INSIGHTS
Why Work with a Qualified Interior Designer?
Why should you consider hiring a qualified interior designer for your next home or commercial renovation project?
Aside from the construction elements of a designed-to-construct project, many home and business owners are lodged in a great debate of deciding between doing-it-yourself or spending the money and hiring professionals. Most home and business owners are stuck in this loop without knowing how to determine the values because the architecture and design industry is all over the map with advice and costs.
At Articulated, we understand that professional design services are an investment and, with interior design fees typically costing around 10% additional above the projects budget, and we may even be out-priced for the average Canadian home and business owner before we are hired. But there is a bigger question that needs to be answered: is it actually worth it to hire an interior designer?
Truth Bomb
The big (not-so shocking) secret is that Architectural Digest isn’t coming to your house.
If you speak with Corey, they will freely admit being a fan of the television show Trading Spaces on TLC back in the 90’s. Early on, there were a few other interior design and decorating television shows with notable designer-lebrities Kimberley Seldon, Sarah Richardson, and Debbie Travis and, through each of them, we learned about the design process, creativity, and problem solving. And then there is Hometime with JoJo Lieberman (whom I had the privilege of working with once) and This Old House on PBS — both fabulous television shows that really peeled back the layers of what home renovation and design projects actually looked like.
But the design TV and reality shows of today are nothing like the educational foundations of two or three decades ago.
These shows are now sensationalist and often full of misinformation. On the whole, they do not support or help homeowners understand the education and skills that a real project takes to be implemented and only inspire — often without a detailed and technical eye in the face of production. But the biggest complaint? Home and garden TV show budgets are underestimated and many of their costs are hidden by something called “promotional sponsorship”.
Not only is this an illusion, it devalues the reality of what it truly takes to undertake an interior design project.
what is interior design?
The real question you’re asking is “What can a qualified interior designer actually do for me?”
Hiring qualified and professional interior designer will:
1. Save you time by working on your project
Instead of you trying to plan the project yourself, use your personal time and hunt for product selections, working with consultants, and overall planning, hiring a qualified interior designer absolutely saves time, if not your sanity.
The average room has a minimum of 400 decisions to make, multiply that by the number of rooms you’re considering. Will you have the extra time to take away from weekday working hours and personal activities to speak with vendors, suppliers, tradespersons and contractors and then make hundreds of decisions? Making changes on paper is cheaper than changing it after it’s built.
2. Save you money by preventing you from making costly mistakes.
A fun fact about interior design is that not all products and materials work well together. They’re just not designed that way by other manufacturers because no one talks to each other.
Interior designers are qualified by at least 2 years of full-time post-secondary education where they learn about building construction, building systems, finishes, fixtures, and equipment, furnishings and window treatments, and (most importantly) the design process. They learn about not making mistakes because fitting finishes and materials together with what you might be envisioning is complex — in fact, this is the most common issue you’ll face when doing it alone.
3. Make sure the areas you want to design are safe and healthy.
Building codes are constantly changing and so are products and materials through innovation. Have you read the building codes lately? They are only becoming more complex, more restrictive, and more focused on your health because we spend at least 80% of our time indoors. It’s more than preventing mold, toxic off gassing of chemicals in materials, avoiding known carcinogens, and ensuring that your burnt cooking doesn’t make someone else ill. These are all some of the contributors to something called “sick building syndrome” and it’s far more complicated than you think!
Definition of Interior Design
“Interior design is a distinct profession with specialized knowledge applied to the planning and design of interior environments that promote health, safety, and welfare while supporting and enhancing the human experience.” — Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)
Role DELINEATION study
Who does what (or who’s responsible for what) in the the architecture and design industry.
