Interior designers

[k3am]

DH and I are torn. We’ve narrowed it down to 2.

First up: full service. Nothing they don’t handle, besides contractors - but they’ll assist in selecting and evaluating bids if we want them to - for a fee, of course. Everything is by an hourly rate. Their initial walk through (and every interaction so far) has been thorough and detailed. She’s asked questions about things that weren’t on my radar (ie: I see backpacks on the floor, do we need to build a home for them? Can I walk through the whole house to get an idea of your style? Etc). Everything is on a per hour rate. Estimates their costs will be 10-12% of the total project.

Second up: smaller firm, not everything is in house. Came for the walk through and realized they’ve already done similar renovations on our floor plan. Didn’t really look at anything here. Sent us samples of their design plans they’ve already done. Design phase is a flat rate, everything else is a per hour rate. Her per hour rate is about 2/3 that if the first designer, but no estimates of how much of the total project their cost would be. (FWIW, the house they’re doing right now that has our floor plan is a full house reno with an all in budget of $1MM, which is mind blowing to me.. and even then she couldn’t give us a feel for what their specific fees were)

We are torn. Both have great reviews on all mediums. Both are referrals (from people we don’t know - local Mom’s group).

[maudefindlay]

The first one all the way. You don't really know what #2 will even cost and this is the phase they should be trying to sell themselves to you and they are already doing a half ass job. I would worry that poor effort would continue after they are hired. If you are torn can you eliminate #2 and look for another option to compare with #1?

[scout8]

Definitely 1.

[dancingirl21]

1. She seems very efficient and organized. And will give you more up front info about cost. 2 seems way more vague, which I would not be okay with.

[deadwing]

#1 sounds easy to work with. #2 sounds like it could easily go sideways.

[lolalolalola]

From what you’ve written, #1 seems like the obvious choice. What is making you uncertain?

[definitelyO]

#1.

My friend and I both used the same interior designer like you say in #1. She used full services including contractor management. I used them for primarily design/ideas/sourcing. But did a lot of legwork myself. We both paid hourly and of course hers was more - but her quote was in the line with the % you shared.

[ellipses84]

I think you’ll get better design with #1 if they are detail oriented, but the hourly rate would make me nervous. Can they do hourly not to exceed, so essentially they say you get x, y and x for $5000 (or whatever) with one original design and one round of revisions, 2 meetings, etc. but there’s a chance we could need more time and if we do we’ll let you know before billing you?

[k3am]

So I met with designer 1 without DH, which I think was part of my hesitation. So we tried to schedule another in person meeting so he could meet her before we decide. She suggested Monday, but DH couldn’t make it.. suggested a few other days, and none worked for her, since she no longer lives locally and only comes into town a couple times a month, which I don’t love. Sooo now I’m even more torn, but DH is ready to move forward with option 2.

[mrsukyankee]

I'd want to get more info from #2 before moving forward - not having an actual quote to work from (even if it's a range) would make me very, very nervous.

[hbomdiggity]

How budget conscious are you? #2 will likely do a good job and gives you budget certainty. #1 may do a better job but you will pay for it. I’d spitball that #1 will be at least double the cost.

[k3am]

hbomdiggity, budget conscious.. to an extent?

We are currently budgeting $150k (all in) before we add in project scope creep. With all of the projects that we've worked on in the past with varying degrees of support (first project, no designer, all others with an in house designer at the D&B firm), I haven't really regretted the extra cost.

[k3am]

We just signed the contract with Designer 1. Now for the fun/terrifying part to start, I guess.

Mainly trying to figure out wtf we do with the dog when we actually get to construction.

[mrsukyankee]

Aug 29, 2023 16:09:52 GMT -5 k3am said:

We just signed the contract with Designer 1. Now for the fun/terrifying part to start, I guess.

Mainly trying to figure out wtf we do with the dog when we actually get to construction.

Cooper is spending 5 days a week at daycare - we made it part of our budget. 

[k3am]

Sept 2, 2023 13:36:10 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

Aug 29, 2023 16:09:52 GMT -5 k3am said:

We just signed the contract with Designer 1. Now for the fun/terrifying part to start, I guess.

Mainly trying to figure out wtf we do with the dog when we actually get to construction.

Cooper is spending 5 days a week at daycare - we made it part of our budget. 

That’s what we have to figure out… he was recently attacked by another dog and now resource guards stuff like balls, so I can’t risk a traditional doggie daycare (for his and other dogs safety). We are hopeful that by the time we’re ready to go that our normal dog watcher will have popped out her baby and be ready to take him on again.. she is due in October, but we likely won’t be in a position to start work for ~6-9 months. But definitely adding it into the budget!