The Biggest Mistakes When Hiring a Designer

0:00Legally, we can't say drinking Storm makes you smarter and more focused. But with zero sugar, 200 milligrams of caffeine, and immunity support, you're smarter and more focused for drinking storm. Storm, good energy in, good energy out. Energy for life. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice. Today, we are doing a really fun episode. I'm super excited, but I want to say first, if you're new here, I want to tell you a little bit about us. We are Alice Lane. We're the designers and interior architects behind Alice Lane Interior Design. and we've been working for 20 years now, designing custom homes, doing remodels, working on interiors, and we do exteriors as well.

0:39And we just wanted to have a place where we share all the design principles, mistakes, insider knowledge that we use every day with our own clients and pay this information forward. So we decided to start a little podcast about six or seven years ago called Dear Alice and we're glad that you found us. Today's episode is going to be a really fun one. Do you want to tell them about it, Corey? Yeah, so back in May, we recorded an episode called What It Takes to Be an Interior Designer. From that, we got a question from at ktaylor7901. And she asked, how should a consumer interview and select the right interior designer for their home project?

1:14So today we're going to go dive into six key points that you should know if you're looking for an interior designer. This is such a great question. I think so too. Such a great question. And that was a fun episode to record in the first place. We get that question all the time of people that want to become interior designers. So we've gotten so much feedback and great as far as reviews and celebration from the episode, just because there are so many of you that want to enter this field. But I love that we got the question of just like, how do you hire a designer? It is such a big leap of faith.

1:46And to really understand what are you looking for? What are your red flags? That's what we get to go into today. So I'm so excited. I'm excited too. So thanks for the question. It's a really good one. And I first wanted to say, how do you know when you're ready for an interior designer? And I think one of the first things is you have to be ready to implement the design. So maybe you're at the beginning of a new build or a remodel. You've got a contractor. You've got budgets that you and your husband have agreed on or your partner. And you're really ready to move this thing forward. I think that's a really good time that you need a designer because you're ready to move it forward.

2:21We've had a couple instances, even lately, on some projects where the client isn't really ready to move it forward. And so they don't have to make decisions. And so they sit in indecision for a really, really long time. And it's really unproductive and it's really, really costly. I will say it's frustrating for the client also. They don't know exactly like what they want. So I think that there is a great deal to get to that point when you're ready to implement the design. and things that you have to do. What is it that you want? Even if it's a feeling, these are the feelings that I want this to be and I'm ready to pull the trigger and all people in my decision party are also ready.

3:00So I think that's the biggest thing. When you give yourself too many options, start to narrow those down and be like, this is going to be the project, not this house, but I'm not going to work on 10 houses at the same time. I'm going to work on this house and I'm ready to go and I want you to be part of the team. Let's go. That's when it's successful for all parties. We have another one where she's been working on house plans for years, spent a half a million dollars on plans only to decide that maybe they just don't want to build the house. And so I just wanted to say that because you can waste a ton of time, a lot of meetings, go all the way through this thing and spend your fortune just creating plans only to not be in the mood to do it.

3:40And then they just decided to buy another lot instead and scrap the plans or maybe we'll just stay where we're at. So it is really good to know that you're ready to move forward with it before you invest in hiring all of the professionals to come together. Wearing a client hat is the best way to get a budget. So let's say I'm going to start building a home and I have X amount of dollars and this is the home I want. I guarantee there's a lot of people out there that don't know what design services cost. Yeah. So what's the best way to investigate that? I think there's probably some people too that are a little bit gun shy.

4:12So they're like, I don't even know where to start or even who to ask. So I'm just not going to, and I'm just going to hire a builder. Of all of the people that you're going to hire to do it, between the architect, the builder, and the designer, and there's probably going to be a landscape architect in there too, right? But between those three, the big three, the designer, the builder, and the architect, the designer is the most affordable amongst them all. So the biggest price tag is going to come, I believe, with the builder and the architect. How are you going to be able to figure out what it costs?

4:41I think you're going to sit down with the designer in our firm. We're going to drop a design scope and we're going to get that from the floor plan. So you will have already met with your architect. And I would imagine that as the client, you're probably also interviewing builders and just trying to get their idea of what it's going to cost to build this home. Right. So you're going to get a pretty good number from the builder of what it costs. You've already paid your architect. And now you're going to sit down with an interior designer to understand what their fees would be for the whole home.

