What Homeowners Should Know Before Hiring an Interior Designer

Define What Success Looks Like From the Start

Before the fabrics are selected or the paint finishes are discussed, I believe there is a more important question to address first: What do you expect from your relationship with your designer?

That goes beyond simply wanting a beautiful home. It means understanding the level of involvement, guidance, and communication you want throughout the process. Some clients prefer to have their designer take the lead and manage the majority of the decisions. Others want a collaborative relationship where each recommendation is explained, and they have a clear understanding of the reasoning, materials, and investment behind every choice.

Both approaches can result in a successful project. What matters is establishing those expectations from the beginning. A strong designer-client relationship is built on clear communication, mutual trust, and a shared understanding of what success looks like. When those fundamentals are in place, the design process becomes more efficient, more transparent, and ultimately more successful.

I've watched clients get frustrated with designers who weren't doing anything wrong. They were just doing a different job than the one the homeowner assumed they'd signed up for. That mismatch causes more friction than any actual design disagreement I've seen.

Why Transparency Around Pricing Matters

One area I believe homeowners should feel comfortable discussing from the beginning is how a designer is compensated for the materials and furnishings they recommend. Some designers work on a flat-fee structure, while others apply markups to furniture, finishes, and other selections. Some use a combination of both approaches. There is no single model that is right for every project, but clients should have a clear understanding of the structure they are entering before making purchasing decisions.

I’ve spoken with clients who were surprised to learn that their previous designer had applied significant markups to individual items throughout the project. In many cases, it was not necessarily a matter of anyone being intentionally misleading. The compensation structure simply had not been clearly discussed at the outset.

In my view, pricing and compensation should be addressed openly during the initial consultation. Clients deserve to understand not only what they are purchasing, but also how the costs are determined. Transparency at the beginning creates trust, prevents misunderstandings, and allows homeowners to make informed decisions throughout the entire design process.

Why Good Taste and Good Judgment Are Both Essential in Design

This is something I've had to think through carefully, because it's easy to assume they travel together. They don't always. A designer can have an incredible eye and still steer you toward a material that won't hold up to how your family actually lives, or a layout that photographs well but makes no sense once furniture and people are actually in the room.

I try to ask myself, constantly, whether a recommendation is beautiful because it's right for this specific home, or beautiful because it would look good in a portfolio. Those overlap often. They don't overlap always. A homeowner interviewing a designer should ask about a project that didn't go as planned. Not to catch anyone out, but because the answer tells you how someone thinks under pressure, not just how they think when everything is going smoothly.

The Importance of Having Someone in Your Corner

A lot of the value in hiring a designer isn't the mood board. It's having someone in the room who knows what a contractor's change order should look like, who can tell you when a material choice is going to cause problems during installation, and who will say something when a vendor's timeline doesn't add up.

I think about this part of the job as much as I think about the visual part, maybe more some weeks. A beautiful kitchen that goes wildly over budget because nobody flagged a lead time issue isn't a design success. It's a design failure that happens to look nice in photos. When you're interviewing someone, ask what happens when something goes wrong. If the answer is vague, that's information too.

What I Would Recommend to Anyone Starting a Design Project

If someone close to me were preparing to hire an interior designer, I would encourage them to ask fewer questions about style and more about process. A designer’s aesthetic is relatively easy to evaluate because it is visible in their portfolio. What is more difficult to assess, but equally important, is how they manage the project, communicate with the client, and navigate challenges along the way. That process can have a significant impact on the overall experience.

I would also encourage them to pay close attention to how a designer responds to difficult questions, not just questions about design. Discussions around pricing, unexpected challenges, mistakes, and differences of opinion can reveal a great deal about how the designer approaches their relationships with clients. A strong portfolio demonstrates creative ability, but professionalism, transparency, and communication are what help build a successful long-term partnership.