Oh boy, get the popcorn :) Too bad they delete these threads.

Gee, who knew this was a "hot-topic" LOL.

Okay, let's see if I can narrow this down - I am looking for people with actual experience using a designer, as well as tips from professional designers themselves. I'm not looking for opinions on whether or not I should use one. Maybe that will help.

(Don't worry y'all, over at Cooking we've had nasty spats over such innocuous things as what constitutes real corn bread!)

Given squirrelheaven's comment, I'm almost afraid to post my experiences. I didn't realize this was a heated topic. Am I missing something?

Is it a heated topic?

I use one. I am not sure what the experience of others have been. I have had very good experiences with mine and appreciate his help. He has saved me a lot of time which I did not have when we started since I worked very long days. It also is getting our rooms completed without any regrets and without any haggling between me and my DBF who has a lot of input. The word completed is a big one.

I have the aptitude for decorating but hate to spend alot of time shopping. I think I can take shopping about 1 hr at a time (and it's getting worse as I get older).

I found my designer through a friend who had seen his rooms and the quality of the furnishings. He proved himself from the get go. He never has to advertise because he does all referral work.

I guess the first thing you can do is ask around to see if any of your friends or neighbors have used one and their experiences. Just remember that you may not like their rooms but that can be because of their taste not the designers.

A good designer hooks onto you tastes and preferences. They also have to sale their ideas to you because sometimes we don't see the whole picture like they do.

If you do not get any from referral, interview 3. Find out what their deal is and how they charge. Ask to see portfolios. Ask for references. Ask for their credentials. Don't do anything you are not comfortable with. Have a reasonable budget in mind knowing that you can go a little bit more if needed.

I am sure the costs vary. I feel mine has a very casual way of doing business. I'm not sure if in the end it was any more than using EA or Thomasville decorators. I kind of think it was the same or maybe a couple thousand more, maybe. We signed on with ours for $500 which included the room lay out (we felt that was worth the money alone since we were not sure where we wanted things). The $500 was returned in the way of credit when we bought furniture from him (I'm sure it was in there somehow LOL).

Remember, you don't have to buy anything you don't like but you do have to have an open mind. The other thing is it's okay to say no. You don't have to buy everything from them. I bought the lighting for my kitchen and hall between my FR and LR on my own. I showed them to him before I bought them and he said go for it, perfect. We also used a couple of tables I had bought at EA a few years ago without issue. That's the kind of decorator you want.

Gina, Ditto what Jerseygirl said.

I've used a designer/decorator on several occasions and I've used probably 3 different designers given the project that I'm doing. I always use one for window treatments...I've learned the hard way and have saved several hundred dollars using a decorator's work room instead of ordering WT from a store. I'm the kind of homeowner that enjoys the hunt for the fabric or furniture and then will use a decorator to have the window treatments made or for them to order the furniture for me. That way if something is not right with whatever it is that I've ordered, I have the decorator to fall back on.

I just ordered a new sofa last week. I know what lines of furniture the decorator uses and I looked for fabric in that line that I wanted to use on the upholstery. Then I get together with decorator and go over everything to make sure I'm not making a huge mistake and then I walk away! She orders and has it delivered to my house. I've done that with most of the upholstered furniture in the house. I promise you I don't any more money on items than if I were to walk into a showroom and pick out a piece of furniture. It helps you and the decorator if you set a reasonable budget for them to work with.

Enjoy! It really can be alot of fun.

Oh, sorry, lol. I was just kidding! It's not a meltdown around here b/w people, just a roasting of designers in general! lol. Seems to bring back some very bad memories for some :) I don't recall anyone coming to their defense to any great degree, lol.

I have use a couple designers over the years in conjunction with major remodeling/expansions of our home. They were very helpful for these big jobs and helped reduce the stress of all that choosing.

When I have tried to bring a designer in for small stuff later on, however, I haven't been as sucessful. Perhaps it is because we aren't spending enough to make it worth their while, but they don't seem to understand us and or our home. Over the last couple of years, I have been working on redoing some rooms. I have had the most luck bringing pictures of our rooms with me as I shop and -- most of all-- posting here at GW!

