HOW TO CHOOSE AN INTERIOR DESIGNER & avoid rookie mistakes

Home is important and every single person on this planet desires a beautiful home that supports their needs for comfort, connection, feeling cared for and for beauty. A home is where we live and love and it is our ultimate destination. It's where we gain our sense of peace, security, calm and balance that our inner souls, our lives, and our children's lives, need and depend on not only to function but to shape us.

But getting from point A to point B can be frustrating and difficult, especially in an age of information overload, because there is no one size fits all solution and because not all interior designer's are created equal. That's why I decided to share this information, including my "How to Select an Interior Designer Check List" and created a fun "How to Avoid Rookie Mistakes Design Quiz" at the bottom of this post. Because I want to give back to the design industry, help you steward your project well and elevate your results.

Karen Savage Design Best Of Show Interior Design Award

Often it is hard to find the right words to accurately describe our wants and needs or tell our story for something as deeply personal as home and a designer's ability to accurately interpret your vision is the key to success whether you're refreshing, refurnishing or renovating your home. Style theme assumptions and builder basic packages are predictable but will not help you communicate the specifics of your unique authenticity, personal values or guarantee you create a cohesive space where everyone feels comfortable, cared for and connected because they don't follow the correct process. And inspiration photos are not detailed enough to help you specify design details and pull it together beautifully in a way that tells your story and expresses your authenticity. That's why selecting the best interior designer is important to guarantee no surprises at the reveal. Not all interior designer's are created equal and understanding the importance of asking the right questions, listening to learn and educating the client produces the best results.

I don't follow a one size fits all interior design playbook. My specialty lies in crafting unique, beautiful design plans for every budget and aesthetic as unique as my clients - where everyone feels comfortable, cared for & connected by seamlessly blending traditional aesthetics with modern elements, resulting in timeless and beautiful spaces tailored to reflect their design aims. And my experience is that that a well thought out design plan prior to beginning any project will pave the way for an organized and successful final result.

How To Select an Interior Designer Checklist

What Makes Me Different:

