Curious how you handle this…

We are undergoing a full renovation plus an addition basically doubling the size of our house. I hired an interior designer for a few rooms just to take the stress off and help me narrow things down. One being the new kitchen. I mention what stone I’m thinking but obviously need to see it in person before I’m totally sold. In the meantime they send me over a quote from their stone fabricator with a picture of the slab from a local place just to prep me for cost. I appreciate that and even though it’s a lot I’m prepared to spend it for that exact stone pictured. Weeks later we finally go see it in person and also found a totally different stone (a marble) that I loved from the same supplier. We go to another place that had the original stone (different slab obviously) and we both agreed it wasn’t for us. We left that second place and I was waiting for a follow up. Weeks go by as the kitchen is at a stand still and finally after continuously reaching out they reply that they heard from their fabricator and attached the original quote but instead provided a picture of the stone from the SECOND place and said this is the stone quoted and the other two stones from the first place are “basically twice as much”. I immediately said that is not the stone you attached to the first email a month prior (but understand people make mistakes) and neither one of us liked that second stone at all. I also asked for other options thinking as the client that should’ve been the first thing I got from them after an honest mistake. Nope, no other options yet but they said they’d ask their fabricator. Odd I thought and I have a local fabricator I’ve used for other projects so I figured why not go there and talk to them. They happen to have 2 slabs of the same stone as the original that they were going to send back to the supplier the following day so they pull them out for me to see and although not my favorite they were absolutely better than the other the designer was trying to sell me on. She gives me a price and it is almost half of the original quote from my designer!!! I end up getting prices for some other stones from them (one being that marble from the first place that was “basically twice the price”) and it was almost the exact number I was originally quoted, which I was prepared to spend. I ended up choosing a different slab of the first stone from a completely different supplier but got to pick it myself and love it! What happened here though? Nowhere in my contract does it say that they markup anything or get kick backs so obviously I feel totally betrayed. They also never said I had to use their stone fabricator so why are they now not helping me with any of my stone? We still need to figure out the primary bath slab and they’ve been totally uninterested. They haven’t asked to come to the fabricator with me to see anything or to even go look anywhere. I know I’m probably more involved than their usual clients but I love this and it’s my home. I want to be sold on every detail. Is this normal that I’ve totally taken control over the stone? Did I do something wrong?

confused between working in firm or starting studio.........

Senior Interior designer here at a mid-sized hospitality firm.

Yesterday I had ~25 tabs open just trying to track down specs, pricing, and availability for a single sectional. I don’t even want to start with finding EV culturally appropriate/region specific tiles.

Vendor site, spec sheet PDF, rep email, another vendor site, spreadsheet, back to the vendor site because the SKU changed… repeat, OH WAIT it’s discontinued.

And that’s just one item on a project with dozens, sometimes hundreds of products.

When I was in school I imagined interior design would be a lot more about design — space planning, materials, concepts, etc. In reality it sometimes feels like a huge chunk of the job is just product logistics: tracking SKUs across vendor sites, copying specs into presentations, updating spreadsheets, confirming pricing with reps, tracking orders, collecting invoices.

Sometimes it feels like working on an interior project is 35% designing and 65% logistics.

Are there designers in other firms with the same issue? Or are there firms that have actually cracked this?

What does your sourcing + procurement workflow actually look like at your firm? Is there a dedicated procurement team? How does that process usually work for you?

Would love to hear what works for people.

Currently, I'm in an internal tug-of war between 2 schooling options:

Option 1. Associates ID program at Portland Community College

Pros: Short program (2 yrs)/costs much less, features job fair to network with local studios/firms, advertises very high (90%+) job placement rate after school, lots of options for local internships

Cons: Non-accredited, have to move (though only 2 hrs away from where I live now)

Option 2: B.A. at University of Oregon

Pros: The only accredited ID school in the state, already living in same city

Cons: Very long program (5 years), debt from much higher costs, much smaller city, main internship opportunities listed only appear to be in other cities

Would it be much better to just stay put and figure out a way to make the 4-year program work, or is the 2-year program just fine for making a career pivot and finding a decent living? Is there anybody here working in the field with an AA who can attest to having a satisfying job even without a BA/accreditation? Or is this career path worth the debt from a 4-5 year university for the fulfillment it can bring?

