How to Choose an Interior Designer: Twelve Questions Before the Contract
Many people have a beautiful portfolio. What distinguishes the one you will reach a finished apartment with shows in the answers to specific questions. The list I recommend asking any designer, including me.
Choosing a designer means choosing a person you will spend several months with and trust with the most expensive thing you have bought. Pictures help less here than a conversation. Here are twelve questions; good answers to them matter more than any style.
1. Show built work, not renderings
Anyone can make a visualisation; bringing a project to life is another matter. Ask for photographs of what was built and compare with the project: how much matched.
2. What exactly is included — sheet by sheet?
The contents of the drawing set must be named: measured plan, demolition and construction, floors, ceilings, lighting, electrics, plumbing, elevations, schedules. The word "full" without a list means nothing.
3. How many plan options and revisions?
Two or three options is the norm. Endless revisions are a bad sign: the designer is guessing rather than leading.
4. Who takes the measurements?
The one who designs. Working from someone else’s plan is a source of errors that surface on site.
5. How does the first meeting go?
If the conversation begins with "what style" rather than "how do you live", the project will be about a picture, not about you.
6. How is the fee calculated and what is not included?
Per m² or per project, whether selection is included, how supervision is paid. A transparent fee is a sign of transparent work.
7. What is the timing and what does it depend on?
A full apartment project usually takes one and a half to two months. A promise of two weeks is a reason to ask at whose expense.
8. Do you supervise construction, and how?
Site visits, answers to the contractor, decisions on the spot. Without supervision a project turns into "roughly that".
9. Do you work with my city, and how?
A remote format is fine if it is clear: survey and key stages with visits, the rest by drawings and calls.
10. How do you treat the budget?
A good designer asks the budget at the start and designs within it, rather than showing a dream that then gets cut.
11. What will you not do?
Every professional has refusals: "I do not work without a survey", "I do not draw without a questionnaire". Having them is a sign of method.
12. What do you need from me?
The answer "nothing, I will do it all myself" is a warning sign. An interior is built on your habits, and without your involvement at the start it will come out as someone else’s.
My own answers to these questions are on the Services, Fees and FAQ pages. If anything remains after that — write to me, I answer personally.