- Jun 1, 2024
- 5 min read
We Look Into The Pros Of Working With An Interior Designer On A Part Time Basis & What To Expect When Working With The Expert.
I recently received the question below, which sent me on a deep dive into the world of working with interior designers, particularly on a time-limited basis.
'How do you collaborate with an interior designer? Can you get help with smaller tasks (e.g., sourcing furniture or selecting paint colours for a single room), or does it depend on the designer or firm? What are the pros and cons of working with someone through The Expert versus directly?'
It’s a loaded question with plenty to unpack. Since I’ve never worked with an interior designer, I had to venture beyond my (admittedly tiny) sphere of knowledge. Luckily, I have a host of friends who are interior designers, so I tapped into their expertise to get a clearer picture of what it’s like to work with someone on a project with tight time constraints.
First up, let’s tackle the question of working with an interior designer for a part-time project. For this, I knew exactly who to turn to—Sophie Rowell, founder of Côte de Folk. Sophie’s projects always catch the eye; she has a knack for making spaces feel both livable and unique, which is no small feat. While browsing through her site (again), I noticed she offers Remote Consultations and One-Off Hourly Consultations—perfect for time-limited projects.
Now, before you get too excited, here’s a reality check: Sophie is a busy lady, so you may have to bide your time if you are keen to collaborate. This is something worth keeping in mind when reaching out to any interior designer. They tend to juggle multiple projects at once, and as a result, there’s often a waiting list. It’s part of the reason some people turn to platforms like The Expert—but we’ll dive into that later.
We started our conversation by discussing who her clients were. Sophie said more often than not, her clients fall into two categories:
One, they're about to start the build, and they want to double-check all their choices and decisions and have some input where they're stuck on layout or kitchen or, you know, whatever it is.
Two, they're at the project's end and wholly lost steam. They've hit a wall and just can't make one more decision.
Sophie's 'One Off Hourly Consultations' includes a site visit and a follow-up email. This means she is in the space with you, you discuss all your plans, and in the follow-up email, she will reiterate everything you spoke about, noting down her ideas and recommendations. The customer will have a handy document to refer back to. So you can work out in your own time whether you want to go ahead with said recommendations or ruminate on it a while longer.
Her other service, 'Remote Consultation', is a one-room service where you will receive a mood board with Sophie's vision for the room. You receive a purchasing document with all the options: lamps, mirror and fabrics, and you build the room from there. So, the customer is taking control, but Sophie oversees the project as you go. She puts a three-month caveat on it so that it has to be completed within three months of starting it. This service was born from Sophie's desire to make interior design more accessible. For me personally, this service is ideal. You, like me, are probably quite into interior design and know slightly how you want your home to look. But the nitty-gritty is where I become unwound; having the talents of a person like Sophie at your disposal would give me so much more confidence in my decisions and save me from a litany of costly mistakes.
This nicely leads us to the platform The Expert. The Expert was founded in 2021 by interior designer Jake Arnold and entrepreneur Leo Seigal. Since then, it has received over $15 million in VC funding. And with it, the world has seen the emergence of an easy, relatively lowish-cost way to enlist the talents of an interior designer. For £1,222 per hour, you can sit gazing at Martyn Lawrence Bullard, asking him for advice with your home.
Obviously, if I paid that, I would only be asking about his work with Cher and the countless other celebrities whose homes he has designed. So, a much better use of my money would be sitting down with the fabulous Lonika Chande, who charges £450 for a session of 55 minutes. Like Sophie, Lonika is a designer whom I admire very much. Her work is full of charm; she is a master at creating warm, engaging homes. With her excellent portfolio and her knowledge of The Expert, I thought she would be the right woman to navigate us around this platform-
You can access this help quickly, and it is low commitment.
You can book more sessions if you need them further down the line.
The help is tailored to you and can be as niche or broad as you like. It ranges from advice on curtain headings, fabric and furniture specification to spatial planning or more general advice on furniture suppliers.
Clients get much more out of the 55-minute session if they prepare ahead of the session themselves. I ask clients to send through floor plans (if they have them), existing photos, any imagery they love, and any questions they may have ahead of the session. Often, they put this together on a PowerPoint or similar. This way, I can prepare, and it also helps consolidate in their mind what they need most from the session.
I also ask clients to prioritise what they would like help with. They need to be realistic about how many rooms we can get through in a single session. It is generally up to two in detail or one larger open-plan space.
If it is fabric schemes that clients want help with, then I ask them to share any fabrics they may already have, love or are keen to include. Also, anything we should avoid!
It takes time to put together a fully interior-designed room, so I think it is essential for potential clients to remember that the session is advice and ideas-based rather than turn-key. I will suggest furniture pieces, fabrics, and paint colours to try out, but they will need to test the paint on the walls, look at the furniture in the shop and so on.
I am hugely grateful to both Sophie and Lonika for helping steer us through this uncharted territory; hopefully, the above will help you decide if you need a one-off session or if you go it alone. Either way, I’d like to know how you get on.
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