What does an interior designer do? (one of the most Googled questions)

I think people get muddled up with interior designer and interior decorator.  An interior designer works with clients, architects, building designers, builders and engineers on all sorts of different projects ranging from hotels to one-bed apartments, to create interiors that are innovative, creative and in keeping with the client’s lifestyle, budget and location.

How does this work? 

We will often get an enquiry from clients that have got to the stage that they have had plans drawn up by an architect or building designer, but they still have only a vague idea of what the house is going to look like.  This is common and a few people find it embarrassing that they don’t understand what has been designed for them, but I have known builders that have difficulty reading plans and “seeing” the building in a three-dimensional form. 

Interpreting plans for clients is something that we do, in the first instance, followed by ideas for the materiality of the building, including interior and exterior finishes, for floors, walls, ceilings, cabinetry, lighting, window treatments, roofing, window profiles, glazing, sanitaryware, tiling and carpets.  This is just a snapshot of the myriad of materials that are used in a building.  We spend a lot of time collaborating with clients and our design team to make sure we are arriving at the best possible design solution for the project.

Every element that goes into the building is documented in what is called a schedule of finishes, which essentially is a sort of bible for all the contractors on the project, so they know precisely what materials are being used and where.  This takes an enormous amount of pressure off the clients during the build period (or renovation) so they are not having to make snap decisions on the spot when the builder calls asking for immediate answers to queries that can affect the outcome of a building that is going to be used by the owners for years to come.