If you’re renovating or setting up either your home or an Airbnb rental and are wondering- “ Should I hire an interior designer?-” you’re not the first to ask!
Any design project can be an overwhelming process, but especially if you’re getting a place ready to be a short-term rental. If you’re anything like me, decisions like color selections, room layout, sourcing furniture pieces and decor make my head spin a little.
I hired an interior designer on my last two projects and I’m here to tell you it was SO worth it!
So if you’re asking “should i hire an interior designer?,” I’m going to share with you 7 reasons I think you should.
Top Reasons to Hire an Interior Designer:
1. Save You Time
Have you ever spent hours scrolling through your phone, looking at endless furniture options, reading reviews, and bouncing from site to site to find what you’re looking for? I certainly have!
When it comes to designing your Airbnb, you don’t have that kind of time to lose! Getting your rental occupied should be the top priority if you want to earn your greatest income potential from your short-term rental.
When you hire an interior designer, you don’t have to waste that time. They will work with you to determine your desires for the space and your style preferences and then take it from there!
2. Help you achieve your style
As an amateur, you may know in your head the style you’re trying to achieve but it can be a struggle when it comes down to getting from point A to point B.
An interior designer knows their way around design styles and a good designer will spend time getting to know your preferences and help you identify your unique style.
So instead of starting from scratch trying to source pieces that are cohesive and fit within your style, your designer will help achieve this for you! And don’t worry, you can still have a say- let them know you’d like them to run options by you so that you can still have a hand in determining the final product.
Related: Best Airbnb Interior Design Styles That’ll Make Guests Swoon
3. Get products at discounted rates
Often times, interior designers have partnerships with certain companies and are able to get products at a discounted rate. This can help offset the cost of hiring the interior designer- win!
4. Avoid design mistakes
Making a design mistake can cost you a TON of time, not to mention the headache it can cause. On my most recent project, I decided to DIY the color selection and spent a lot of money to have a painter come and paint the whole place. Unfortunately, I did NOT like the color!
In this case, I was able to hire a designer and she came in and was able to work with the color. In the end, I actually really liked the final product- so it worked out. But had I decided to hire her in the first place and gotten her guidance on color selection, I would have been way better off!
5. Perfect Staging for Photos
Once selections are made and your space has been set up and styled, its important to go the extra mile to stage everything so that it looks fantastic in photos! And we know that listing photos on Airbnb are everything!
A designer knows just what to do to put the added touches in your space to take it from looking great to looking stunning!
Related: Get my free Airbnb Essentials Checklist!
6. Focus on Occupancy
For most short term rental investors, a top priority is earning income. Hiring out things like interior design will help keep you in the right seat- managing your rental so that you can have the best income potential. And that means focusing on perfecting your listing, adjusting your pricing settings, and achieving a high occupancy rate.
7. Build the Relationship now for future projects
Lastly, once you hire an interior designer once, you’re going to want to do it again- I promise! Whether it’s in a future rental or for your personal home-once you build this relationship, you’ll have a resource that you can utilize for many projects to come! Since your designer now has a sense of your taste, design style, and what it’s like to work with you, you’ll already be set up for success!
FAQ
What are the pros and cons of hiring an interior designer ?
Some of the pros of hiring an interior designer is that they’ll be much quicker to finish the project than DIY, they often get products at discounted rates (which will offset the cost of hiring them), you can avoid design mistakes and get your project right the first time, and they’re able to help you know and achieve your unique style. Cons might be that it is an added cost to your budget, it may feel difficult to hand over design decisions if you’re picky, and they sometimes will prioritize form over function.
How much does it cost to hire an interior designer?
Every interior designer will have their own rate and way of charging. In my case, she charged 22% of the project budget, which I thought was more than worth it.
How to hire an interior designer?
You can typically find a designer by looking around on the socials. Try search by hashtag, i.e. #[your city]interiordesigner, or #virtualinteriordesigner. You can also try asking for recommendations on Facebook, or simply do a Google search. From there, you’ll reach out, describe your project, and they’ll respond as to whether your project is a good fit and provide pricing info and their portfolio. At that point you’re ready to go ahead for the hire!
Is an interior designer worth the cost?
Sure, it’s totally possible to achieve decent results as an amateur and save yourself the extra money, but you run the risk of making a design mistake that can cost a lot of time-and more money- to resolve. But my personal opinion (after having done both!) is that hiring an interior designer is well worth the cost because for me, sometimes I just like results so much better when someone else made the tough decisions for me.
Conclusion:
If you’ve got a project that’s got you asking “should I hire an interior designer?,” take it from me-it’s saved me time, stress, and gotten me the final result of my dreams!
If you found this post helpful, you might also like:
How to Design an Airbnb: A Step-by-Step Process to an Instaworthy STR
Best Airbnb Interior Design Styles That’ll Make Guests Swoon
10 Studio Airbnb Ideas Every Small-Apartment Host Needs
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