How to Choose an Interior Design Studio in London

You’ll live with the result for years. On a large build, you’ll also live with your interior design studio for a year or more. So it’s worth choosing carefully, and not on the portfolio alone.

We’ve been on both sides of this. We’ve run Kia Designs for over 18 years, and we’ve sat on a Houzz panel on exactly this question: how do you find the right designer for you? Here’s what we’d look for.

Read the portfolio properly

A portfolio full of different-looking homes is a good sign, not a bad one. It means the studio designs for the people who live there, not for its own signature look. If every project looks the same, expect yours to as well.

Look for a project of a similar size and complexity to yours. A beautiful one-bedroom flat tells you little about how a studio handles a five-storey townhouse with a basement dig.

Check what other people say

Read independent reviews, such as on Houzz. Look at awards and press. Above all, ask whether past clients would talk to you. A studio with happy clients won’t hesitate.

Then read the studio’s blog. Is it practical, covering things like procurement, working with contractors and planning? Or is it all trends? Trends won’t help much when a supplier goes bust halfway through your build.

Nine questions to ask at the first meeting

1. How do you charge? All up front, by stage, hourly, per room? Can you give me a price for a similar project?
2. What does the fee include, and what’s extra? 3D visuals, site visits and printing are sometimes charged separately.
3. How do you charge on furniture? Do you pass on trade discounts, add a procurement fee, or both?
4. Will I see the whole design before I buy anything? You should never walk into a finished room you hate.
5. Will I get an itemised list of every piece and its price? Line by line, so you can cut anything you don’t think is good value.
6. Who works on site, and who manages them? Does the studio hire the contractors, project manage, or neither? Which parts will you need to coordinate?
7. Have you worked with these builders before? New working relationships always have teething problems.
8. Who will I deal with day to day? One main designer gives you consistency.
9. What do you need from me? The answer tells you a lot (see below).

Warning signs

Be wary of a designer who doesn’t ask how you live. Do you cook, or order in? Bath or shower? Where do the coats actually end up? Those questions are the brief.

Also be wary of one who wants no direction from you at all. Chances are they want free rein for their own ideas. At the other end, a designer who asks for hundreds of reference images may struggle to turn them into a clear brief.

How we answer those questions

We charge a design fee, paid once the contract is signed, and a 25% procurement fee on the furniture we buy for you. You see the full design, with 3D visuals, before anything is ordered. You get a line-by-line list of every item and its price. And we work with contractors we know, through a tender we run for you. The detail is in our guide to what an interior designer costs, and how long it all takes is in our project timeline guide.

Then trust the conversation

Once you’ve done the homework, it usually comes down to who you get on with. You’ll make a lot of decisions together. Pick the interior design studio you’d be happy to sit down with on a bad day, not just a good one.

It’s also worth reading what past clients say about us, and why it’s worth hiring a BIID registered designer.

Tell us about your project. The first conversation is free, and we can usually meet within a few days. It’s as much about us checking we’re the right studio for your project as you checking us.