Easy Design

How To Find A Qualified Designer In Your Area

Investing money in an interior designer to work in your home or office is a huge decision. How do you begin your search? Well, you are lucky because there are some key things to look for before making a decision.

Start looking online for interior designers in your area. They will be listed in the yellow pages and often have a website. Many furniture stores also have an interior designer on staff to work with customer’s who would like to do a whole room or house.

Being able to look at a designer’s portfolio is a huge benefit in the designer search. Just like their clients, designers have certain styles they tend to work best in. You need to make sure it is a good fit for both of you!

Important questions to ask a designer would be if they charge an hourly fee or work on a retainer. Ask how long they have been working in the field. What stores do they tend to work with if they are not located within a furniture or design store? Furniture comes in a wide variety of prices ranges and it’s very important that your designer works with manufacturers within your price range! Ask to talk to past clients. If they were satisfied, they should be more than willing to speak with you!

When looking for listed qualifications, you may come across some these terms. Here’s a little bit of information to help get you through the process.

• Many designer’s are involved in the American Society of Interior Designer’s (ASID) or the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). Allied members of these society’s are involved in the organizations and pay a membership on a yearly basis. They are required to have completed 40 semester or 60 quarter credit hours in interior design education from an accredited institution.
• Professional Members are able to distinguish themselves with ASID or IIDA written after their names. They have completed education from an accredited institution and have work experience in interior design, as well as having passed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination. This is an extensive two day exam that interior designers are tested on their knowledge of the field through education and experience. Professional ASID and IIDA members are required to fill 6 Continuing Education Classes every two years. This is to help insures that they are up to date on codes, products, trends, etc. Some designer’s chose not to pay the ASID or IIDA membership fees and can have NCIDQ certification number underneath their names after completion of the exam.
• It is also a great idea to try to have a designer that is LEED AP, which means they have become an accredited professional through the Leadership and Environmental Design exam. This will help to ensure your home or office is up to date with the sustainability trend as well!

Good Luck with your search!

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www.design-sherpa.com

Milano Talks: about design works of Satyendra Pakhalé