Design Notebook: In-store design services vs. independent designers

Today, many if not most, furniture and window fashions stores offer free interior design consulting services. This has always been an offering of more upscale retail stores where a sales associate might visit your home to help you select the right style, size and fabric for a sofa or dining room furniture. And if you were in the market to purchase several pieces, they could pull together ideas for your consideration. As competition has gotten stiffer, even modest range stores offer similar services.

The question then becomes, is if these services are offered for free, why would one consider hiring an independent decorator? It’s a good question and worthy of consideration, especially these days when we’re not as prone to throwing around money as we once were.

Pros and cons of store based design/decorating services:

On the positive side, the services are free and you get the benefit of working with a decorator who knows their products inside and out. They can pull together the right scale side table and lamp to work with the sofa you are considering. They often will come to your house, take measurements and photos and pull together a range of choices within your budget. You could be purchasing one or two items or an entire room’s worth of furniture. Once decisions are made, they will handle all ordering and delivery details. On the face of it, this is a great service and will most assuredly help you make good decisions about your furniture investment.  That is, if you only plan on purchasing from one store.

These associates will only show you their own product, of course, and cannot help you make decisions outside of their own lines. So, if they are at your house discussing the sofa, you cannot show them a Pottery Barn catalogue and ask about a coffee table, as it becomes a conflict of interest. Some store-based design consultants will help you select paint colors, but not window treatments, unless that’s a product they can sell you. In the end, you have to remember that store based decorators are first and foremost sales people. Most stores will hire a good sales person with limited design experience over a great designer with limited sales experience. Because, in the end, their job is to sell you their

product.

Pros and cons of independent interior design/decorating services:

Unlike a store based designer, independent designers are not tied to one manufacturer or

product line. They can shop for you at any retail shop or at trade-only showroom which the consumer would not have access to. Independent designers provide a full range of services beyond furniture procurement, including flooring, wall and window treatments, lighting plans and kitchen and bath designs. One designer can provide services for any design need in your home and provide referrals to other trade professionals. Of course, this is all for a fee and most designers will charge an hourly or per project rate in addition to your budget for the furnishings themselves. Designers working on entire room or home plans will provide ordering and logistics services as part of the project. Some designers are willing to work on a consulting only basis for a half-day or whole-day, however, they will not handle the logistics of your plan. Few high-end or well-known designers will be willing to work on an hour by hour basis, but less established designers are certainly happy to do so.

Ultimately, which route to go depends greatly on how much you are planning on doing and how much help you want to get there. Smaller, more targeted projects that can be done out of one store are perfect candidates for the store-based designer. If you like their products, it’s  win-win. However, if you’re looking for truly personalized service with unlimited options and are working on a larger, more full-scale project then an independent, professional designer/decorator is likely the best choice for you.

This is the fourth blog in a series of interior design blogs by Boston interior designer Linda Merrill, of Linda Merrill Decorative Surroundings.