Today, the stability of American interior design companies is being
disintegrated due to the growth and media exposure of all-inclusive home improvement corporations. Corporations
such as: Home Depot, Lowes, Ikea,
Thomasville, Bassett, Ethan Allen, etc.
These BIG companies all have one big thing in common: “Free” design service. As I clarified in my past article "Free Design Service... Is it really free?" these services do in fact come at a price. What price? The “price” comes in
the form of an up-charge on the product that you are obligated to buy from a
given company. That up-charge goes
towards a number of things--first and foremost, the salary or commission of the
“free” designers. Here’s a reality
check: nothing is free. Designers don’t really walk into someone’s
store and offer to give away their expert design skills. No.
They are hired by these companies, and most of the time, earn a
commission based on how much they sell the client’s that walk in. When you enter a showroom and collaborate with a "free designer" for things such as kitchen and bath design and decorating, those “designers”
are not supposed to let you walk out the door without writing a check. They are not supposed to give you copies of
floor plans with pricing so that you can go compare with all their
competition. This also applies to companies that offer "Free in-home consultations". They bring the showroom INTO your home, but the object is exactly the same for the "designer"---get the sale, no matter what.
In the case of “interior design firms” or independent interior
designers, you are not obligated to purchase anything, other than their time
spent with you. There are no strings
attached. You are free to do all the
price shopping you desire with the information they have provided you. Qualified interior designers are not supposed
to pressure you into doing one thing or another. Their job is to guide you in the appropriate
direction, and share their design expertise as it applies to your project. You
have the option of hiring a designer to make all the decisions, but most
clients choose to be a bit more involved in the design process. Interior designers do not recommend layouts
and materials based on how much money it will make them (at least I don’t). They recommend things based on what is
actually right for you. If you want to
spend only $15,000 on your kitchen remodel instead of $70,000, they will
accommodate you, showing you the best way to utilize your budget.
In my commission sales experience I absolutely loathed the
game of “What is your budget?” with the reply of “Well I don’t really have a
budget, because I don’t know what this sort of thing costs”. I would get this response with every other
client I helped. Everyone has a
budget. It might be two dollars, it
might be two million. It doesn’t
matter. EVERYONE has an amount that they
feel comfortable spending on a given project.
Consumers need to ask themselves, what are they comfortable spending, or
rather, what are they NOT comfortable spending?
In the case of hiring an interior designer (which should
always come first, before any vendors or contractors get involved), you receive
information such as what sort of pricing to expect on different things in your
home. How should you distribute your
budget to reach your goal? You can get
clarification on these details without any sort of obligation aside from
compensating that designer for their time.
Qualified interior designers are paid to be knowledgeable and well connected
in the industry. As bold as it may
sound, interior designers must ALWAYS come first when you are considering
starting a project. They give you
unbiased information to help you choose the right path. There are no strings attached. You may choose to hire the designer as a
project manager to make sure all the correct choices are made, or you may
choose to simply consult with them prior to the project. It makes no difference to the designer,
because they are being compensated for their time. Homeowners need to use that to their
advantage. What is a $150 design
consultation against $20,000 in mistakes because they jumped in headfirst? A very small price to pay.
Still, the fact remains that large corporations such as Home
Depot are taking over the design industry. Why?
Because they are CHEAP… or at least they seem cheap at first. Sure, Home Depot and IKEA offer you cheap
cabinets and tile, but at what cost?
What do very cheap products all seem to have in common? Overseas manufacturing! Ironically, homeowners that are facing
financial difficulties are directly involved in sending business overseas by
pursuing the cheap methods of home improvement.
Many homeowners walk into showrooms asking one major question: “Where are these made?” It is
great that Americans are acknowledging the need to support small local
businesses, but sadly the majority of citizens do not rank saving American jobs
over saving cash to renovate their kitchen.
Generally speaking, it is true that not everyone can afford
to hire an interior designer to consult with them about their home. However, when a homeowner is considering
starting large projects such as kitchen/bath renovations, as millions are, they
NEED to make a small investment in consulting with a professional and qualified
interior designer. Not for color advice,
not for decorating advice, but for budget and project management! Whatever you spend on design services can
likely be balanced out by the amount of money you SAVE by not making unwise
design choices and investments.
Next week I will be posting an article clarifying what I
mean when I say “unwise investments”. In
the meantime, if you are considering a large home improvement project, be smart and call for a “professional“ design consultation (not a
“free” design consultation). Call me to help improve your home and protect
your pocketbook today! 925-895-1336
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| This kitchen is packed with poor investments. Don't let this happen to you! Call for a professional "no strings attached" design consultation! 925-895-1336 |
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