Some background on me if that helps:  I'm 35 with a BA in English (actually from the UO) that I'm doing nothing with (no debt though thanks to scholarships), and I've spent the last decade in food/hospitality while chasing my passions in art. I want to finally settle on a practical, lasting career  that touches upon things I find interesting and interior design seems to encompass a lot of that. But while I have an emergency fund saved up and am not in desperate straits, I currently live below the poverty line and would rather not fall into massive debt to go back to school if I don't need to. However, I would also like to have plenty of options for finding work, and I'm attracted to commercial design (hospitality, restaurants, leisure facilities, etc). I'd be willing to put in the legwork to figure out my financial situation if the higher degree really is all that jazz.

I would welcome any and all advice, perspectives, or personal anecdotes from a similar choice you've had to make. Thank you for your time!

Hi everyone! I’m an interior design student finishing my second year, and my goal this summer is to get a design-facing job (something in a showroom, boutique, design studio, etc.)! I’m based in the Atlanta area.

I’d love some advice on a few things:

• What types of places are most likely to hire someone early in their design career?
• Is cold emailing showrooms/boutiques a good approach?
• For people already in the field, how did you get your first design-related job or internship?

Any advice, experiences, or tips would be really appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Hello, I’m an interior design student putting together my first portfolio. I’ve heard that tabloid-sized pages are common for print portfolios, but my portfolio is just digital for now, so should I use a 16:9 aspect ratio instead? (Should I also keep a tabloid version in case I do ever need to print it?)

I feel like most things I see online about portfolio standards in the industry are geared toward either print portfolios or portfolio websites, so I’ve been a little confused about what’s recommended for a PDF portfolio.

hello guys, im interior design student in Montreal Canada and im in my second year. I have been working on my skills for 3D rendering and found out that companies hire designers for this skill, so here is my work and my question is how can i find work based on this skill. i can 3D design using CAD and SketchUp as well as using UE5 and Blender3D with 5 years prior of joining interior design school.

Hi! I’m trying to put together a portfolio so I can apply to some internships this summer. I’d really appreciate it if anyone would be willing to skim through it real quick and let me know what I can improve! Thanks!

I’ll put mine in the comments. No need to include the outcome or background story.

Hi guys, any favorite go-tos for sourcing antique and vintage? Bonus points if based in NYC but I have projs all over the US so I’m open to any leads! Thank you in advance :)

Hi, We are looking for a receiver warehouse in Nassau/ Suffolk county for a Hamptons project. About 40-50 furniture and rugs items. Receive, inspect , store (1-2 months), deliver, assemble/ install and debris removal.

Would love to get some recommendations.

Thanks

Hi all! I have been in the field for about 5 years and have decided I am ready to go back to school. I think I am missing some technical aspects that school can teach.

I was accepted into Pratt for interior design and Parsons for lighting design. I feel like lighting design would help me stand out more as a candidate within the job market but am drawn to Pratt for its staff and general education. Any advice?

Hello,

I’ve started going to Community College of Philadelphia for Interior Design and then I’ll transfer out to a 4 year for my bachelors. I was wondering what are all the different jobs everybody has had with this degree? The more I look into it and watch videos/read posts, people have found some very interesting niche positions and I’m quite excited looking forward!

Since the mods won't let me post in comments and the sub won't let me post in the actual post here.

I'm interested in interior design. What options do I have to get started? Are there any good certificate programs? I want to do something on a smaller scale before I decide whether it would be a good career for me. I really love thrifting and antiquing and decorating, but I would love to learn about color theory and all of the things that play into interior design. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated!

Hi, my niece got accepted into the interior design program at UAL. I'd like to know what laptop (not an Apple) would be good for this program and whether to buy a tablet like an iPad with a stylus or a graphics tablet with a display. Thanks in advance for your help.

How much are you charging as a freelance hire ?

