Is this typical of interior designers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fire ASAP. And I agree with PP about the useless Mom-designers. I worked with one who had a fairly good eye, but she was touchy as h*ll whenever I didn’t like something she recommended.

Can I ask what the fee was? I am designer hunting and don't have a good sense of what things should cost.

[Anonymous]

Definitely let her go.

It seems to me that this woman is purposely making mistakes so she can bill more hours x.

She is so transparent OP. 🫠

And/or she also is lacking in the experience department as well.

Have you checked any credentials on her??

[Anonymous]

I’m curious about the fee too? I need some help with a room in a new house.

[Anonymous]

WHY ISN'T ANYONE SHARING THE PRICES?!

[Anonymous]

Former designer here. Totally unprofessional, and a complete amateur. You should push back.

No good designer will ever give you choices in the first round. They should present an entire room with their choices that include tear sheets with all dimensions and price. This is because if you change out the bedside tables, it could affect the entire design and budget. Say the new choice in tables are $1,00+ and 3" shorter, then you may new taller table lamps, but would also have to cut that money elsewhere.

Even if you do an inexpensive design a room service they will do this, though may provide options to upgrade.

Move on from this person.

[Anonymous]

Also, you can get a room plan drawn out on any Fiver site for $100 (or less). There is no reason even an inexpensive designer isn't presenting a fully designed room and how it will look/fit in your space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is my first time working with a designer who came highly recommended by a friend. We pay her an hourly fee as well as a mark up on what she purchases. I have a couple concerns.

1. She has suggested a few things now that we decided we liked and then when it came down to ordering we have realized they won’t fit based on dimensions. For example, we need a chandelier for our room and she presented several options. There is one we loved but when I looked at the pictures of it online we realized it looked bigger than we imagined. I had her check the dimensions again and then she told us it would not actually work because of our ceiling height so she went back to the drawing board. Another example, we needed a console for our entry way and she sourced one we loved so we ordered it, but when it arrived it was just too big for the space. It technically fit but it looked really awkward. Shouldn’t she know this? My concern is that we are paying for her time to source these things, and why should I be paying her to research, purchase and return items that don’t work because she didn’t do her homework? Now she is going back to the drawing board and I am paying for more hours to source new items.

2. After the light incident mentioned above she presented more light fixtures but we didn’t love any as much. I ended up finding something similar to the original one online that would work for our space. The designer does not get a trade discount with this vendor but wants to charge us her standard 15% mark up to order. I guess the mark up is for placing the order and managing delivery/installation but it feels annoying since I found the item. Can I exclude it and manage it myself?

Would you be questioning the designer overall at this point?

You should have fired her the first time. There are tons of "designers" out there that are not qualified and do not do a good job at all. she's clearly one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former designer here. Totally unprofessional, and a complete amateur. You should push back.

No good designer will ever give you choices in the first round. They should present an entire room with their choices that include tear sheets with all dimensions and price. This is because if you change out the bedside tables, it could affect the entire design and budget. Say the new choice in tables are $1,00+ and 3" shorter, then you may new taller table lamps, but would also have to cut that money elsewhere.

Even if you do an inexpensive design a room service they will do this, though may provide options to upgrade.

Move on from this person.

Yes. But trying to find one who does this is harder than it appears. So many bad ones out there, self taught and full of themselves. Yet tons of clients because of friends and friends of friends. Really annoying.

[Anonymous]

Again--no prices mentioned

[Anonymous]

Architect who's worked with interior "designers" here.
The worst of them can't draw and are basically shoppers.
The good ones know how to draw and scale items appropriate for the rooms.
The best ones know how to lay out room panelling, have ideas regarding cornices, can pick out finish materials - and I'm not talking about upholstery, I'm talking about countertops, tile, etc...
The best ones also understand tile and stone that can be cut and can't.

OP's decorator is a shopper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WHY ISN'T ANYONE SHARING THE PRICES?!

Lol

[Anonymous]

I used a designer who was similar. I felt like I was conned.

I would never ever pay additional fees for furniture ordered. Never.

My designer pushed me to buy more and more furniture and ignored my concerns about scale. I balked at her design for our powder room because a cabinet she wanted us to buy that was unnecessary wouldn't allow a tallish person to sit on the toilet. We had already ordered a chest for our foyer that was so big we had no place to put it. I learned at the end of our relationship that she was furnishing a beach house and the furniture store she was using was giving her credits when she brought them clients who bought furniture. I also found out that the acquaintance who I trusted who recommended her was getting a kick back for bringing her clients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WHY ISN'T ANYONE SHARING THE PRICES?!

I’ll bite. Not the op, but I just started working with a designer, and she’s $225/hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WHY ISN'T ANYONE SHARING THE PRICES?!

I’ll bite. Not the op, but I just started working with a designer, and she’s $225/hr.

Thank you very much!

[Anonymous]

Anyone else sharing prices?