What is an Interior Stylist and Why You Should Hire One
Stylist vs. Designer, There’s a Difference?
So, you may or may not already know that there is a difference between an Interior Stylist/Decorator and an Interior Designer. I am going to break it down for you so that you know what you are getting when you’re looking to hire an Interior Stylist or Interior Designer.
First off, let’s talk about Interior Stylist, that’s what I am. An Interior Stylist is not licensed to do any contracting work on your house. That means they cannot change anything structurally, and depending on the state or city, they may not be able to install or move any plumbing or electrical either. Laws vary so please check your state requirements before hiring someone. They can have a business license to work as a Stylist and be legitimate business owners, there are simply restrictions on the type of work they are allowed to do. What an Interior Stylist can do is make your home beautiful by selecting a color palette, furnishings, curtains, rugs, accessories, light and plumbing fixtures. We can even consult on cabinetry style and colorings, countertop, or tile selections that you have hired a contractor to do the work on.
An Interior Stylist can come in and help you get organized if that is in their job description, they can take what you have and rearrange it after some careful spatial planning is done for maximum functionality. They can recommend what pieces you may want to replace or buy new and help you source those items. An Interior Stylist can guide you in where to hang curtains and wall art to create the max impact for beauty. They can save you time and money by helping make all the right decisions the first time and remove some self-doubt you may have been harboring while trying to figure out what to do on your own. Often when an Interior Stylist is complete you will have a home that feels like new, is more functional and has a maximum impact of beauty that is uniquely you.
An Interior Designer is a licensed person who is allowed to make structural decisions for you home like floorplan, kitchen, or bathroom layout (although many will leave that to the cabinet companies who specialize in that), where the electrical and plumbing should go, what the ceilings will look like and how a summer kitchen should be laid out. They will also choose a color palette, create a furniture plan for optimal spatial planning and select everything from cabinets, tiles, and countertops to appliances, plumbing and light fixtures.
An Interior Designer will often be more expensive because of their licensing and ability to do structural work to your house that has a significant impact on your space. If you are looking for a renovation of one room or multiple rooms that involves anything structural or looking for someone to design your home from the ground up, then you will want an official Interior Designer.
If, however, you are looking for a fresh style that does not require huge renovation and structural changes, then an Interior Stylist is the perfect choice for you. Granted, an interior designer can do just what we call a color out where they do what an interior stylist does. You can hire them to refresh your space, but again, they may be a more expensive option because of the extent of their skills & licensing.
What About Virtual Design?
I wanted to take a quick minute to inform you all about e-design or virtual interior styling and design. This is something that’s been out in the world for a long time, but really took off in 2020 thanks to the pandemic requiring people to stay apart for safety reasons and still earn a living. Tech savvy designers and stylists were able to figure out how to do their jobs using the budding technology at our fingertips.
If you’re not doing a full renovation, this is another area where hiring an interior stylist may be the more practical option because interior designers would really need to make some in person trips to keep an eye on the process of a major project or have fabulous communication with and faith in the contractor on site. If you want to do a design refresh and simply utilize the skills an interior stylist has, then you can consider a stylist from anywhere in the world who does virtual design!
Here’s what that process might look like for you. You find someone either by taking a quick trip to my website to schedule a Discovery Call with me, by word of mouth or a Google search. Once you meet and decide you’ll be a good fit for each other you, you’ll clarify the scope of your project. Confirm the rooms you’re hiring them to work in, if you’re painting, replacing any furniture or keeping things you have, do you need to buy something you don’t yet have? All those details. The next thing you might discuss is your style. Are you planning to keep what you have going on or change it up? This will be a big determining factor sometimes in whether you keep or giveaway certain items you already have in order to have a cohesive style in your freshly redesigned space. Once that’s clarified, you’ll have to supply exact measurements and detailed pictures of each space to the designer or stylist so they can create a floorplan to work off of.
At that point you get to take a break and the stylist or designer goes to work creating a furniture plan which shows where everything can fit in the room. This is where they incorporate the furniture you’re definitely keeping and then gives them the parameters necessary for selecting any new pieces you may need. They’ll make some selections and show you a few options to choose from to ensure you love what they’re doing. They’ll finish out their selections with curtains, rugs, throw blankets, pillows, art, plants and any other accessories you may need. They’ll provide you with the options, help you narrow it down to final selections then provide you with a finalized furniture plan, shoppable list of approved items and a paint schedule. When you’re ready, you get to buy everything and set it all up on your own or with a hired handyman and enjoy your refreshed space!
This may feel like the perfect solution for someone wanting to avoid any renovations and be pretty hands off with the process. Once you have those initial conversations and measure everything, you’re pretty much done until it’s time to pick between the options provided to you and make all the purchases. Whether it’s virtual or in person, it should be a relatively easy process for you where the bulk of the job rests on your designer or stylist. You simply have to have enough conversations to guide them in the right direction.
