Interior Designer

I have a great interior designer. Karen Pflanz with Creative Design Concepts.
Phone is ###-###-#### or email is ____@____.com
Her charges depend upon what you are having done. Karen is great - give her a call!

I am not in your locale, & that's the first step in determining fees.

& honestly, I am not a fan of homes decorated by interior designers. JMO. They're either model home, cookie cutter, or too matchy-matchy for me.

I'm eclectic all the way! I compile files for each room, fine-tuning as I go. I research some, but usually rely on what touches my soul.

Geez, I'm mouthy tonight! Good Luck....& you could check with some of the auction houses, better furniture stores, etc. :)

Some charge you for their time, some make their profit on the goods you buy (I knew of one who supposedly doubled or tripled her wholesale cost), some do both. The design center in michigan offers a designer matching service, I don't know if the Merchandise Mart in Chicago has a similar program. You could always try the professional associations - ASID is the one I can remember but I'm pretty sure there's at least one more. Some furniture stores offer design services, especially the higher end ones. Although the Marshall Field's stores had designers, I don't know if Macy's continued that program (it's been awhile since I was associated with that field!). Don't be afraid to ask about their qualifications. From what I remember, anyone that could get a tax ID number could call themselves a designer.

I have to disagree with Sue. As in every other profession, there are good, mediocre and bad interior designers. You have to do your research and find a good one. A good one won't be model home, cookie cutter or matchy-matchy.

A good interior designer can save you a lot of money by saving you from making mistakes, and can also save you a lot of time. Just picking paint colors, for example, is not for the meek or uneducated. If you can afford it, it might just be worth it, depending on the extent of your lack of design sense or knowledge of where to begin.

I can't recommend one in your area, so can't help you there. But a good designer will work with you to discover your taste, not impose her/his own taste upon you.

If you go the designer route, check out her portfolio, it will tell you a lot about whether she is a match for you.

I found the designer I used by looking at the websites of every designer in my area. The one I eventually chose had designed rooms that were similar to the look I was going for. She charged me $600 for my living room and dining room. She came to my house, took pics and measurements of the rooms and then we had a long discussion of what I wanted and didn't want and my budget. She gave me a PowerPoint with links to where I could purchase the rugs, furniture, window treatments and lighting she suggested. Her fee did not include choosing accessories. Overall, I am very happy with the result. It was worth the price to have rooms I love.

What do you need help with?

recommendations from friends and realtors. Successful residential realtors usually have great resources who have stood the test of time. We went through 2 Interior designers before we found one who worked for us.

I would recommend trying to find referrals through people you know. If you are looking for a specific room/type of decor, try to find someone who specializes in that area. For example, we needed someone to design a tile backsplash for our kitchen and a fireplace, but the first two designers we spoke to - both referrals from friends - had very little experience working with tile. One of the designers actually referred us to the one we used, who had 20+ years of tile design in her background.