My Signature Approach: After years of fielding design disaster phone calls, I've developed an organized, efficient work flow or 'team game plan' that facilitates design cohesive design decisions & guarantees my clients love their results. With thousands of options to choose from and strong design opinion voices to sift through, I know how confusing and overwhelming design projects can be. That's why I do design differently and have developed a streamlined proprietary process that Architects and other design professionals have paid me for because it efficiently and safely moves the client towards the design phase, avoids stall-outs & misunderstandings and insures client satisfaction. I gift my Signature Approach during paid Design Consultations and select Workshops.
Visualize Ideas Easily: Having a professional design plan with 2D or 3D renderings prior to beginning your project will allow you to visualize & test ideas before you invest. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, seeing is believing and visualizing hundreds of design details on the surfaces where they will live within the context of space is not for the faint of heart. Interpreting your vision into scaled, colored, artful design drawings that showcase textures, color and patterns & then tweaks the proportions and details, gives a clear sense of design, streamlines finish and material selections, enables quicker client approvals and acts as your insurance policy to ensure you get what you expect, receive apple to apple quotes, avoid unwanted surprises & live the life you're called to whether you're building, renovating or refreshing your home. In addition, working on short term design only projects via the internet allows me to help more people make the world more beautiful.
My Extensive Visual Research Library helps move clients safely & efficiently to the design phase. You don't have to spend hours in the discovery & research phase or come up with a completely original design if you start with a tried and true idea from one of my hundreds of Design Concepts from past projects and build on that. My Needs & Options Review process uses curated, perfectly paired LookBooks, Color Palettes & Design Resources to save my clients time and money and allows my them to quickly gain clarity and hone in on their priority design details & direction. Why spend time reinventing the wheel or get negotiated out of the equation if you only need to tweak a design plan that already works?
Select your Service Experience: Not everyone can afford the "luxury spa" experience of a personalized traditional interior design expert, therefore I offer "ten hour design bundles" to complete design only work others don't have time for or feel confident doing themselves.
Transparent Advice: Historically, the interior design industry has been secretive, snobby and intimidating and doing design alone is unpredictable. Add product and information overload & design myths & you have an expensive design disaster brewing - I'm here to change that. I share my knowledge freely with my clients, no matter which service experience they request to uplevel their projects.
Communicate Expectations Clearly: mind reading & miscommunications are some of the biggest mistakes people make when working with others in the trade. Interior design is a visual language that can't be interpreted accurately using only vague words. In fact, if you aren't specific with every detail, you'll get negotiated out of what you want. Is that okay with you?
Avoid Costly Mistakes: Client's hire me for my trained eye because they already know that one wrong design decision affects all others and do NOT want to fix expensive do overs based on the 'best guess'. Instead, they want to be heard and then led beyond pretty & personal preferences while making selections and being provided with creative solutions based on my creative vision for their space.
My Tailored solutions: I take the time to understand my client's story - unique values, memories, aims and priorities before tailoring every design & crafting it to align with their unique authenticity.
I'm Approachable: If you feel intimidated about working with an interior designer, I completely understand. Asking an expert for design help can be difficult. I've been helping others live beautifully in their homes off and on for over 20 years. In addition, I am the highest reviewed interior designer in the area for customer service according to Houzz Surveys.
My Unique & Unlimited Vendor Resources: I have hundreds of resources for unique items you won't see everywhere else. I travel each year to trade shows to acquire new knowledge, inspiration and resources! Having access to hundreds of unique vendors that span a wide range of price points gives me the ability of creating a more custom look at various price points. Simply put, this huge selection of products gives my clients the greatest freedom and resources to tell their own unique stories within any budget..
Quality Craftsmanship: I partner with skilled artisans locally, nationally and abroad, to ensure every detail reflects the highest level of artistry, excellence and personalization.
Confidently make cohesive design decisions. I act as your design advocate to help you avoid typical, expensive interior design mistakes so that you love the outcome and sleep well at night. Do it right and within your budget the first time without stressing & guessing so you can enjoy your weekends with family not sitting in a showroom for hours trying to figure it out in a vacuum or with someone without the time or skills to see the big picture.
Stewardship & Flexibility: Need a high/low design concept or plan to steward your resources well? That's how I roll and I'm not afraid of mixing old and new pieces together to help you meet your aims.
Freedom to Design the way you want to: When you rely on your own ideas or use a Design/Build firm you are limited by their creative ideas and locked into their rules, suppliers and what they know. When you work with me, there are NO limits and you're free to design the way you want to.
Peace of Mind - The skill or mastery of interior design is about NOT making a mistake. Just as with musical, creative and artistic talent, the ability to create stunning designs or 'choreography' takes practice and just like construction drawings are puzzle pieces that need to fit together to make a whole, so is the aesthetic design plan. Each piece of the puzzle builds on and affects the others, therefore, making mistakes has a snowball affect on the overall result. After 20 years, I've made all the mistakes - even with an Interior design degree.

Here are additional benefits when working with me:

Save Money

I'm not a salesman - there is no pressure to work with me. In fact, during the onboarding process, I'll begin sharing industry secrets to help get you organized and focused to get you out of the weeds, and prepared to succeed. Why do I share valuable industry secrets - because I believe we should all be good stewards of our time and resources and if this knowledge is all you need to help you get unstuck, reduce your risks and control your project, I've helped you and elevated the industry (and that's why I've been called a pirate ship among the yachts.)

Karen Savage Design Before and After Bedroom

I save my Client’s heartache

Re-imaging Space: I have the ability to visualize how a space will look with selected finishes, materials, textures, patterns, shapes and colors. That takes focus, work and practice. In addition I solve spatial issues relating to lifestyle and architectural harmony by reviewing and visualizing existing space and from reviewing plan and construction drawings. This is hard to explain and imagine but it’s a craft (or maybe a gift) that I have honed, trained and disciplined and I love to use it to help others problem solve spatial or interior design issues. I also discover what’s really important to you and then establish design & beauty boundaries so you won’t fall in love with things that won’t visually work within your space, won’t be functional or won’t comply with your project aims. Just stop and consider that for a moment. Would that be valuable to you? Combining form with function is a top priority for me to ensure you receive the best outcome.

