Do I need an "interior designer"? how does one find one? Or can MN help me?

[inneedofinspiration]

So have been living here for nearly 2 years.
Have done some essential structural stuff but still the whole house looks UNFINISHED.
Previously I think I would have been rahter sceptical of anyone who wanted to consult an interior designer as not having their own ideas but am really coming up against a blank here.

Hardly any pics on the walls - need to source and find mirrors too.

All the interior designers I seem to find (quick google nothing major!) talk mostly about soft furnishing and I do need to find some curtains and blinds for a couple of windows but that's not the bigger problem.

There is NO real inbuilt storage in this house - something we somehow overlooked when we viewed it as we were being wooed by its period charm and not realising that the rooms are q small and far away from each other.

Two fullsize cupboards either side of the fireplace which have doors on them where all my books are hidden away and it's a real pita to get them out.

Have a supposedly adult only sitting room [hahaha] and wonder whether it would be better to put a new telly in the playroom to keep the sitting room tidy

Converted the formal dining room to a playroom but still struggling to keep the toys in one place.

Need to tile one of the hearths of a fireplace and properly draught proof it as we don't use it.

Have somehow been dumped with an old sofa from ILs
Sorry this is a bit of a brain dump really.

What I'm really looking for is for somoene to come in and say - you could put x there - that would solve y problem and I know just the tradesman to do it for you.
DOES SUCH A PERSON EXIST AND HOW PRICEY ARE THEY?
Thanks for reading thus far.

OK, I am really, really, really into interior design, have tonnes of mags and files of clippings and work in property but nonetheless I would still use an interior designer for lots of things if I could. It's not so much that you/I lack style, it's just about someone who does this day in day out and knows how to solve problems technically as well as aesthetically.

Whatever you do, don't give them a free reign though! Get someone who charges by the hour and make it clear that they can't use your house for any promotional material. (That's not you being unreasonable, it's to ensure you get your taste not theirs.)

Don't be fooled into thinking they are going to be really expensive. Sure, Kelly Hoppen is going to be pricey but their are a tonne of interior designers and not that much work to go around. If they are happy to loan you their trade discount for things like fabrics then it might be that they cover the cost of themselves. Offer them a good professional hourly rate and I'm sure you'd have plenty of takers. (Go shopping with them but buy anything yourself to avoid mark-up.) You might not get someone who's taste matches yours exactly but what you'll get is someone prepared to talk at length about different sizes of shelving for your room and that maybe justification enough for you.

That said, it sounds as though Mumsnetters might make some serious headway into your worries. Some of this is more organisation stuff (not my strong point) rather than interiors.

Lemondifficult - thanks for your reply !
Very helpful indeed.
As you work in property do you have any advice on finding one?

I am a great "copier". I know my limitations and that I don't always know what goes with what so I might look at Next/Ikea/John Lewis/Marks mock ups and then just copy what I like.

top tip, jollydiane. i empathise OP, i have the same "don't know where to start" with my house.

i'm not entirely sure i trust my own taste but i do hate the thought of getting someone else to decide what's "me".

Yes jollydiane
Am rather peeved that my idea from 4 years ago of lovely turquoise is now everywhere
But lemon has put my needs into much better words - it's the technical problem solving that I need help with as much as the F&B paint matching my O&L fabrics.

And yes that's another thing - I don't want to put everything into someone else's hands but I do want some advice on -e.g. have you thought about a sideboard on this wall
Or I know a bloke who could build you some brilliant shelving to go there and then you could mount a telly next to it and ta-da

Fuck it, not sure I need a designer!
ANyone got a magic wand?

I do a bit of interior design/deco work and often help with the sort of things you mention.
I charge by the hour and pass on trade discounts.
I do think that getting help with your interior can make a huge difference, its also nice to be able to off-load some of the responsibility onto someone else!

Can you ask around to find names of local people? Or ask in local interior shops?

inneedof - I live in a Victorian terraced house. Is this the sort of thing you have?

If it is - just recently we had a floor to ceiling book case built on the landing. The wall opposite the bathroom door at the top of the first flight of stairs, iyswim.

We have put all our books on it, including the children's books, and it has greatly improved the clutter quota downstairs.

Do you have any architect friends? Or know an architect? They will know room shapes/sizes/lighting and be able to help with that. They also know tradesmen to recommend or be able to design you made to fit furniture - not nearly as expensive as you are probably imagining and often really worth it. There are quite a lot of underemployed architects around at the moment and they do have a lot of training in this stuff.

Btw, the big bookcase on stairs idea of Bibbity's is a really good one - tidy and I walls of books always look great.

(Are you local to Edinburgh? If so I can be more specific help!)

Just finished ID course.....(bugger all use to be honest!).....best bit of practical advice I can give you is to do one room at a time....you sound really overwhelmed...... so just tackle one small room first .....get it finished....then move onto next......am going to get flamed by lots of professionals (they will talk about overall themes, storage strategies but if you've got kids you need as much storage as possible and you'll probably have any idea of your look you want). I have been in exactly same boat as you and its working for me after 3 years of dithering......good luck!!.....

Just read LemonDifficults advice and I think I may disagree with a specfic point....if you use an ID (certainly in the country I live in; Sunny South Africa) ID's get significant discounts at retailers (to encourage them to drag their clients to a specific shop) and they often pass on some or all of the discount on to clients.....so its usually cheaper to buy retail products through them.

If you use an ID talk to them how it works. They will tell you.

Oh, and in the back of Homes & Gardens and all those type of magazines are small ads for fabric wholesalers.....often at 50% of retail prices. If there is something specific you want, check them out as big savings there.

If you discover the holy Grail of storage please let me know, am in just the same boat as you!