I'm new here but I have to weigh in on this one. I visited our local lumberyard/building store after I finished designing our plans. I found the more eager to work young man, and we ultimately chose him to be out supplier. I spoke to the manager, and asked for him to be our only contact with the project. We then sat down, I showed him all of my inspiration pics on my computer, and he got to know my taste, and has made many good suggestions on door hardware styles I did not know existed, and so forth. Well, yesterday I needed to finalize the window order, and was uncertain about how high I wanted the windows, given the nine foot ceilings. Well, he called one of the contractors he's working with and asked permission to take me out to this guys job site where I saw a breathtaking house almost completed. Stunning design. He showed me their window heights, and I made up my mind, but that's not what I want to focus on. The thing was- this beautiful structure was a nightmarish mix of colors. The stone on the outside had an orangish hue, while the siding was pale blue- what a clash. I gasped when I saw it. The rooms inside were all painted a different color including: royal blue, pumpkin, teal, purple, pea green (the dominant color of the house) and so on and let me tell you, after working with color and design for 25 years of my career, I actually had to get out of the house because of the chaos it embodied. I turned to my building supply gy and said "Well, at least you know you'll have a good high-hiding primer order coming your way when they realize what they have done here". My point is, if you are sure/confidant of your sense of color and style, and you have a history of being able to decorate successfully on past projects, go ahead, but find someone with similar taste, whose home you admire and run your choices past them. But if you don't feel confidant, and have no experience, consider putting your designs together on a story board for each room, place them all together, and see what you think. If you are not confident them, call in a professional for consultation. it'' be a lot less expensive than correcting mistakes.

Dragon Fly, I'm sorry to hear your designer is not meeting your expectations. We hired an interior designer for the first time when we built our home a couple of years ago, and the experience was a disaster. I had looked her up online and in the yellow pages, which was probably my first mistake. The information I found indicated that she had a showroom downtown, but when I called her, she asked me to come to her home. She then proceeded to show me how she had decorated her own home. Her style (contemporary/abstract/modern) is the complete opposite of mine (more of the traditional/new country/antique) . . . you get the idea. I shared my concern right away that her personal preferences were much different than mine, but she minimized this by showing me her credentials and emphasizing that a good designer can work with any style. She also had us sign a contract for $100 per hour. She came with us to choose flooring, cabinets, countertops, etc., and the worst part was her arrogant attitude. She insulted every businessperson we came into contact with, basically telling them that their suggestions and ideas were "bad", "cheap", "ugly", whatever. She told our cabinetry company that one of their showroom cabinet models looked "unfinished" and that if we chose that option, all of our visitors would think we had "run out of money before finishing construction". I shared with her that I like antiques and quality antique reproduction furniture, and she told me that she'd never choose "that kind of dented up furniture". She took over and started making decisions for us, and of course, they were contemporary style choices. To make a long story short, we spent $800 for her to bully everybody and make our design selection experience miserable. We ended up going back to each of the contractors and personally apologizing for her rude behavior, and we also changed to all different choices than she recommended. In hindsight, it was a terrible fit, and I wish we hadn't wasted the money on her. If I could do it over again, I would have dumped her sooner for a better designer. I'm sharing this because if you do not feel comfortable with your current designer, you may be better off going in another direction before you waste too much time and money. In the end, we sought out design advice from the professional contractors we worked with, including the cabinetry company (recommended the gorgeous black and cream cabinetry in our kitchen), our painter (chose many of the warm colors I love), Ethan Allen's free designers (where we bought our dining set), the people in this forum (kitchen window treatment and backsplash art ideas), etc. I'm so glad we didn't allow this designer to override our preferences. Trust your instincts. I hope it all works out for you.

NYC $250 per hour Goods ordered: his cost plus 35% Traveling expenses for consultations and install Small town Georgia. $175/ hour Same percentages as above (this is a lady I use here locally for small things, another pair of eyes when necessary, etc.) Best advice I have to offer--- be completely honest about your budget. If your drop dead ceiling is 20k, make sure he or she knows that in advance. And understand exactly what the budget is to cover--- furniture and window treatments, Paint and/or wallpaper and labor, and rugs are pretty standard, but make sure they are each mentioned in the contract. Art often falls outside a budget, so if you want it included, mention it specifically. Our basement project for two rooms started at $25,000 and we are now about 45% over that----- and we already owned several large pieces we were reusing, like the pool table, two daybeds, two chairs and a console. (Luckily we do not need window treatments at all, the one window already has a plantation shutter.). However, the designer presented a scheme on budget as his first proposal and I asked for more choices, and that is how the amount has gone up-- not by his incompetence or dishonesty or non disclosure. At any point I could have rejected any of the proposed furnishings, or told him they were simply too expensive, and he would have found less expensive alternatives. If I had given him a budget of $10,000 he would not have taken the job unless it was a one weekend blitz-- me meeting him in Hickory NC with a U haul trailer and furnishing exclusively from floor samples available from the various vendors there. He's done that for people I know and their rooms have turned up fabulously, but it was too much of a chance for me. Keep asking "where are we on the budget," and keep a running tally of the proposal amounts, your deposit, and the balances due. It really surprises me how many people on GW have used designers who turned out to be crooks with bad taste who did not listen to their client. I don't know how they stay in business, but apparently there are a lot out there.

NYC area, used a decorator for the last renovation, $150/hour flat rate. She was great with online research and giving us ideas on colors, styles and places to shop in the region. If she could get trade discounts for any of the furniture or lighting we wanted, she placed the order for us and we reimbursed her (no upcharge for doing the actual ordering). She's moved to the Boston area and makes only occasional visits to NYC these days. If anyone around Boston needs a recommendation, I can pass on her name.