Whether you are about to use a designer's assistance for the first time or have been there before, there are steps that will facilitate the process. Being well informed and prepared optimizes your time, energy, and financial resources. Your preparedness lays the foundation for a successful beginning, in-progress, and completion of your design project. Based on my years of experience with the process and individuals, following are some questions and suggestions that you may find helpful.

How Do I Know What I Want?

When you decide to contact a designer for help in your home or business, you are making the step into a very personal journey of creative growth. The first step begins with the client knowing what they want from the project. Research is the key here. Decorating magazines provide an invaluable resource in locating ideas and themes that appeal to you. Tear out and create two files, a "right-on" file for those items that appeal to you and a "no-way-Jose" file that contains pictures of things that definitely do not. Notes from decorating books, television programs, friends' houses, show homes should go into the "right-on" file. When you meet with the designer, these files will express clearly to her which direction the project should take. Along with your files, time should be spent in coming up with a budget for the project. The designer will help you determine if the budget is realistic for the scope of the project. Some people may hesitate to provide such a figure but a successful project begins with this point. The last thing anyone wants is to enter into a project and find out that expectations were running higher than the amount of money budgeted. If there is a generous or a limited budget allowed, the designer can help provide the most for the money. Without this figure, she is operating blindly.

How do I find the right designer?

Locating the designer whose tastes coincides with yours, whose personality meshes with yours, and who provides the professionalism you desire is not always simple. First-hand viewing of the designer’s work is the best way to get a feel for the quality and style of her work. Referrals from friends or show home displays are excellent ways to accomplish this. ASID--the American Association of Interior Designers (www.asid.org), the International Society of Interior Designers (ISID), and NKBA--the National Kitchen and Bath Association (www.nkba.org) are professional organizations that can serve as reference sources. Once you have narrowed your selection of designers, I strongly suggest that you interview them. No designer should be offended by this request and should be more than happy to have face-to-face contact with a prospective client. On this first meeting, do not expect design consultation but do expect clear and reassuring responses to a list of questions you have prepared for the interview regarding training, professional associations, experience, fee structure, work load and current time commitments. A designer maintains an up-to-date portfolio of photographs showing jobs in various settings and should be happy to share this with you also. Don’t hesitate to ask for a list of references from past clients. Contact at least two of them randomly. Some appropriate questions to ask are: Were you pleased with the overall results of collaboration with the designer? Was the project completed within a reasonable frame of time? Did the project come in within budget? What did the designer specifically do to make the project personal to you? What were you most pleased with in working with the designer? The least pleased? Would you use the designer again? The relationship between the designer and the client is vital to the success of the project. Intensive communication is necessary between the two of you as well as the contractors involved, so it is important to find someone on your same wave length. Don’t compromise--keep looking and asking and you’ll find the right individual. Decorator or Designer? A decorator works exclusively with the surface aspects of interiors. Many have had formal training and years of experience guiding the choice and application of paint finishes, fabric, furnishings, flooring, carpeting, and lighting. An interior designer has, in addition to the talents of a decorator, training in space planning and the knowledge to collaborate with architects and contractors. An interior designer can renovate a kitchen, design built-in shelving, remove walls, as well as provide the surface decorating selections. Many are members of professional organizations such as ASID, ISID and NKBA.

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