5:09You're going to get their scope. and then you're going to get an idea. Obviously, landscapes today, obviously on dream projects, which is what we work on. Those landscapes can be a million dollars. Yeah. Millions. Millions of dollars. It depends on like the acreage that they have, but they're very, very well considered. There's, you know, sometimes pools and fountains and garden walls and, you know, things like that involved a lot of hardscaping. So that's a big number two that you want to get in the pie as you're considering all things. So I would say working with a really reputable firm that can give you a good scope of what that's going to take to really flush out the entire thing through installation your best firms are going to be able to give you a good number and maybe even like involve the designer simultaneously with your architect or before so yeah because I think honestly that's where you guys like shine you guys have so many good tips and like how to make a space work for the person living in it I love that you said that because especially if you're doing like a new build this is a massive massive investment right when you start to court the architect and you're trying to figure out who you want to be your designer, figuring that out, your dream team is like your first thing.

6:14When you're ready to go, figure out who all the parties are before plans start, because you can have the influence of the landscape architect where the actual lot should be positioned. You can have the influence of the designer with the architect on the functionalities of the space, even that high level design, because then they can start feeding. If you have a good team and they can work well together and they can represent you as the client, having that trifecta of all those decision makers on the same page. They might not be as equally invested in time-wise all at the very same time. Architect's gonna be heavy-handed at the beginning.

6:49Designer's gonna carry it through and do all the designs after plans are completed, but their influence, I think, on your behalf is crucial. And historically we said, get us in six months before you start the build or before you break ground. Ideally, you're putting that team together, the dream team at the beginning so that they can like have the best intentions for your plans. It really, really, really helps. And it just gets us all on the same page and we can work as a team. Most of these six points that we're going to bring up today, you could probably do the same for an architect and a builder.

7:25Oh my gosh. Yeah. And obviously the other thing is too, is to make sure they work well together and we'll get more into that later. I love that. Okay. All right. Let's get into it. Okay. So the second point we want to make is how to vet the interior designer. I think this is really important. This is also pretty easy to do today because we do have social media. The best interior design firms are probably going to have somebody on their staff that is just dedicated to capturing the work and sharing the work. It does take a ton of time to shoot your work and put together a portfolio and keep those things updated on the website.

7:57And the latest work is usually the stuff that they're most proud of. And so it really, it takes you, I mean, Sue and I are getting ready to go leave to shoot a project next week and we'll be gone for the entire week to get it styled, shot, videoed. It's out of state. So it's a huge undertaking, not to mention all the social content that you're going to grab. I think being able to look at the portfolio is important. And I also think looking at their Instagram feeds is probably showing work in progress because I do feel like people get so great at their craft the longer that they do it. And so you want to be able to make sure you're looking at current work.

8:32I think that's really important. I also think that it's important to ask them, how are they working with other trades, right? Get a feel for how technical they are. Subcontractors, you'll want to have them walk you through their documentation process so that you really understand if they can do the kitchen design and the bathroom design and the tile drawings and just see what they're handing off to that builder so that nothing is left to the imagination. What does that process look like through the build? And I also think it would be a really good idea to have the client ask this future designer for references so that you can call past clients, you know, and just ask how it went.

9:13How did it go with the build? And I think as designers, you should be prepared to be able to give out, you know, that information so that people can talk and say, how was your experience, you know, with that? That's such good feedback. Just really, I want to top back to what you're saying about just the technicalities. What is your project involved? Are you just looking for furniture? You're going to redesign furniture. Are you looking to build a new house? Are you looking to just a fluff and a tickle? Like what do you want to do for your project? And really you have to align yourself with the right design firm and with the right person that can do the things that you want to do.

9:48I think it's kind of like vintage. It's a broad spectrum, right? And same thing with designer. Everybody's going to say that they're a designer, but what type of designer are they a designer are they a decorator what are their qualifications to to get you what you need it's so easy to trust somebody that says i can do it all right yeah you have proofs in the pudding man you have to see that documentation they have to be able to take you through that and it's probably hard as a client you're just like i actually don't know what i need i don't know what i don't know and that's probably the seat listeners and clients are in at the beginning of a big project like that.

