Bathroom designer

[CookieDoughKid]

Hello, I'm considering selling my skills for interior design. I've been working with a great team of tradesmen on two of my own bathroom renovation projects and I've built up an excellent and reliable book of tradesmen. I've also finished a dining room project with custom wallpaper for a period house. I believe I have the project management skills and design flair to bring a cohesive installation for customers but unsure there is a market for this. In short, would you pay a designer to outsource design and installation or would you see it not worth paying for? I am thinking about bathrooms costing in excess of £10k upwards (excluding tradesmen) and for time poor professionals. I'm based in the East Midlands.

No. I’ve just project managed the complete renovation (from knocking parts and rebuilding, rewiring and replumbing, to decoration) of our large Victorian house, and I don’t think this would in any way qualify me to do it for other people.

I don’t think having a list of reliable, good trades is much of an advantage, either, if (as the good ones tend to), they are fully booked for a year ahead and you have clients who have hired you for a job next month. I have an excellent cabinetmaker in at the moment installing cupboards and a pantry, and I booked him last February — in fact he wasn’t due to come till October, but managed to squeeze me in between jobs.

Anyway, the design is the fun part! Even if you’re time-poor (and I am, FT job, young child etc)…

And bathrooms are easy, comparatively, don’t you think?

Yes, there's a huge market (at least where I am in London). We used this service in our previous home and it was great. We're struggling to find anyone with capacity to do a similar job in our new house as they're all so booked up.

I wouldn't pay for a designer because I need the skilled trades input as to how things may or may not work. I recently had a plumber for a new bathroom and it involved removal of bath, relocation of shower, extraction fan etc. I needed the plumber who know what will happen when he removes X to tell me if Y can be put over there or if it had to remain close to the location of X.

Also I'm autistic and I need to have the job explained to me as to how we get from A to B.

Thanks very much for your replies. I agree bathrooms are easy if you know what you are doing. I’ve sourced a great team who work frequently together, and they are only booked up 2 to 3 months ahead. I think there is scope to add flair and a real design touch, I love period style homes especially. The target customer would be a time poor and one who needs help pulling a cohesive design, fixed price and fixed installation (best effort basis). Agree the design is the fun part but I think a lot of people don’t actually do bathrooms all that well from what I’ve seen. Yes it’s functional but hardly inspiring.

@mynameiscalypso would you mind disclosing how your designer charged their fees? Was it a percentage, what swayed you working with him/her?

@coreas a competent designer and project manager would be able to organise and explain all this to the client.