Whether you need to redesign your house, shop, company, restaurant,.. This is the ultimate guide to hiring a freelance interior designer.
Once considered a privilege only for hotels and restaurants, a growing number of individuals are turning to an interior designer to renovate their kitchen, living room, or bathroom, …
Using an interior designer can be a smart choice if your goal is to create the home of your dreams, rather than just something that looks like it!
If you’ve ever done construction or renovation work, you know how important the choice of collaborators is.
A poor selection can make your experience bitter!
By working with an interior designer, you have access to his network of trusted collaborators.
With his or her know-how, the recognized designer will undoubtedly save you from one or more mistakes, sometimes very costly! It will add value to your project
The design of your home or commercial space must be carefully planned! Nothing better than a qualified and experienced professional to guide you in your investment.
With their knowledge of:
interior designers are there to help you make the best decisions based on your interests.
Part of an interior designer’s job is to make the most of your space, whatever its size.
But the interior designer’s task doesn’t end there: the space must be made optimal and functional. It’s all in the details. And that’s exactly where an interior designer can make a difference through clever design.
Just like graphic designers, web developers, marketers, etc, you will find yourself between two choices: hiring an independent interior designer, or choosing to work with an agency.
But, what’s the difference?
We can break it down into 4 major differences:
Yes, as you guessed, the cost of the services is the first difference between these two. Agencies, most of the time will have higher prices than freelancers.
Why?
It is common for agencies to have layers of people to pay. From management to administrative staff to people replying to job advertisements on a mass scale, each person needs to be paid.
Agencies will have more resources than independent workers. This statement stands still in any field (mostly).
And that’s not a bad thing!
It does not mean a freelancer doesn’t have enough resources, it just means they have less of them since they need less. It makes sense.
Agencies cost more and thus earn more because they have more resources and can take much more orders.
What makes a lot of interior designers choose freelancing is the flexibility of their schedules. When you work with a freelance designer, you won’t have a fixed schedule like a usual 9 to 5 job. They might want to work in the morning, or at night.
Agencies on the other hand are usually pretty strict about their time schedules. In fact, the schedule will be agreed upon while signing the contract!
Now, I know you might think that a flexible work schedule is a negative thing. Right?
It’s the complete opposite! For most freelancers, having that flexibility options boost their productivity and give them the energy they need to give you the masterpiece you want. In fact, according to the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey, “43% of respondents said that flexibility in working hours helped them achieve greater productivity”
Skills and work quality are what any client will require.
Both agencies and freelancers have the skills that will create the outcome you’re looking for. However, in recent years, appeared a stereotype of associating poor-quality work with certain freelancing platforms.
I once heard two interior designers discussing this topic, and they said something that stuck to my mind:
“Bad freelancers are responsible for giving the freelance field a bad name by not completing their jobs or doing shoddy work. It’s usually the freelancers who can’t get hired by agencies in the first place.”
In general, however, freelancers choose work on the basis of their specific expertise and do not accept any type of work that they are not familiar with at all.
Freelancers’ reputation matters a lot since they cannot count on a stable salary and are not hired based solely on their portfolio. Thus, they work very hard to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
So rest assured, freelancers and agencies have the skills you require to get that design you’ve been picturing.
When it comes to choosing between an independent interior designer and an agency, it all comes down to experience and needs.
If you need to redesign part of your house, or even the whole house, or a medium size place, then opting for a freelancer may be a good choice. However, you should outsource any large or complex task to an agency.
During the first interview, it is absolutely necessary to talk about the budget. Designers work with different billing methods: fixed price, hourly, or percentage. Professionals who are paid by percentage will charge you 8 to 15% of the total cost of the project.
If you are interested in flat-rate pricing, you should ask what changes are included in the price and how much they cost. It would be a shame to blow your budget because you are the indecisive type. Fees for a designer starting out in the field can be around $60 per hour. However, this hourly rate can go up to $100 or even $150 for experienced professionals who enjoy certain notoriety.
Commissions are a taboo subject in the world of interior design. Some designers receive up to 15% commission on the purchase of products and materials. Some agree to share these gains with their clients and others do not. Having an answer to this question of the commission could make your choice easier.
If you decide to hire a freelancer, these tips are a life-saver:
Glad you asked!
You can find your designer anywhere, from social media like LinkedIn and Facebook, to private forums on the internet.
However, opting for these will probably burden you with the long search for your desired freelancer. We advise you to look for one using a freelancing platform. You can actually find him/her right now by signing up on our platform.
Do you want to hire the best global talent or take your freelancing career to new heights? We are one of the top freelance sites like Upwork that help to connect the most reputed organizations with skilled freelancers. So, get started now!
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