What an Architect does:
Responsible for the built environment:
Jurisdictional zoning requirements
Applying building codes
Building shape and form
Building location on the property
Building envelope (moisture, doors, windows)
Building performance (energy use)
Building vernacular
Building means of egress (evacuation)
Building systems (HVAC, fire-safety)
Amenities on the property (pool, garage)
Public safety
Feasibility
Construction drawings & building elevations
Building specifications
What an Interior Designer does:
Responsible for the interior environment:
Applying building codes
Interior zoning and adjacencies
Interior circulation
Space planning and activity analysis
Accessible design
Human comfort and life-safety
Interior partitions (non-loadbearing/seismic)
Interior detailing (mouldings, doors, registers)
Indoor air quality (smells, outgassing)
Acoustics
Kitchen and bathroom design
Cabinet design and custom millwork
Equipment integration (appliances, steam shower)
Plumbing fixtures and fittings
Lighting fixtures and switching
Interior finishes and performance (paint, wood)
Building system conflicts with interior details
Consult with engineers (mechanical, structure)
Construction drawings & interior elevations
Interior specifications
Plus everything a Decorator does
What a Decorator does:
Responsible for furniture and adornment
Furnishings selection
Fabrics and textile selection
Custom upholstery
Wall treatments (paint, wallpaper)
Window treatments
Blinds
Accessories (pillows, rugs)
Artwork
Antiques
Furniture installation
Myths & Objections
Why you’re probably not hiring a qualified interior designer to work with.
When we interview each other during a discovery call, there are many learnings that both the potential client and the designer will uncover. Yes, we often discuss the “feeling” or the project goals that that want to be achieved, but far too often we spend an incredible amount of time overcoming a home or business owners trepidations about the risks when interviewing us as their interior designer — and these problems are becoming more common.
OBJECTION #1
Why would an interior designer make the design “better”?
Hiring a professional interior designer is the single best insurance policy for home and business owners because designers prevent owners from making costly errors and mistakes. The fact of the matter is that as society progresses, so do the complexities required to adequately design and construct an interior or building envelope.
Let’s look at the costs of a “stop work order”, for example.
A stop work order is a legal process issued by a jurisdiction that does what it says: it suspends all construction work on a project site from occurring under the penalty of fines, or worse, imprisonment. It is a legal mechanism applied by jurisdictions to ensure that the quality of the construction and installation work being completed on a project site is code-compliant. It also requires the submission of a building permit application (including construction drawings, engineering, or even an Architect).
During the building permit application process, there are thousands of building codes, fire ratings, finish durability tests, and safety issues to not just consider, but one must have intimate knowledge of how they are applied to each interior environment. The average As specialists in their field, interior designers are not only responsible for applying code-compliant designs, but for also for ongoing training and education.
Planning a project right from the first time prevents costly mistakes.
OBJECTION #2
Why would an interior designer save me time?
We dug into our data, and the average number of hours that it takes to design a project is a MINIMUM of 200 hours. Considering the average homeowner has about 4 hours per week to work on a project, that means it will take each a MINIMUM of 50 weeks, or a whole year, to design. When we compare this with a commercial project, it would mean owners have to step out of their businesses for a MINIMUM of 8 weeks full-time. Interior design projects do not run that way, but we think this illustrates the point.
On average, there are over 400 decisions to make per designed space, meaning for a 2 bedroom condo with 1 bath that equals +3,000 decisions. There are the things you see like colours, finishes, lighting, plumbing fixtures, and decorative lighting, but there are also the things you do not see that are more important like ventiatlion, life-safety systems, and electrical outlets, for example. It’s not surprising that a qualified and professional interior designer already understands that not everything will work well together.
OBJECTION #3
Won’t an interior designer only make it more complicated?
Home and business owners are not interior designers, architectural designers, or even contractors. Why they may be savvy and have skills, perhaps the owner even enjoys doing drywall boarding and taping work (for example), the bigger problem is that you don’t know what you don’t know. This can lead to something we call “decision paralysis”, causing a mental block between knowing how to get from the unfinished space to the finished space.
Undeniably, this can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety for home and business owners when they are already busy working full-time, managing families and personal hobbies, or even volunteering in community service projects. This is exactly where the costly errors and mistakes occur.
The Design Team at Articulated are not only well-educated and certified, but they have also completed over 400 different projects ranging in size and scope. Our experience is tremendously valuable to home and business owners because we have hundreds of industry contacts and the knowledge to execute the details quicker.
QUALIFYING a QUESTIONS
What to look for in the the best Interior Design company that you want to work with?
You’ve now decided that you need to hire a professional designer for your project, so what’s next?
Well, you will likely end up in a rats nest of internet searches, reading review, and looking at project portfolios online only to end up with too many choices and options and making you nervous about what to do. Maybe you even made a spreadsheet to track interior design firms or even became entrapped in their beautiful social media posts.
At Articulated, we want to help you make the best choices for you so we have compiled a list of the most common additional factors and considerations when searching for the best interior designer for you.
1. Be critical of heavy advertisers who might otherwise appear qualified
Speaking with over a decade in business, we know that not every interior designer will make it big.
