H Kaur

This is an amazing idea for a gift! Sound like you have an incredibly beautiful garden!

If you know exactly what you like and can put it all together then I'd agree that you absolutely don't need an interior designer!

Can I ask how long you would live in the house before you'd think about making changes? I think this is quite a good strategy because it also allows time for funds to be a little more favourable after a large building project! Can I ask whether you used an interior designer and felt like this? Or was this more of a case with the renders that had been produced by your architect? Thanks Ferdinand - incredibly helpful as always and this sounds like a fair compromise. Not at all, I appreciate the response and actually it's really helpful for me to know that some people will have the design all figured out! I do agree with your wife however, that it would be strange (and probably quite boring) to have an entire house painted in one colour This is so helpful Dave, thank you! I always think it seems a shame to spend so much time, energy and money on building an amazing house only to feel exhausted by the whole process and the very end and rush to finish! This really made me laugh! Thank you Gav - can I ask if this was the case with your build? You really have a way with words, I laughed so much reading this! Perhaps I could use some of these phrases in my marketing material Thanks so much for the response! Hi, yes I completely agree with you that having an architect that has an eye for design is invaluable because as you say, flooring is so expensive to change! An interior designer absolutely would be able to help with flooring and I would say actually that flooring along with windows, lighting and wall treatments makes a house! Nothing transforms a room like new flooring so it's crucial to get it right. It does cover an enormous surface after all! Thanks so much for your response!

Haha I hope you managed to go back and repaint (unless you like magnolia of course!). Thanks for the response!

Hi Peter, That's quite a tricky design decision and there are limited options with tilt and turn windows. Thanks so much for your response!

Hi there, Apologies, perhaps I should have been clearer in explaining that I am hoping to learn about problems with internal finishes and interior design specifically (perhaps stretching to lighting and electrics which you are right in saying needs to be agreed before the plaster goes up). Thanks so much for your response!

Hi everyone, I have asked a question on this forum before but for transparency, I'd just like to begin by explaining that I am not building my own home. I run an interior design business and my clients are mostly self-builders. In this topic, I hope to learn more about the issues faced once the plaster is up on the walls and it's time to think about designing the inside of your new home. As the title suggests, I'd really appreciate it if you could share your most pressing problems when designing and finishing your home. Did you struggle with having a smaller than anticipated budget left for furniture, fixtures and equipment? Did you worry about making expensive design mistakes? Did you struggle to put a cohesive scheme together? Perhaps it was difficult choosing colours or understanding your personal style? Perhaps you had never worked with an interior designer before and didn't know what to expect or how to choose a designer? It's really important to me to understand what the common concerns are as this helps me provide a better service. Thanks so much in advance and I hope you are all having a good weekend! Harman

Hi Helen, Congratulations on your upcoming build! This is such an exciting stage of the process as you have the possibility of creating a really special family home. My approach to this is going to be from an interior design perspective (every trade will have it's own angle) and I think it's really important to think about the details of the space in terms of functionality and internal layout from the very beginning. I totally understand your concerns about the kitchen/dining area eating into your patio space. I think one strong consideration is whether you hope to have additional large windows in the new dining area you have marked in red. This would really help with the flow between your dining space and garden whilst maximising your views. I also think it's a great idea to make the study smaller as you've marked on your plans - I would perhaps adjust the proportions of the dining area and make it wider or potentially even square that area off in line with the study. This would allow you to have a large run of floor to ceiling windows/crittall style doors onto the patio which will really elevate the look and feel of the space. Another thing from having a quick look at the ground floor - you've marked that you plan to repurpose the dining room into a family/cinema room. It would be really nice to have a sliding/pocket door which can be used as and when needed to separate the spaces and make the rooms more versatile. At the moment, that probably won't be possible but now is a good time to decide whether you think this would be useful to your family and something you'd like to include! Hope this has been useful and all the best for your upcoming build! Harman

Hi Water, Thanks for your response - not every interior designer will charge you £10k+, that seems really high (unless you live in a mansion?)

Hi Ferdinand, Thank you so much for such a detailed response, your comments have been very helpful! I have looked at Allan Corfield Architects and I'm really happy to see that they specialise in eco homes as I specialise in sustainable design. Also appreciate the heads up on every self-builder being different - I look forward to learning about the unique requirements of each client and providing a tailored service. Many thanks again, Harman

Hi DNB, Thanks so much for answering my questions and in so much detail, this is really valuable information! I am with you on the blanket battleship grey - I think colour used elegantly is much more beautiful and timeless. Thanks again, Harman P.S I was not aware of the no advertising rules, so I'll be familiarising myself with those ASAP!

Hi there, I totally hear you on the budget side of things – the last thing you’d want to do would be to hire an interior designer at the very end of your project when your budget has been stretched! I always tell my clients that the earlier they get me involved, the more I can prevent bad decisions and add value. I know you’ll appreciate this more than most! I bet you are a total pro now that you have done this twice. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Harman

Hi, I love the sound of your home – what an absolute dream to have a library! I think it’s great that you’ve taken so much inspiration from your travels too, I can imagine your home has an enormous amount of personality and charm. It’s funny that you mentioned ditching your PM – lots of interior designers offer a project management service nowadays so it’s an amazing way of getting more value for your money! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, you’ve really helped me understand how self-builders make decisions about where to spend their hard earned money. Have a great weekend! Harman

Hi Bozza, I think it was a really smart move on your part in hiring a garden designer - they provide enormous value and bring a lot of knowledge and expertise that is indispensable when making lasting design decisions! I would say that it’s the same case with an interior designer – if an interior designer is hired from the very beginning of the project at the same time as the building contractor and architect, we can provide electrical and lighting layouts (rather than giving up your designs to your builder), make good decisions about space planning and can advise on the usability of kitchen and bathroom suppliers. Lots of interior designers offer more accessible design packages these days thanks to e-design and you’ll find these are usually more affordable with a set fee as it is an online service. A typical e-design service would usually begin with a concept board to understand your needs, followed by a design scheme and floorplans and finally a shopping list with all the items already sourced so you can buy directly. I always offer two rounds of revisions but this will probably vary according to each designer. Mistakes can be expensive particularly with kitchens and bathrooms and then all the other internal fixtures and finishes, furniture and accessories on top. Sometimes things just don’t look quite right but it’s not clear why so a designer can make sure that the end result is beautiful, functional and will stand the test of time. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions - I really appreciated the detail in your response as it’s helped me better understand common concerns and the barriers to hiring an interior designer. And congratulations on moving into your new build next month! I hope the move goes well and fingers crossed it’s a nice smooth process for you ? Harman

Hi everyone, I am new to these forums and not in the middle of a self build, but I hope this is the right place to ask this question. Unsure of the etiquette here so apologies in advance if this post is against forum rules. As the title suggests, I wanted to find out whether anyone here is planning on using an interior designer? I am an interior designer and trying to find out more about the demand from the self-build market. I'd really appreciate your thoughts on whether you are planning on using an interior designer and why/why not. If you have a minute to spare, I have some short questions below otherwise any opinions would be really helpful. Many thanks, Harman 1 | Would you ever consider hiring an interior designer? Why/why not? 2 | What would you consider hiring and interior designer for? 3 | What do you think an interior designer does? 4 | How much do you think an interior designer costs? 5 | What would make you want to hire an interior designer straight away? 6 | Where would you start looking or researching for a designer? 7 | What kind of project would you think is too small for an interior designer and how large do you think the project needs to be in order to hire one? 8 | What kind of price range would you expect to pay for an interior designers service for: a) a large project (ie. a whole house)? b) an online/low-cost design or help with just one room?