10:22So really the more you talk, when you talk to your builder, your architect, getting even their references, they know who they work well with. If you've seen somebody's work, be it the designer, the designer's gonna have builder references. The builder's gonna have designer references. The architect's gonna have builder references. So we all kind of swim in this pool, wherever you're at, to understand this person knows cabinetry. They're gonna be able to elevate and they work great with my cabinet shop. So I would interview them. So really just start talking and really understand what are the qualifications of these firms that you're considering.

10:59As much as you might like, you know, how they style the coffee table on Instagram, can they do cabinet drawings if that's what you need? Can they specify tile? Can they work with trades? Can they like get into the details as well as style the coffee table? They're always going to say yes to that. So part of the vetting process is like you said, go through their past work They will show you what they can and cannot do from doing that and then getting contacts as well. What's that? You have a saying like. What Sally says about Sally doesn't mean as much as what Mary says about Sally. Exactly. Right.

11:30Yeah. So that really, that really, really matters. You want to make sure that that checks out. And I've gotten phone calls before for somebody wanting to hire like a past employee. And I love getting those calls, you know, because then I can really talk about how great they are. The one I just recently did, I was like, that was really fun to be like, I don't think you understand the magic that you're about to get your hands on. It's fun to be able to give people a reference. So I know, I know people won't mind giving that information out. I wouldn't mind. I mean, I wouldn't mind having somebody call a past client of ours.

12:03You know, I think that's such a fun conversation to have. Definitely ask the client for some references. Yeah. Or even go on their Instagram. And if there's like a builder you've seen, they work with like, call that builder. Oh yeah. That's a great idea. You know, the references you're given may not always be like. They're going to be glossier than some of the saltier projects. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. No one's giving out their bad references. You know what I mean? That's true. Yeah. The last point I think about vetting the designers, like trust your gut. Oh my gosh. Do you, do you like the firm, but also do you like them energetically when you show up, when you're getting on the call?

12:35I think that you've really got to feel that out because this is a long-term relationship. Like you're going to hang out with these people for probably at least two years, depending on the size of the bill. That could be three to five. So you really want to like these people and trust them. Yeah. Your gut really does tell you so much about a feeling. And if you need to meet with them more than once, do it. And compare and contrast them about maybe others. But energetically, you want to really feel like, okay, I can do something hard with you. Yep. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's almost like, who do I want in the labor and delivery room with me as I'm pushing this baby out?

13:11100%. That's a good analogy. My husband's going to be there, but I need my mom right here by my face. You know, I'm going to push this baby out and I need to, I need her. I knew that. Anyway, you guys are pushing a baby out with this person. This is a huge lift. And so you want this person's energy in the delivery room with you. Do they want to be there in the delivery room with you too? It's probably another thing. And they'll tell you that with their energy as well. And I will say too, I'm like, we've worked with enough clients that have had used previous designer firms before using us and probably likewise.

13:43But the thing with like hiring a designer and like getting behind this group of people behind you, it doesn't have to be just for this project. It's for all future projects. A home is never done. As much as you want to say that your home is done, there's always something. There's always going to be an itch, a project, something that you're going to want to have a phone a friend. Your designer becomes that person. So like it's really you are vetting a best friend right now. For real. You're courting each other. can we hang out for like time and all eternity as far as like home projects are considered right for this project for any project like would you ask this person for their restaurant recommendations you want someone that's discerning and that has your best your best interests at heart and i think a good designer does that and we become really close with our clients we learn so much we learn how they sleep how their relationship with their kids how they parent all these things and so it's like you said you're getting in the deep end and you really really want to be able to trust this person you know for any and all project take it seriously so this date should be more like them asking about you and not you having to pull out of them yeah a designer should design for that person not say this is why I'm the best yeah this is a little bit of a tangent but a few years ago Sue and I were on a design panel at High Point Market for a furniture brand and there was somebody else, there's other designers that were sitting next to us.

15:05And no matter what question was asked, the designer that was sitting to my right continued to, to her, she would always answer the question and talk about her contract, always bring it back to her contract, her contract, her contract. And I was like, she's lost the plot. Yeah. It's not just about the contract. It's about the human. It's about the person. It's about this connection that you are going to tell their story in their house. And if the only thing that you're interested in is you sit down to talk about the project is the contract it feels more like a law firm something like that where it's just like this is the work and this is the amount of money it's going to be and if there's any changes to that here's an addendum and that's the whole that was the whole story that this person wanted to tell and i was like design is so far and above beyond just the paperwork of this like you really got to like this person trust this person love their talents obviously they're going to come with a contract and a process and a team and all of those things as part of it.

