Whether you personally have great taste, love furniture shopping and have a clear vision of how you want your home/business to look or whether you don’t want to lose control of the project budget, a good interior designer will have several major benefits that will totally outweigh the costs.
Surprisingly, many people feel that employing an interior designer is an expense that can be avoided, but quite the opposite, taking a professional to guide you will actually help you both to save money and to spend correctly.
Firstly, a professional designer will help you to prioritise your budget, so that you don’t overspend where unnecessary and to free funds to invest in some special items which will make all the difference. You’ll find that even the most high-end homes here have a few Ikea pieces, and if you’re more budget sensitive that doesn’t mean you can’t lay out for that one beautiful light fitting or rug or armchair.
In many projects we even bring in two or three carpenters for bespoke fittings – if you have a small storage room or utility room which you want fitted out to your needs, you don’t necessarily have to pay extra for that high end carpenter who is fitting out the unique wall units in the lounge. This often saves time as well as money and our job is to ensure that everything fits together perfectly in design and scheduling.
Interior designers also have an advantage when it comes time to negotiate. Working regularly with workmen, industry professionals and suppliers, designers know what kind of discount you can realistically achieve and the suppliers in turn want to make sure the designer will bring them plenty of business in the future. And the same goes for quality assurance… when a supplier knows the standards expected from a designer with whom they work on a regular basis, they are far less likely to cut corners.
In addition to the language gap you may face with workmen, however skilled, a locally based interior designer who understands your lifestyle before coming to Israel and the challenges involved in adapting to a new culture, should be a great emotional support. The need to incorporate in the design of your new home pieces of sentimental value and to ensure that they blend together to create an aesthetic fusion as opposed to a hodge podge is where your designer can definitely help.
Back to the budget…. Unfortunately many suppliers feel they can charge extra to English speakers, so your designer is there to make sure you’re not taken for a ride. And not to be funny, some even charge a surplus for the extra effort of having to speak English (if they can). So an experienced local interior designer who represents your interests is a definite plus. How much will you have to pay for that? The general rule of thumb is 10% of the budget of the project, which you will surely get back and plenty more for all the reasons above.
