How to Choose an Interior Design Firm (Not Just a Contractor)

A contractor builds what you tell them to build. A design firm should be asking questions before any quote is drawn up: how you actually live in the space, what's not working about your current layout, what a design proposal should include before construction starts. If a firm goes straight from a site visit to a price with no space-planning conversation in between, that's a contractor relationship, not a design one, whatever the company calls itself.

Ask whether design and carpentry happen in-house or are outsourced separately. A firm that does both keeps design decisions and what's actually buildable in the same conversation. Ask to see a full-scope example, not just a mood board. And ask who your single point of contact will be from first meeting to handover: if the answer changes at every stage, expect the same to happen with your project.

Whichever firm you choose, insist on a full design proposal (space planning, real material references, a complete layout and an itemised quote) before you sign anything. A firm confident in its own process will produce one without being asked twice; a firm that resists is telling you something about how the rest of the project will go.