Many third-party websites, like Houzz and Bark, offer something called “authority for a fee” with absolutely no research or background checks into the designer’s qualifications, business license, or insurance. Reaching for high-spot advertising with misleading claims often means that any authority falls short of the minimum industry requirements and we believe that this is an utterly frightening position for any home or business owner. We even wrote an article about this topic you can read here.
Just like everything else you see and read online, you should be critical about what you’re reading and check your gut-feeling about someone through an interview rather than falling into a trap.
2. Check insurance coverage and business licenses
Insurance and business licenses, workers compensation, etc. all exist for very valid reasons. For example, if a designer enters your home, does not have workers compensation, and then falls and injures themselves on your property, you are liable.
In British Columbia (and this isn’t always the case across Canada), there are no regulations or minimum requirements for someone to open an interior design company and begin working with clients. Important factors that affect other regulated industries, such as the practice of architecture or law, are not unilaterally applied to the interior design industry. Many consumers are vastly unprotected from the under-qualified and unfit. This is dangerous.
Validating a minimum level of errors & omissions insurance and commercial general liability insurance, registration with the CRA, plus having a valid business license are all requirements that home and business owners should be asking before interviewing any firm or individual. We would be happy to provide you with proof and copies of these documents after our Discovery Call.
3. Seek accredited and certified design professionals
It is likely that you landed here with an attempt to pre-qualify Articulated Design Studio as one of the best interior design companies in Vancouver, BC through a website search. But there is no greater reason to seek out an accredited or qualified design professional because it is the best type of insurance policy you can have. A set of professional standards already exist to help you distinguish a qualified interior designer from the under- or unqualified.
At Articulated, we value the professional and practice standards of qualified interior designers established by top three industry accreditations for interior design professionals:
We can confirm that our Creative Director, Corey Klassen, has successfully passed all these rigorous and challenging industry-required examinations and has the educational qualifications to hold both titles of “NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer” and “Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer”, and is active interior design professor at LaSalle College Vancouver in the Bachelor of Applied Design in Interior Design program — so, it is our belief that you are already in the right spot to end your search right now.
why US
Why Hire Articulated Design Studio as Your Interior Designer?
Completing an interior design project with Articulated can be an incredible experience for those looking to redesign their home or workspace, or starting new. Our team works with the goal of creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing space that meets your specific. From the initial consultation to the final reveal, Articulated will work closely with you to understand your preferences, style, and vision.
We practice responsible design: We will take into account the surrounding environment, your budget, and the available space to create a cohesive design that will elevate the space beyond your wildest dreams.
Receive a detailed fee proposal: Our design proposal breaks down the steps of our design process for you. We will identify the challenges to watch for and develop a working project budget that gets us started.
We believe in clear communication: You receive complementary access to your Client Portal and the smartphone app. Keep in touch with us on the go—we want to make communicating with us easy.
Our process is transparent: Inside your Client Studio Portal, you will find our standard operating procedures for every design situation, along with specific project management resources.
We offer flexible billing: We offer you a choice between an hourly billing method based on approximated hours or a flat-fee method paid in a cadence of milestones. We determine the best method together.
We will save you time and money: Throughout the design process, we offer guidance on materials, colour schemes, and even furniture selection, allowing you to create a truly customized space that is unique to you. In the end, with our help, you can transform your space into a beautiful, functional, and inspiring environment that you'll love spending time in.
From the initial consultation to the final reveal, Articulated will work closely with you to understand your preferences, style, and vision.
TOP INNOVATOR BY KITCHEN & BATH DESIGN NEWS
Corey Klassen
Principal & Creative Director
Award-Winning Interior Designer
idibc registered interior designer (rid)
Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer (cmkbd)
NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer
Corey found their passion for interior design early in life, but didn’t quite know the difference between “architecture” and “interior design”. It was through a side-step in classical fine-arts studies and into production design that they uncovered real interior design. With much dedication, local chapter-level leadership, faculty positions in post-secondary education and multiple international interior design awards has culminated into incredible leadership at Articulated Design Studio since 2011, beginning as Corey Klassen Interior Design.
Corey is inspired by their clients connections to memorable life moments, passionate careers, and their own roots from a honest and authentic farming community, generations of builders, and creative makers. Blending these elements together in new and exciting ways brings Corey’s true passion to life through interior design.