I agree with what the other posters have said but would add to get rates and fees in writing, even down to how much she charges for responding to an email, or whether she has a minimum charge for "field visits." These are the kinds of things that sneak up on you and add up.

First -- do have some meeasurements of the rooms (including windows etc.) on hand PLUS some basic photos of your rooms for reference during meetings.

Also -- if possible -- look through some decor magazines that appeal to you and tear out pages with items or ideas that might work ..... JUST so you'll be able to give the designers some basics of decor styles that you like etc. Very handy to have on hand during discussions .......

Deltabreeze, sorry to hear you are hitting a bump with designers when you are working with smaller stuff. That's their loss in more ways than one.

Riverrat has some very good points that I have also experienced. I have been looking for a TV console (I did not like the one he choose)and recently found 2 styles from a line that he does not use. He knows the prices I found them at. He would rather make the profit than me give it to someone else so he is going to order it for me. He is making my rooms his responsibility to the end. It's great to hand something over to someone that you have learned to trust.

I agree there is a lot of talent in GW and I always enjoy the threads. I have seen a lot of beautiful rooms and furnishings here. The only thing I am not seeing here is more modern/contemporary/art deco which is my mode these days.

I can't defend other peoples designers, only my own.

I think the reason the topic feels potentially hot is because so many threads about designers are after-the-fact tales of woe. People saw the warning signs or perhaps they didn't. But they come here to seek advice, perspective and support when things go wrong.

I am sure there are good and even great designers out there. The trick seems to be finding one. Having read many of the "bad news" threads over the years, I would simply suggest that if something starts to feel funny (contract, service, style, attitude, etc.) you'd better heed your hunch. Good luck and keep us posted!

We thought long and hard about using a desinger when we decided that we needed furniture for our kitchen and family room. We moved and didn't have furniture to put into these areas as the family room is large. No one in my family has ever used a designer so I thought long about the decision.

The first thing I did was to go through lots of magazines and find things that I really liked. I knew what I wanted and what my vision was. I don't want someone to decide for me. I wanted help with coordinating the space as ours was an open type floor plan. I also wanted access to furniture that was not something that I saw everywhere. We actually have a good friend who is a designer and we decided to hire him. We were a bit worried because we didn't want to harm our friendship but we decided to go for it. My experience was very good but I will admit it was pricey as we had a lot of things to purchase.

Because we used a designer we could go to his showroom and find really custom furniture. Our designer charged us a percentage of the price of the furniture bill. (yes he did give us his discount) I think it was the easiest time I've ever had shopping for furniture and it was the most fun. It is much easier to get everything at the same time. I usually get a few pieces and try to buy other things to fit the needs later on-- that way is much harder. It was also really fun to go through books of fabrics to choose window treatments (I used to just make my own really simple treatments), pillows, and other things.

I did try to interview another designer years before, but the woman really didn't want to hear/see my vision-- she was only into Henredon and really formal stuff and I didn't want that type of space. I didn't hire that person.

We plan on hiring our friend again when we do our master bedroom furniture and also possibly to do a china cabinet in our dining room.

Wish I knew more about the interview process but I don't have that much experience. I think the main advice would be to make sure that the person you hire will not try to push their vision on you if you are a person that knows the look/style they like. My designer friend has told me that many people have no idea what they want and they want him to pick everything. I find that hard to believe as I wouldn't want someone's vision of what my home would be.

Thank you everyone. I guess what I'll do first is go buy some magazines and start a scrapbook with DH's input. That part we can do!

Karen, we messed up on window treatments a long time ago - went to Penney's and picked out fabric and had them make some drapes. Dang things are so heavy I can't open and close the drapes well. The Penney's "designer" who helped us didn't say a thing. Live and learn, live and learn. Maybe I'll have them turned into cushions or something. A ballgown? Just kidding, LOL!

I echo pretty much what everyone else has said. I am working with a designer and most importantly I knew the style and look that I wanted and the designer is helping achieve that look. Sometimes I buy from him, other times I buy on my own. We truly have a partnership and if I don't like something, I let him know. The good thing is that he has really tuned into my style and my likes and dislikes and I think that has made a huge difference. He charges by the hour and we have worked together so much that now sometimes he charges me and sometimes he does not. Essentially at this point, he averages out his hourly bill. The reason being I think is the fact that we have become friends and sometimes we get off topic and the time gets away from us.

