5 Common Myths About Interior Design - Demystified

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Hiring a professional interior designer to help you create a cozy, cohesive and curated home is something many of us would love to do, but the whole thing can seem so elusive – and exclusive! – so we often assume it’s simply not for us. This is thanks, in part, to numerous ‘myths’ floating around out there about our industry and what it’s really like to work with an interior designer. Let’s take a few moments to peel back the curtain on interior design and debunk some of the most common misconceptions.

Myth #1: It’s simply too expensive – too much of a luxury – to hire an interior designer.

There’s no denying it – interior design absolutely is a luxury. Hiring a professional to help you with the scale, the flow and the curation of elements that make a home unique and truly personal is wonderfully luxurious. It’s also an investment – no denying that either.

But that’s the thing. It’s an investment. An investment into the place in which we spend the majority of our time, and the place in which many of our sweetest memories are made. We all know our environments influence how we feel and even how we relate to one another. A well-designed space – in terms of functionality, comfort, color and scale – can calm us energize, inspire or uplift us. Any investment we put into the place that likely already is our biggest investment – our home – is going to have powerful and far-reaching benefits.

And you know what? Hiring an interior designer is more accessible and affordable than most of us would ever think. Many designers offer a variety of different types of design services – from full-service, start-to-finish makeovers that include an HGTV-style ‘reveal’; to conceptual design packages that provide the creative vision and you handle the rest; to half-day interior refresh services – there’s truly an option for anyone who is seeking professional help with their home.

When an interior design professional is hired, their expertise, their trade connections and the luxurious experience they provide will not only help ensure you love your home for years to come – they will help you avoid costly mistakes (think: furniture that doesn’t fit the space properly or causes a lack of interconnectedness). Interior designers help you make well-informed purchase decisions and ensure you get it right the first time, which will save you money (and lo-so-many headaches) in the long run.

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Myth #2: Interior designers make homes look like stuffy showhouses.

Did you know that the predominant personality traits of interior designers tend to be collaborative and thoughtful - prioritizing the needs and feelings of the people involved rather than relying solely on pure logic? They are likely seen as great listeners and have the innate the ability to open up and connect emotionally more quickly than most people.

What on earth does that have to do with debunking a myth about designers making homes look like stuffy showhouses, you ask?

Well, since most of us innately prioritize other peoples’ needs and know how to listen well and connect deeply – we are always thinking about how we can understand what makes you tick, what lights you up and what brings you joy – so that we can make your space truly and uniquely YOURS.

We ask you questions like ‘what music do you listen to’ and ‘what is your favorite home-cooked meal’ and ‘if you could travel anywhere, where would it be and why’? The answers you share are the fuel that lights our creative fires…and we can barely hold in our excitement knowing that we get to come up with the most incredible space that is going to reflect what’s personal to you and change the way you live in your home.

Our clients and the unique stories they share with us – and the opportunity to create individualized spaces that resonate deeply with them… That, my friends, is exactly what makes US tick.

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Myth #3: Interior designers are just glorified personal home shoppers – they just pick out pretty things all day.

I mean, how hard can it really be? I can just do it all myself, right? Between my robust Pinterest board and my countless hours logged watching home makeover TV shows, I should have all the knowledge I need to knock this renovation project out of the park!

Ah! If only it were this easy! Proportion and scale are tough to master, even for homeowners who have a keen eye for design. And the number of specifics that go into each of the many decisions that need to be made in any given design project can get overwhelming, fast.

There’s so much behind-the-scenes work that goes into interior design: Creating room layouts and renderings that ensure furniture sizes are correctly calculated, collaborating with contractors, managing project logistics and placing and tracking orders…to name a few. Not to mention coming up with a creative vision for your space that reflects your unique personality, curating the perfect mix of furnishings that will bring that vision to life, and managing all the back-end details… The ‘picking out of pretty things’ part of our job is only a small (but super fun) portion of how we spend our days as designers.

Designers provide exclusive access to custom and unique pieces and craftspeople that help make your home one-of-a-kind. And, since it’s part of our job to stay on top of trends and understand the inner workings of the industry, we can lead you on a straight (and painless) path to determining the very best options for your specific space.

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Myth #4: Interior designers will make me get rid of all of my furniture and personal décor items so everything works within their vision of my home.

Okay. This one cuts me to the core.

A timeless interior is collected and layered over time. What makes a home unique and feel like ‘home’ is not a truckload of brand new everything – furniture, books, art, décor, lighting, rugs…picked out solely by someone else. What makes your home YOURS is the story that only you can tell through items that are important to you.

A good interior designer will spend time with you to understand what your favorite items are and why they are meaningful to you – and use that as insight and inspiration to inform and enhance the overall design vision for your home. We will absolutely recommend renovating and restoring heirloom furniture, as those pieces bring tons of character to a space. Those special, personal pieces will co-mingle with other new (or vintage!) items to help further tell your story and create a layered richness that speaks to your heart every time you walk through the door.

Helping to tell our clients’ authentic stories is one of the biggest perks of a designer’s job.

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Myth #5: Interior designers should be brought in at the end of the new build/renovation project to make everything look pretty.

When I worked as a communications leader in Corporate America, we were constantly trying to get people to understand the importance of bringing our team into the fold at the very beginning of a project – instead of waiting until the strategy was baked and then asking us come in to help determine how and when to tell the world (or the employees) about it.

As professional communicators, we would bring insights to each project that no one else was thinking about. We’d ask probing questions – how will the public/employees feel about this announcement? What other current events do we need to be aware of as we share this news – how do those events affect the timing of when and how we tell our story? It never failed – the projects in which we were brought in at the very start were the ones that had the greatest success. Every single time.

It's exactly the same in the world of interior design. When designers have a seat at the table – and the opportunity to collaborate closely with the architect, contractors and tradespeople – from the get-go, it sets every project up for true success.

We ask probing questions – ones that even the very best architects or contractors don’t think to ask (because they have other important things they need to be thinking about and focusing on!). These questions end up saving our clients time as well as the cost and headache of choosing the wrong fixtures or furnishings – or making expensive mistakes.

xoxo

Janna

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