Working with an interior designer can be an incredibly gratifying experience: you have an expert in design by your side through any changes your home may be going through. The process results in a beautiful home that functions perfectly for your family.
But what happens when you don’t know how to express your style preferences to your interior designer? We sat down with Holly and Ashley of the NSH Design Team to uncover how they help clients discover their style preferences and lead successful projects from ideation to installation.
1. We start with what you don’t like.
It may feel counterintuitive, but when you’re not sure of your style preferences, we start with figuring out what you don’t like. We take decisions one step at a time to give you a chance to consider all options. For example, instead of asking which you like between three different types of sofas, we start by showing you the same sofa in three different colors. We work together to discuss the options and what each would look like in your space, then tackle additional choices from there.
2. But what you do like is important, too.
If you don’t know what your design style is, many other things you like can be clues for us along the way. What you wear, what stores you gravitate toward, and any memorable travel experiences you have can indicate themes in styles that we can use to begin our plans.
3. We factor your priorities into the design plan.
Interior design is more than just beautiful rooms. Throughout the process, we ask questions about you and your family: How will the room be used? Who will spend time in the room? Is there a pet to account for? How often do you want to update the design? We want the spaces to work for your family – now and in the future.
4. We want to see your inspiration board!
One of the most productive ways to discover your style is sharing a collection of inspiration images with your design team. At the beginning of our design process, we ask that you share either an image collection or a Pinterest board with your design team to collect and share inspiration images and general designs that you find visually appealing. These inspiration photos allow us to have a strong foundation of knowledge of your preferences so we can begin our process.
