Hiring A Designer?
Koontz-Jodi dealt well with both the history and the pros and cons of designers verse design/build as an in-house concept. So I will take this another step forward and talk about why you need a designer at all.
Just as everyone thinks they can paint a room, client's often assume they know best about what they actually need and want regarding a remodel project. The truth though is that a homeowner may go through one, two maybe three remodels in their lifetime. A designer spends their entire day, everyday, on these projects and they are trained in seeing what doesn't yet exist. That experience makes a difference. A designer's best assest to the client is to determine the client's wants and needs and the options for getting them.
Having said that, let me back-up a step. Because I am in the design/build field myself, it's my belief that hiring a certified designer is not as important as hiring a designer who will work towards your goals and maintain the integrity of your existing structure as much as possible. So the third asset of your designer, and arguabley the most important, is to keep you from making mistakes in your design.
In our locale for instance, a current fashion is to apply faux stone to the exterior of houses. Although it started with new structures, it has quickly moved into older neighborhoods where people apparently feel it gives their home an updated look. A good designer could have told these client's that updating a home like this in an established neighborhood just makes the house look like an outsider.
You don't hire a designer based on their price, or even their qualifications necessarily, you hire a designer based on their understanding of you and your home. Designers should be paying attention to what you want, what you need and what you have. Don't trust the person who enters your home with a design based on anything else.
Just as everyone thinks they can paint a room, client's often assume they know best about what they actually need and want regarding a remodel project. The truth though is that a homeowner may go through one, two maybe three remodels in their lifetime. A designer spends their entire day, everyday, on these projects and they are trained in seeing what doesn't yet exist. That experience makes a difference. A designer's best assest to the client is to determine the client's wants and needs and the options for getting them.
Having said that, let me back-up a step. Because I am in the design/build field myself, it's my belief that hiring a certified designer is not as important as hiring a designer who will work towards your goals and maintain the integrity of your existing structure as much as possible. So the third asset of your designer, and arguabley the most important, is to keep you from making mistakes in your design.
In our locale for instance, a current fashion is to apply faux stone to the exterior of houses. Although it started with new structures, it has quickly moved into older neighborhoods where people apparently feel it gives their home an updated look. A good designer could have told these client's that updating a home like this in an established neighborhood just makes the house look like an outsider.
You don't hire a designer based on their price, or even their qualifications necessarily, you hire a designer based on their understanding of you and your home. Designers should be paying attention to what you want, what you need and what you have. Don't trust the person who enters your home with a design based on anything else.
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