16:04Yeah. And you want to make sure that's there too. But I think your spidey senses need to be on high alert and just really making sure that you're digging this person's energy. You're trusting them. You love their talents. Everything that you're hearing about them seems good. And your guts saying, yes, this is true for me too. Yeah. Yeah. Budget's a real thing. You know, I often wish it wasn't, but it is yeah but it is so much easier or so it's an easier pill to swallow when you get it done right the first time or what you're paying for is actually what you got and received and that's gonna come through so much more with someone who aligns with you personally and someone that is really in it for you you know leads art first it shouldn't be about the budget or you know this is how much hours cost and all of that so yeah you do pay for what you get so i'm just like when you do go to the lowest bidder.

16:58And what you're saying as far as there's like this quality of honesty, you know, when you're talking to somebody that you really, really trust, that they're going to tell you that's not enough money to do what you want to do. So you really have to align, even though they're, you know, blow in smoke, make sure like it's legitimate. Otherwise you're just going to be disappointed and it's going to cost more money and you're just going to be ticked off the whole time. And you paid a bunch of money for something that you don't love. Yeah. I'd rather pay more. I'm going to tell you what you wanted to hear versus what it actually costs.

17:27100%. Yeah. All right. Part three we want to make is communication is everything. So keep in mind that you're hiring a creative person. So one of the things that you're going to look for is communication and responsiveness. So as you're just reaching out to them to set up a consultation, how long does it take for them to get back to you? What's the communication like? Are you connecting in that communication? Is it detailed? as you're setting up a time to meet. And then even when you're meeting, and then after you meet, I'm sure there's going to be a scope center or something. How long does it take to get that information to you?

18:02This is going to be a good sign of how responsive they're going to be on your project and how detailed they're going to be in the communication to the builder and to the subs that they're working with. So this is a really nice little litmus test. In the beginning, pay attention to that as a green flag or a red flag. Communication never gets better, I'm going to say, in the relationship. Good point. It's where it's at from the start. It's either going to maybe dip a little from there. It's not like, oh, they had a busy three months. You know what I mean? So, yeah. Yeah. And I will say in the back and forth, how does it feel to you communicating with them?

18:36Are you as equally engaged as the person? When you're ready and you're ready to commit to the design, you are there to communicate to them. And if I see a client that's just like they are on it, I need to match that energy. even if I'm busy I'm going to text them and I'm going to push that little send later so they get it right at 9 a.m when they wake up you just have to like be engaged yeah and and you want to be for these projects it's so exciting the prospect when you meet like another human wanting to do something beautiful and so from like the designer's point make sure you're in it make sure that they know that you're in it that your heart's there because that will go a long way as far as that that check?

19:15I don't think it's necessarily like I text them 20 minutes ago and they haven't got back to me. What I like to look for, because this is the type of person I am. I can't tell you how many subcontractors I've worked with where it's like 530 and they'll be like, I'll text you in the morning, bro, you own your own business. Like you're on the clock. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like that's just, I'm a get it done whenever I have to get it done type of person. And sometimes, you know, that's, that's 730 at night. So if I get a text, I know I've got texts from you before it. I mean, weird hours. Yeah.

19:46Yeah. And like, I'm like, that's awesome. Sue's, you know, it was like getting her stuff done at 11 PM, 1130. I would rather work with someone like that because then I know that they're the type of person that can't rest till they get done what they said they were going to get done. Another point within communication is everything is finding the right working relationship. So feel comfortable speaking up, right? Because open communication is essential. And so if something's not working, you've got to speak up. You don't want to sit in that same decision you're unsure of while they continue to develop it.

20:17You want to speak up right away and just say, oh, I forgot to tell you, I really hate the color orange. I forgot to mention that to you. Or I forgot to mention you, we just barely moved from a house that had this sort of finish in it and we're really hoping to go the opposite direction. Whatever it is, but you probably love it when you get a client that speaks up and lets you know right away so that nobody wastes their time going further down that road. I will say at the beginning of a project, we get a client Pinterest board. We talk to them about each of these rooms. They only know what they know again at that point.

