As the end of the year continues to approach, you may find yourself looking for creative new ways to redesign your home. With a new home design project, you can immediately add utility to the place that you live while also potentially increasing your home’s market value.
Whether the project you have in mind is relatively small or large, one of the most important things you will need to do is find an interior designer that can effectively meet your needs. If you live in a city such as Aspen, Colorado, then you will surely be aware that there are many different design firms to choose from, and each of these firms may have an entirely different approach to interior design.
Fortunately, you are not without quality options. Most of these firms are highly qualified and, in the end, the one that will be most helpful for your project will largely depend on your personal preferences.
In this article, we will talk about the most important things to look for when comparing Aspen interior design firms and how you can ultimately decide which design team will be best for you. By taking the time to do your research and compare the many different options you have available, you will be one step closer to completing the home improvement project of your dreams.
1. Examples of Previous Projects
Naturally, most Aspen interior design firms will claim that they can create the perfect home design project, but the best firms will be the ones that can actually back up these claims with evidence. If the firm has been around for a while, they will likely have many pictures of previous projects available for you to look at.
When comparing different firms, it is important to think about not only who is good, but also, who is able to effectively design to your personal tastes. As you flip through sample pictures of various different companies, you should pay attention to aesthetics, lighting, balance, furniture choices, and various other essential details.
2. Firm-Specific Design Philosophy
Though there are indeed some underlying principles that seemingly all qualified interior design firms will be familiar with, there are some additional philosophies that will vary by company. For example, while some Aspen interior design firms will specifically emphasize creating environmentally friendly spaces, others will be much more concerned with paying attention to specific aesthetic themes.
These “philosophies” will not necessarily be mutually exclusive, meaning that these firms may emphasize multiple approaches to design at once. However, taking the time to read each firm’s design philosophies—which can usually be found on their “About Us” page—will certainly be worth your while.
3. Comprehensive Services
While some Aspen interior design firms only have one specific area of emphasis (furniture upholstery, for example), there are many other organizations that will are able to offer their clients a comprehensive approach to interior design. In the long-run, this will likely save you a significant amount of money due to the fact that you can design an entire room (or even an entire home) from one convenient location.
As you shop around and compare the options you have available, it will be useful to think about everything you might need in advance. This way, you can quickly distinguish which options will be able to satisfy for your needs and which ones will have a more difficult time doing so.
4. Positive Customer Reviews
Browsing the website of each prospective interior designer is certainly a great way to get started, but there is still no doubt that each of these website’s will only illustrate the best that the particular firm has to offer. In order to get a more objective evaluation of what your experience might actually be like, reading customer reviews is certainly a great idea.
Naturally, all customer reviews should be taken with a grain of salt—especially one-star reviews, which tend to be rather dramatic. However, there is still no doubt that hearing what previous (verified) clients have to say will certainly be quite useful.
5. Areas of Expertise
Though all Aspen interior design firms will need to have some general certifications, many may have a specific area of expertise. Often times, this area of expertise will be highly related to their overarching design philosophy (for example, earning additional certifications for eco-friendly design). Having a specific area of expertise may help the firm design your home around a specific theme—this is especially important for the large portion of the Aspen population that currently has a “mountain” home.
If the websites of each potential design firm seems to be rather ambiguous, it may be worth your time to call them up and ask which components of interior design their organization excels in the most. This may also be a very useful method for learning about additional components of the interior design process that you had never even considered before.
6. Ability to Work within Your Parameters
Even if you feel that a specific interior design firm is “pressuring” you to go in a particular direction, it is important to remember that, as the customer, the most important decisions will ultimately remain in your hands. Because of this, it is crucial to search for a firm that can effectively work around any parameters that you may have.
Common work “parameters” include things such as your budget, your desire to keep certain portions of your home intact, your work schedule, your timeline, and various others. Of course, it will be important to be reasonable when negotiating with contractors. Still, having a firm that is somewhat flexible is certainly a valuable thing.
7. Willingness to Answer Your Questions
After doing all of this research, you may still find yourself a bit overwhelmed by the interior design process as a whole. In order to give yourself some peace of mind, it will usually be worth your time to ask each prospective firm a series of relevant questions.
· What is your general approach to interior design?
· Why should we choose you over other Aspen interior designers?
· What kind of value will this design project add to my home?
· Do you think you will be able to work within our proposed budget?
These are just a few of the questions that interior design firms hear every day. Taking the time to ask them will be very beneficial in the long-run.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that one of the most exciting things you can do as a homeowner is make the decision to redesign your home. However, even once this decision has been made, you will still need to do a considerable amount of research. Using these helpful guidelines will help you find the Aspen interior designer that is ultimately right for you.
