnishings, they may bill an hourly rate, per room, or per square foot of the floor plan, or simply charge a flat fee. If you choose to have your designer source furnishings for you, expect to pay for those upfront (or at least a deposit) as well as a markup fee for their time (Home Guide estimates between 15 to 30% extra). If you’re tackling a large project—such as a kitchen makeover or a whole-home gut renovation—the designer’s fee will be a percentage of the total project costs.

You can often save money by asking the designer to come up with a plan, and then doing all the legwork (like sourcing furniture) yourself. More experienced designers are not always willing to do smaller hourly projects, so this is something worth asking in advance. Another thing to consider: Given an interior designer’s expertise, they will likely be able to work very efficiently, so using their services for things like scheduling subcontractors and sourcing furniture may be worth it, especially if you already have work- or family-related demands on your time. 

Other ways to cut costs might include hiring a designer through a virtual service, or contacting a local university for a referral to an interior design student who might be looking to build their portfolio.

Questions to ask at the initial consultation

Interior designers love it when clients show up for the first meeting prepared—it shows that they’re invested, curious, and might be a good partner for a project.

Here’s a list of questions to bring to your consultation:

• How did you get into interior design? What are your credentials?
• How would you describe your design philosophy and personal style? (Bonus if theirs matches yours.)
• Where do you find home decor inspiration?
• What types of services do you offer? (These might include space planning, project management during construction, and furnishings procurement.)
• What is your fee structure? (Make sure to ask about additional fees for line items such as retainers, travel time, communication minutes—all those back-and-forth texts can add up!— and deposits for furniture.)
• When working within a budget, what do you tend to prioritize?
• How will you keep me updated on the project? (Some designers like to check in frequently, others might do more staggered updates that allow them to share more in depth about the project’s current phase.)
• How do you structure your timelines?
• Can you tell me about your favorite most recent project?
• Have you done projects similar to mine? Can you share before and after photos? (Many designers have heavily curated after images on their websites, but the before pictures are almost more important, since they show the full transformation.)
• Can you tell me about a challenging situation you faced recently? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?
• What are some brands, designers, and stores you love?
• Who are some local contractors, subcontractors, and tradespeople you’ve worked with?
• Are you able to share contact information for past clients who would be willing to speak as references?

Other considerations

Here are a few more things to think about as you conduct your interior designer search.

This typically refers to the big picture, or the overarching themes that might guide a designer’s vision and design process. You can usually get a sense for this on the About section of their website or by asking them in more detail when you meet.

Although the words design and style are often used interchangeably, style refers to how the interior designer might express their vision, whether it‘s through room layout, furnishings, wall coverings, paint choices, or artwork. Before you hire an interior designer, it’s worth doing research ahead of time to get a sense of your own personal style. Setting up a mood board—whether you use a site like Pinterest, an app like Canva or Evernote, or just a simple physical binder with tearsheets and printouts—is a great way to do this, and you can refer to it at your first consultation.

Interior designers might choose to focus on specific areas, such as sustainability, apartments and small spaces, kitchen design, bathrooms, home staging, or remodeling. Some operate as one-person shops, and others are associated with larger firms that may offer an array of different services.

Setting up a timeline

Once you’ve hired a designer, they will work with you to set up a plan for how the project will proceed. If you’re also doing construction, that will make things more complicated and time-consuming. Here’s an overview of some of the more common phases within a timeline.

If your designer is going to need to pull in people like contractors, painters, millworkers, plumbers, and electricians, they’ll need to reach out to them in advance and find out their availability. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this even more difficult, with many sought-after professionals booking out months in advance. 

During this phase, your designer figures out important milestone dates, makes a list of products to source, creates mood boards, and nails down other important preliminary details like getting quotes from contractors.

The interior designer takes the plan from the schematic design and puts it into action. This means figuring out options for things like furniture, fabrics, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and more. Then they present their selections to you so you can select your favorite choices. If multiple revisions are needed, this may extend the timeline. 

If construction is taking place, renderings will need to be finalized before the work can start. This might include plans for millwork, lighting, and electrical elements. Once construction begins, your interior designer will likely be an integral part of the process as they check in on the team’s progress. This is also typically the phase when furniture and other items are ordered. Keep in mind that some items, especially those made to order, might have a lead time of 12 weeks or longer.

With all the pieces in place, now it’s time for the magic. Your designer, usually with a team of helpers, comes into your space to oversee the placement of things like furniture, lamps, accessories, and artwork. They might make final tweaks to the room layouts too. Then they’ll welcome you in to check out the finished product (a champagne toast is often involved), and you’ll revel in the satisfaction of your vision becoming reality.