20:49And so even, you know, when you start to go down the wrong road and like introduce ideas, the sooner you can tell them, like you said, abort mission, abort mission. I don't like that direction. I'm like, fantastic. I'm going to show you option two. I had this thing in the, you know, cause it's not like it's the only option we ever consider. Yeah. There's a hundred other options that have been considered to be like, okay, if you don't like this, then I I would redirect it to this. And the sooner you can tell me that, the faster we can get there. Don't worry about being polite. We can't be offended.

21:15Your designer, if they are getting offended by what you want, that's a red flag. That's not your designer. Really understand, again, while you're interviewing, if I have an idea midstream, can I introduce that? Make sure that they're okay with that because you're gonna experience different things and they should be able to tie that idea into the North Star of your project. It's so, so important that you feel like you have a voice. this is your house not not mine this is your house and we're designing for you and so a designer should have that outlook and again for just the greater good of the project like if we have your best ideas mixed with our you know filter and ideas like that's when beautiful things happen but we have to have your honesty and you can't feel afraid to talk or your husband or whoever is making decisions on this like they're just going to resent the process and they're never want to want to do this again.

22:06People that have hated their experience building a house, that usually is what it comes down to is that they didn't speak up and they paid for something that wasn't theirs. And then they have to do it again and again and again. And it's exhausting. We recently just did a project for a client who's experienced that. She's just like, I've just never had a space that felt like my own. And she has a hard time making decisions and she has had a hard time you know communicating what she likes and so it was our job to get several things and ideas in front of her and for us to be completely honest with each other and we came up with amazing amazing results and like at the end we were about to walk out and I'm like what do you think she's like it feels like me she did cry I will say that there were tears there were tears but oh it was just like the most beautiful moment to have a space that feels like you like there's no greater environment or moment that you can like feel like yourself in your space because when you're authentic to your space and authentic to yourself then you can start doing other things that are authentic to you how you treat people how you're you know just everything you can just start to blossom right yeah so anyway just make sure speak up and those come to fruition from friction or think a child you're gonna have to do some pushing you know and it's uncomfortable in some situations.

23:25So I'll say to be involved in the design process. I know for some people, if it's a second home, they're just like, oh, just do your thing. Right. We just we don't want to have to spend a lot of time. But you do. You do have opinions. You do have an outlook. You have probably lived with other furniture before. Maybe you guys don't like a scatterback, you know, cushion sofa. I remember this because my mom had one once and we learned that we hated not having back cushions. It was just all toss pillows as back cushions. And it's just always a disaster. And you always sink to the back and pillows are always all around you and you're like drowning in pillows, right?

23:59So you only have to make that mistake once. And then you always learn that's the kind of thing that I never want. I think if you're hiring a designer, you want to be involved in the process. You want to understand the firm's process for collaboration, for feedback, for revisions, and you want to get in the sauce of it all because then you're going to love the outcome. The more involved you as a client are, the more involved you're and invested your designer will be. Clients that are excited about it, our excitement feeds off of each other. If I see something, I'm texting it to her or like DMing or something from Instagram or something.

24:30And that communication line just becomes all the more fluid because you're both in it. You're both engaged. And so you have, you have to be in it again when you're ready to implement design. That's when you should be like the most excited and ready to just like allow that, the creative process. it's so much fun those of you that are saying like this isn't fun well you're listening to this podcast so surely you all like design so you know it's fun but it should be fun people say you know that first year of marriage is so hard people make it hard if you know the person and you know what you're getting into you've asked all the right questions it can be the most fun yeah same thing with design it should be fun just do your homework that last point is that great designers ask thoughtful questions, right?

25:13So that it can be thoughtful about how you live, what you find beautiful, what lights you up inside. So those should be some of the conversations that you're having and that you feel really seen, I think, in the process. Our fourth point we want to make, the money conversation. Talk budget early. Hire a designer who respects your budget and is honest with you. Sue, you've just been working with somebody on a scope up in Park City, Utah, right? Yeah. And it was great that the budget was a part of the conversation in the first consultation. You're getting on the scale right there in the first meeting and you're saying, this is exactly what it is.