There are times when he will recommend something and I will decide to go against his advice because I really like something. He is also not a snob. He knows that sometimes I will buy new, from him or Direct Buy, CL or from the antique stores in our area. In the end his motto is that this is our house and he is there to help us achieve our vision.

Finally, I once had an ID come in for a consultation from Calico Corners and we instantly didn't click but I admit I was intimidated and at first sort of went along with her recommendations. Fate intervened because I placed an order and it eventually went awry thankfully and once I cancelled the order I never worked with her again.

Gina, the clippings are a great idea. It will help an ID to work with your style and to know what direction want to go. I always provide pictures of rooms I like to my ID.

Bichonfriz sounds like you have an ID that works like mine. Mine always tells me he sells rooms not furniture. I am finding that his way is much more pleasing than buying piece by piece eventhough there it's a bit of $$ at one time. It all averages out at the end. I am very pleased with the WOW factor of a complete room.

jerseygirl,

It really was amazing when they brought the furniture to the house and put everything in place. It was exactly how I imagined (a very good thing) and so much easier than what we usually have done. Your designer sounds like mine with that selling rooms comment, mine says the same thing. He will sell items to fill out other rooms and help you finish them up but usually doesn't just do that as he is pretty booked.

The other thing I forgot to mention is that if there are problems with the furniture, scratches in leather, drawers that need adjusting, dings or scratches in wood, the designer makes sure that these things are taken care of by the furniture supplier. That was a real help as we had little things that needed adjusting (swivels on bar stools, some nicks on furniture)

We live in a small town that can be rather gossippy. I asked probably 10 different people for recomendations for decorators. Even though they had beautiful homes not a one would recommend a designer. So, I went to a small furniture store here in town, got to know the owner and her assistant and found a treasure of a decorator in them. I purchased some furniture from them, some on my own, but the thing I loved is that they always listened to me, never made me feel dumb even though I don't have a clue what I'm doing as a decorator. They were willing to take on whatever size project I had, so much so that I was working on arranging the stuff on the bookshelves in the library and they just did it for me. My point is don't feel limited to exclusive decorators. There are some great unknown options that we can just sometimes stumble across. To me my home is comfortable and we love it, but one of the greatest compliments we've received is that besides being beautiful, it is restful for the soul. This was our goal in building right on the lake.
Good luck and have fun.

I've never used one before. Why pay money for something I'm able to to for myself?

BUT YOU DON'T HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE. Confide as much to the people you interview! You will "get a feel" for their aesthetic within minutes of speaking with them, esp. if you are honest with them. DON'T allow yourself to be trampled by the designer's "vision" for YOUR living area; it's your space and any designer or decorator is going to understand that INSTANTLY.

I'm interested in this because I'm considering hiring one to help my brother with his new space!

It's not all about confidence. Sometimes people don't have the time or inclination. And a skilled designer usually knows a lot more than the average homeowner-even one with good taste.

I don't agree with that, Bumble..

I think it's ALL about confidence. But that's not to say that good, concise, information and theory doesn't play an important part. I believe they DO! but I also believe that some people just "get it" on some basic level and don't need guidance from anyone.

Some people may have a natural eye but that doesn't automatically infuse them with the same knowledge that comes from years of schooling and experience. However, neither does schooling and experience equal taste.

I've never used a designer... I've never had the money, and if ever I do have the money I think maybe I'd want to spend it on nicer things not nicer advice and services.

However. Since you are using a designer for the first time, I suggest you confine the experience to a single room at first. By all means let the designer know you want to finish the whole house soon, but for starters, just one room. That way neither of you will be in too deep if it all becomes unpleasant and you don't want to go on.

Some people are unsuited to being clients of designers. Some designers are duds. Sometimes both the client and designer are good people, but the match is bad. So start small.

"And therein lies the rub."

;)

The best solution is the decorator/designer who knows how to LISTEN and use the "tools" readily available.

Yes?
Yes!!