Karen Savage Design Before and After Church Hospitality Room

I save my Client’s Time

You've heard the saying "time is money". Working virtually will save you half the time of working in person. Because of technology I can transform your space virtually no matter where you live - imagine accepting or declining design details in the comfort of your own home at a time that works well for you while saving time and money on your project. I also save my clients the frustrating & time consuming leg work of sourcing products and furnishings and the nightmares of logistics, delivery and damaged products.

Karen Savage Design Before and After Bedroom Design

I create more than just the WOW Factor

Not everyone wants their home to be featured on HGTV or in Architectural Digest. In fact, most of my clients prefer confidentiality from social pressure and opinions and prefer to design their environments based on what I call a ‘sent mindset’ or with the big picture perspective of comfort, simplicity and connection instead. This means they are more interested in creating environments where everyone feels cared for, comfortable, cocooned and connected and is what differentiates me from other interior designers. My whole design ethos is based on creating a home as the ultimate creative expression of grace and hospitality and is based on both Biblical & Beauty principles. There is no crime against this type of design.

Karen Savage Design Kitchen Remodel Before and After

I provide short term, low commitment consultations

I allow you to pick and choose the design tasks you want to do to keep design fees down. Working on smaller projects and doing design work that you delegate to me, keeps luxury interior design services affordable, transparent and accessible to everyone. My short term interior design services are available in-person or virtually and I can provide resources and recommendations while answering questions and doing design work you don't have time to do or feel confident doing yourself..

Karen Savage Design Dining Room Before and After

I increase the value of your home

My services Add value to your home whether you are selling or dwelling. Over designing might seem like a great idea at first but often leads to a complicated, disjointed look that feels overdone to everyone. After I get my eyes on your space and ask you the right questions, I'm able to create a plan to help you bring better balance and flow in your space using mostly what you already own.

I create the Perfect Mix & Blend of Form & Function, Old & New, His & Hers

I tailor unique style solutions because not everyone fits into a common, broad category or style label or wants their home to look predictable and feel uninspiring. Creating the perfect mix and telling unique stories visually in a way that creates architectural harmony isn't intuitive. Not every designer has the ability to confidently layer colors, patterns and textures to make a room look polished and cohesive.

Confidently make cohesive design decisions!

Working with me helps you avoid typical, expensive interior design mistakes so that you love the outcome and sleep well at night during the process. Do it right and within your budget the first time without stressing & guessing so you can enjoy your weekends with family not sitting in a showroom for hours trying to figure it out in a vacuum or with someone without the time or skills to see the big picture.

Karen Savage Design Corporate Break room and Kitchen Remodel Before & After

9. I’ll help you no matter where you live!

As you can see, there are many benefits to working with me. I am a visual communicator & planner, spatial problem solver, concept artist and curator of space. I help my clients create the space of their dreams as a backdrop to live their best life and thrive at home -- which is a unique perspective on designing home and means I’ll make recommendations based on your vision, guard you against one-off trends, explain the why behind decisions and help you focus on your own story that embodies your unique authenticity, character, and personal brand of beauty no matter where you live and no matter what your budget or size of project.

All you need to do is sit back, be safe and enjoy the process by logging into our private design portal to see where we’re at and ask me questions. Whether you’re redesigning your whole home or needing a bedroom facelift, I have you covered.

How do you feel about designing your home? Do you prefer to spend your weekends enjoying your friends, family & hobbies instead of doing trial and error design work? Do you know who's design advice you can trust? Do you know how to see color and undertones and select the correct foundational neutral color for your space? Do you know what your perfect style mix is and what it looks like? Do you know how to pull it all together cohesively? Can you narrow down all the options in a way that makes sense to your project? Do you have time to sit for hours in showrooms trying to imagine all those details applied to all those surfaces within the context of your space? Can you accurately and quickly hone your unique style or will you be happy with being led by trade professionals using trendy choices that you might get sick of in a few years? Are you certain that sectional will look as fabulous in your family room as it does on the showroom floor?

Take my Interior Design Quiz to find out:

Everyone has a story worth sharing - a story based on shared values - what's yours?

Need help creating your own story and timeless aesthetic mix? It all starts with aligned values and a 30 minute conversation. Send me an email at karensavagedesign@outlook.com

today and I'll walk you through it.