There are many interior designers where I live locally, here in Manila. We have different areas of expertise, number of years of experience and ways in how we work with our clients. So the question in your mind is: how do I know if the interior designer I choose will be the one for me?

Interior design and construction is a complex process. Why? As interior designers, we don’t simply choose fabric, furniture and lighting accessories. Interior design is both an art and science. We study space planning, color theory, technical drawings, construction, furniture, ergonomics, and many more. Building your own space, whether it’s a condo unit (where space maximization is a must), a residential home, an office, restaurant, retail space, and many more, takes skill and time. I, for one, go deep into a client’s lifestyle, hobbies, interests and the like when building a residential home. For commercial spaces, I study the client’s target market, profile, location, branding, and other important details needed for the project.

As such, it is important that communication between client and designer is open and collaborative. We spend weeks, months and sometimes, even a year (depending on space) planning and building together. Thus, when choosing your designer, make sure that he/she is easy to talk with, listens well and hears your concerns. That is why for me, it is important to meet my client and find out our rapport as this is essential in fulfilling our clients wishes and dreams, and also being open when there are any situation during construction that need to be solved together with the client/client’s approval. If you’ve ever tried building a space, construction is a headache for some, and a nightmare to others. Why? That’s another long story (for another post).

Another crucial aspect in choosing your designer is building trust between you and your designer. I love how I learn about my client’s daily rituals, favorite things to do, even pets. Why? Because I do incorporate these aspects into my design. We need trust to build a home that you know was meant for you. Same goes for commercial spaces too, something that resonates with the brand and truly integrates what the business is about.

To sum up, here are the important considerations you should be looking for:

1. Know your designer.

2. Have open communication between you and your designer.

3. Build trust together.

Other considerations you may want to look at are: budget, experience, past works. Experience teaches us plenty of things. I know I am better now than when I first started. So I hope this short post helps you in choosing your designer!