Interior designer or renovation contractor?

 

What do interior designers and contractors do?

An interior designer coordinates and manages your entire renovation project from start to finish – he or she is basically a one-stop shop who will handle all of your renovation plan! The interior designer will not only be responsible for the ideation of your home design, providing floor plans and 3D renders of how your home could look, but the execution of the renovation project as well, liaising with contractors and subcontractors to bring your dream home to life. Your interior designer will be the one overseeing the project and ensuring that everything is in order.

On the other hand, a contractor usually carries out only the renovation work assigned or requested by you. In other words, you will be responsible for the ideation and design of your home and the overall project management, and the contractor will execute the job as per your wishes! Depending on your requirements, they may work with external subcontractors, to help them carry out some of the work they are responsible for. Subcontractors usually specialise in specific tasks – for instance, a contractor may engage an electrician to undertake the wiring work on his behalf.

To put it simply, an interior designer will manage the heavy load and oversee your entire renovation project, whereas a contractor will take care of the lighter load you assign to them, with you as the project manager!

 

Should I engage an interior designer or a contractor?

Some of the most important things to consider when deciding whether to engage an interior designer are budget, time, the scale of the project, and your personal experience in space planning.

 

1. Budget

For most of us, our renovation decisions are centred around our budget. Setting aside a renovation budget is the first and most crucial step in our renovation journey.

Hiring an interior designer comes with a significantly higher price tag – but it also means a lot less time and trouble required of you, and much lower chances of renovation regrets! Interior designers can provide you with detailed, well-thought-out design plans based on your requirements and the specifications of your new home.

 

Contractors, on the other hand, are much less expensive to hire. However, most contractors will only act upon the instructions you have provided to them – you are in charge of the planning, the supervision, and overall management of your project. This also means that you are responsible for, and must be ready to deal with, any problems and issues which arise during the renovation process!

 

2. Time

How much time can you invest in your home renovation project? Many underestimate the strain and time needed to oversee an entire renovation project. For those who do not have the luxury of time to spend on planning the layout, liaising with contractors, supervising subcontractors at work, and being ready around the clock to answer the many questions which subcontractors may have, an interior designer (or, at least, a very good general contractor) would be a huge help.

If you have a clear idea of what you want your new home to be like, or are working on a tight budget, hiring a contractor will be much more affordable. Moreover, a good contractor can help you shoulder some of the project management responsibilities!

 

3. Scale of project

Are you planning a complete facelift of your home, or focusing the renovations only in one part of the house? If you are renovating only a small part of your house, or don’t plan to significantly change your overall layout, it would be better to seek a contractor – the project would be a much easier one for you to personally undertake, and engaging a contractor would be more cost-effective.

However, if you are planning very significant changes  – such as hacking down walls – do seek the advice of an interior designer, who will have valuable insight on whether it is wise to do so, and can shoulder the load of the time and planning needed for the project.

 

4. Experience in space planning

First-time homeowners who do not have much knowledge or experience in layout planning and design should try to seek professional advice from interior designers. That is because the interior designers have more knowledge on, for instance, design specifications (e.g. the height of cupboards and doors), the appropriate material for installations in each part of the house (e.g. the flooring to use for bathrooms), or insights on what needs replacing in your new place. Interior designers can help you maximise every inch of the space in your home, while ensuring that it remains aesthetically pleasing to the eye and spacious-looking!

 

The bottom line? If budget is an issue, or if you would like to direct the design of your home, opt for a contractor. A capable contractor can even help you in project management, saving you the time, money and trouble. However, if you are planning a complete overhaul of your home, or do not have the time to dedicate on project management, hiring an interior designer would be greatly beneficial in ensuring that your renovation project goes smoothly.