What services does an interior designer provide?
Wikipedia describes interior design as “the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. And an interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such enhancement projects.” So, by the above definition, we get a slight idea about what services does an interior designer provides. He/she is a professional who plans and offers design solutions for both residential and commercial spaces.
While some interior designers only provide the design idea and planned layouts to the client along with working drawings and 3D renders, others not only provide the designs but also help source out the furnishings and the materials to be used on the project. Some designers even handle the plumbing and electrical services and supervise the entire process till the work is fully completed.
When we talk about designing interiors, people tend to get confused between hiring an interior designer or an interior decorator as they think these two professions are exactly the same. But that isn’t the case. An interior designer is a trained professional who has studied the art of designing and planning functional spaces while an interior decorator is a person who helps furnish or adorn a space with nice things. A professional interior designer can also decorate, but an interior decorator cannot or does not have the expertise to design or plan spaces.
An interior designer works with plans or blueprints to design a certain space. They feature a college education and most of them also have a post-graduate degree in interior design as well. They help to plan the interior part of a building from a structural point of view. A designer plans the layout of the space inside the building in a way that benefits the client to the maximum. Interior designers not only plan residential spaces but also, spaces such as banks, offices, museums, malls, shops, etc. This is why interior designers must have a formal education because they must know the details regarding building codes, material studies, taking out blueprints, and other parts of designing. He/she must identify the client’s needs. and their aesthetical view An interior decorator, however, does not necessarily require a college education or any such training as a decorator does not in any way plan the structure of a building. They provide their opinions on color schemes, types of furniture, or any other ornamental setting inside the space.
Now, since we have a brief idea of what an interior designer actually does, let’s go into a little detail about what services an interior designer provides. Since he/she is a trained professional, there are a variety of services that they have to offer and some of them are as follows:
Planning/ Layout
The first thing an interior designer does after getting a project is to plan and make layouts of the space keeping in view the client’s needs and demands. Making a layout means arranging the space inside a building in the best way possible which is beneficial to the client. Floor plans, Elevations, and Sections are made for the building which gives the client a proper idea of how his/her place would turn out. These layouts are at first done in 2D formats and later developed into 3D formats with proper renderings.
Furniture Layout
Furniture planning is done after the floor plans are ready. An interior designer comes up with the best possible furniture layout for the client’s space which maximizes the usability of the room space.
Custom Designing
When a certain piece of furniture does not do justice to space, an interior designer sometimes designs the said furniture for the client. The furniture could be anything, a sofa, cabinets, or a simple chair. The designer helps the client to see their space differently, which wouldn’t be possible if the client had designed the space himself.
Kitchen Design
A kitchen is something that is the most tricky part of a building. An interior designer makes sure all the elements in their client’s kitchen are in perfect position and comes up with the most useful kitchen layout. A kitchen layout includes every detail including the cabinets, the chimney position to the plumbing detail.
Bathroom Layout
Similar to the kitchen, an interior designer helps to plan the bathroom in a way that does not hamper the water flow and helps to keep the dry area separated from the wet area. The plumbing and the fixtures used in the bathroom are also looked over by the designer.
Renovation
An interior designer not only helps plan spaces that are newly being made but also helps in redesigning old spaces and giving them a completely new and improved look if the client demands it. There are certain clients who want to renovate their houses but want to restore the old essence of the space. This can be done by hiring an Interior designer as well, as their job is to deliver what the client wants to build or create.
Lighting
Interior designers also look into the lighting of a space. They help to develop a layout that suits a building to the maximum while keeping energy conservation in mind. A designer can properly calculate how much lighting a certain room requires and hence can decide what kind of lighting would suit the building.
Designs for the Physically Challenged: Interior designers also come up with designs that can cater to the needs of physically challenged people. As the needs of such people are very different from ours, the designers help to come up with the best possible layout for the ease of such people.
The list goes on and on regarding the services that an interior designer provides. Some designers manage entire projects from start to finish which includes working closely with vendors and installers just to make sure that the design is done properly without any delay. They also, sometimes, go to the markets themselves to fish out certain products that they think would suit the aesthetic of the client and in turn would complement the space even more.
