Ordering interior design: what a project includes and how to pick a designer
What a design project consists of
“Interior design” means different things to different designers. Some offer only planning and pretty 3D images. Others prepare a full working project you can renovate from: drawings of walls and partitions, electrical plans, floors, ceilings, wall elevations and a materials specification.
So the first thing to decide is whether you need a visualisation for inspiration or documentation for the builders. Price and timing depend on it. Designers often charge per square foot, but the scope of the project differs.
What to put in your request
- Property and area — flat, house, office, number of rooms.
- Project scope — planning, 3D visualisation, drawings, selection of furniture and materials.
- Rooms — the whole property or only the kitchen and living room, the bathroom.
- Style — Scandinavian, minimalist, modern classic; add examples you like.
- Way of working — online or with site visits, and who takes the measurements.
- City, timing, budget, for example a rate per sq ft.
Example: “Christchurch, a two-bedroom flat of 700 sq ft in a new building. I need a design for the kitchen and living room in Scandinavian style: planning, 3D visualisation and drawings. We work online and I will take the measurements myself. Ideally within a month, budget up to $3.52 per sq ft.”
How to compare designers and prepare for the work
Start with the portfolio: see whether the work resembles what you want and whether there are completed projects, not only images. Then compare more than the total:
- how many layout options and revisions are included in the price;
- whether you get drawings and a specification, or only visualisations;
- whether supervision of the renovation and site visits are included;
- whether they help choose furniture, tiles and lighting, and what that costs.
Collect references in advance: 5–10 photos of interiors you like and a couple you definitely do not. It saves the designer time and saves you revisions. Mention everyday things too: whether you have children or pets, how many people live there, whether you need a place to work from home. A well-thought-out project starts from daily life, not from the colour of the sofa.
How to find a designer on BlaBlaPrice
You write a request on the home page, and designers and studios reply in chat: what is included, what it costs, when they can start, often with examples of their work. Each can see where their offer stands and improve their terms, so a good deal is easier to find. Contacts stay hidden until you choose. Details are on the “How it works” page.
Common mistakes
People often order “just a design” and then find there are no drawings and the crew does not know what to do. The second mistake is ignoring the budget for execution: a beautiful project with expensive materials can exceed the renovation budget. The third is not fixing the number of revisions, so the project drags on.
When the project is ready, move on to turnkey renovation, and for individual stages see finishing work.
