Has anyone ever used an interior designer?

[Chickenpie1]

Hi, my friends all have beautiful amazing houses and my house is a boxy new build with no character and I have no idea what to do to make it more stylish, we currently still have the original magnolia in most of the rooms!

My husband and I work full time and have two dcs with hobbies that consume most of the weekends so will need to get decorators to do the work for us. Just wondered if anyone had used this and found it helpful or if I would be wasting my money! Thanks

Bump

Hi OP. I haven’t, but I’m thinking about using the John Lewis design service. Do you want your whole house done?

I hadn't heard of that, I will have a look now! I want most of the house done except the children's rooms and the lounge, which were the only ones I managed to do before I went back to work full time!! What are you looking to get done?

We used an interior designer for the downstairs a couple of years ago. Worth every penny. She came up with ideas I would never have thought of and gave me the confidence to go with something out of my comfort zone and we absolutely love it! It was really fun.

I went to a local shop that made curtains etc. She did come to look at the house but it wasn’t really like an interior design service. Because I was buying the curtains there ,which they made , she suggested a few schemes including wallpaper and paint colours ( to go with the curtains ) I was in a new build too.
This meant that I have a few rooms that look great - with wallpaper and colourings I would never have time to find. Some of the things she “ sold “ to me and they are not really my taste.
Can you find somewhere like this but be careful that you get something that is definitely your taste and not the “ designers “

I know that interior designers can be amazing and actually save you money in the long run (due to a previous job I was in). But if you are concerned that you can't get one for budget reasons, you could make your own mood boards from interiors magazines and boutique hotel websites and then replicate the rooms completely.
I have found these stores to be good for decorative items, lighting and soft furnishings:

Cult Furniture
Trouva
Zara Home
H&M Home
Ocean Lighting
Ochre
Maison du Monde
Royaldesign.co.uk
West Elm
Made.com

A lot of interior designers use Coach House, but you need a trade account and minimal spend.

I want to do our long-ish lounge (with awkward alcoves) and bedroom done. The thing with the John Lewis service is that the price can be used against items you purchase.

The Great Indoors podcast has some really good hints and tips. You wouldn't think a podcast would be the greatest format for a show about design but it works very well.

Wow thank you all for your thoughts and ideas. Lots to think about. 'Y husband thinks it's a great idea (as he is clueless) so I'm definitely going to meet with some designers and get some quotes