Why You Should Hire One
Let’s jump back now to our main topic on interior stylist and take a quick quiz to help you decide whether hiring an one is the right move for you.
Do you want to save money by having this done right the first time?
Do you have too much on your plate to take the time to do this yourself?
Are you uncertain where to shop from to get the best styles and deals?
Do you want to be able to take advantage of designer discounts?
Do you want to enjoy the process and skip the stress of doing it yourself?
Do you want to skip the hassle of a renovation and simply give your space a refresh?
If you answered yes to more than two of the above questions, then hiring an Interior Stylist is the right choice for you! Yeah!
Let’s break this down for you so you can fully understand what you are likely to get.
Saving money! That’s right, hiring an Interior Stylist can save you money! I do have to say that if you have the time and desire to DIY the project, then go for it! I DIY a lot of things myself. However, if you’re not one of those people who have the confidence to put together a room that is not only functional, but beautiful and well organized, then you’re liable to make some costly decisions that need to be fixed and will leave your simply dissatisfied. You’re either unhappy with your selections or you’re unhappy with the wasted time and money. Neither of these are desirable! Simply do a self-check and humbly admit that DIY is not for you in this case and be excited to hire a professional to work with you to get it right the first time around! Your final feeling should be one of elation and contentment with a well-thought-out space that allows you to feel confident and comfortable in your own home! That's the most important thing here! Plus saving money of course, that’s always a huge win!
Save your time! Designing a beautifully functional and sustainable space takes a lot of time. You must first assess the space you’re working in, take a million measurements, draw it all out. It involves having long conversations about what is needed in the space, what is staying or going and what is the ultimate need of the room, what is the budget, time frame and style? Then there’s the part where you figure out what the optimal furniture layout is involving the pieces that need to stay. After that you begin your research to find the remaining pieces needed for a well-designed space. This can take hours to ensure you have the best price, quality and a good design to boot! Oh, and don’t forget to check shipping dates and availability! One you have it all together and are certain it’s beautiful you get it approved by whoever else has input in your house and start to purchase all the goods! This part is pretty fun. Once it all arrives it’s time to take that furniture plan and put it all together. Now, if you are overwhelmed by the thought of all that, then do yourself a favor and hire a professional!
Don’t worry about finding the best stores and deals! There are a million shops you could choose your home furnishings from and that is good and bad. One the one hand it is nice to have variety when you’re looking for something very specific. On the other, it’s entirely overwhelming when you have too many options and just aren’t certain which place is the best place to choose! A professional Interior Stylist will have preferred stores, experience with different retailers, take time to read all the reviews, have inside information about certain stores and be watching for the best deals. They do the price and quality comparison for you so that you don’t have to worry. You just get to pick your favorite of the three couches presented for you and approve the cost. How much easier does that sound?
Designer Discounts! Most stylists will have a business license that gives them designer only discounts at numerous stores. It is their prerogative to offer it to you or not, but I hope you go with one like me that will offer you a discount to save you some money! This way when you pay a commission on furniture, you’re not spending extra money out of pocket. Instead, you’re either paying less or equal to the amount you would have originally paid for the furniture and two people have gotten paid! It’s always nice to get good value on items you love, so definitely ask your stylist what their policy is before you begin working together.
Skip the stress and enjoy the Refresh! Now I can’t guarantee you personally won’t be stressed at all because don’t worry! You don’t have to worry so long as you trust your stylist. And if you’re hiring them, I certainly hope you trust them because these can be big decisions! Do your research and have a good conversation before entering into an agreement and choose to trust the stylist and enjoy the process of having your space beautifully transformed without the leg work.
Simply Refresh! Lastly, you would be amazed at how simply refreshing a space can improve the feel and functionality of a room. It also saves you a lot of money and time. Refreshing a space means getting new paint, wallpaper, light fixture swaps, furniture replacement or rearranging, getting curtains, rods, rugs, pillow and throws that all coordinate and create a cozy room. You don’t have to structurally change anything or ever replace things such as countertops and cabinets to make a space feel and look better. A good stylist can work with what exists and simply add to it and make it come alive.
When hiring an Interior Stylist and getting a refresh to your space you can gain and save so much! My personal goal as an Interior Stylist is to create beautifully functional and sustainably designed spaces that leave you confident and comfortable in your own home. I want to save your valuable time and money in this process. You can have fun with this and I’m here to help you. An important part of working on the design in someone’s home is getting to know them and their needs. That means you get a little personal and spend time sharing what you want your life to look like in your house. This makes it personal and unique to you, which is what most of us want.
Book a Discovery Call today to see if we’re a good fit to work together! I can’t wait to meet you.