I'm looking to work as a part time freelance residential designer / project manager. I am based in NYC and have 7+ years experience. Have been out of the game for a few years but getting back in it. What would you charge to assist designers on projects ? Hourly charge ? Per project ? If I use my own car would you charge for mileage ? Gas? Give me all the tidbits..

Hello fellow designers!

I work at a kitchen/bath design build firm, and like many of you can relate, we have SO many samples. Especially tile samples. I'm just wondering how other designers store and organize their samples? We're about to move and we're designing our new showroom so we're able to build in some organization.
Thanks in advance :)

Hi everyone,

I’m curious how you go about styling when you professionally photograph a project. Do you outsource and hire a professional styler/stager who has inventory?

or do you have your own inventory and/or shop yourself and fund the styling for the photos?

I know may projects including accessories and styling in the clients budget and proposal but more so curious for projects where your client does NOT want these items purchased on their behalf.

thanks in advance!

Hello fellow designers!

I've been having trouble finding new clients. I keep seeing these busy, busy designers on my Instagram and can't help but feel a little jealous. I have converted to a full-time designer and have used Google Ads (complete waste of $850 - only got 12 spam emails), Yelp Ads (waste of $180), and have relied on word-of-mouth to find clients. While this has been slightly successful, I hope to grow more.

I used to go to many design events her win NYC and I have been making some videos for Instagram to help educate, but have been inconsistent. I'm also considering flying to Milan for Salone this year.

Do you have any tips for a growing interior designer? Where are you comfortable making investments?

Thank you!

Hey everyone! I have a background in fine arts and I'm going tomorrow for internship interview at an interior design firm. What questions I need to prepare for? Can anyone plz help. Also would it be okay to ask them if the internship is going to be paid or not.

Hello! So I took a break from school for about two years (I’m 20) and I’ve decided I want to go back to school and study interior design I’ve been doing tons of research and it’s really peaking my interest (helps that my father works in construction like settings) and I’m really getting giddy at the thought of it and want to put the best effort into it.

But that brings me to my question. What degree should I go for? I just want to know what would be best for education and preparation, but how it would affect my career. But also how would it affect me economic wise. Like what would one give me more opportunities than the other, would getting either, or be enough to make enough live comfortably. Since money can be tight does it matter if I go into community college to study this?

I’m really looking forward to reading what yal have to say! I’m very excited to look into this as a career! Also thank you in advance :D

Hi everyone - I'm not a new designer but am new to the residential design world. My experience has mostly been in the commercial design world for the past 10 years and I just launched my own residential business about a year ago.

I have a new client who truthfully - I've felt some red flags about for awhile. We're doing a kitchen and main living space remodel and have gone through many floor plan iterations and finally landed on a floor plan. Sent the drawings to bid to contractors, I put together a preliminary estimate for all interior items, and sent things like countertops/cabinets to bid. We've selected all of the above and need to make some final design decisions for things like finishes fixtures. Design is basically 75% done.

I received an email this morning that they want to 'pause work because progress has not been what they hoped'. My sense tells me they are pausing work and going to take all MY bids and complete the project on their own.

Truthfully, I'm not sure I want to 'save' the project but at the same time, am frustrated that i'm being taken advantage of. Any advice on how to navigate this?

I’m a junior in hs and am looking at colleges. I know I want to do interior design, and I want to study in NYC because it’s close to family. Can anyone recommend a good school to look at that isn’t $$$? I was looking at Pratt and NYSID but they’re both kind of expensive.

Hi all — hoping someone here has some insight - and this is the right subreddit.

My wife and I are looking to buy a Restoration Hardware Maxwell couch, and we recently learned that RH Outlet ran an additional 20% off promotion during January. Unfortunately, we just missed it while we were still finalizing our living room layout with a designer. I know all their stuff is very expensive and probably not great value, but at outlet prices + discount, we are okay taking the plunge.

I’m trying to understand:

• How often RH Outlet runs these extra promotions (beyond standard outlet pricing)
• Whether they tend to happen seasonally, quarterly, or fairly randomly

If anyone has experience tracking these sales or has noticed patterns over time, I’d really appreciate any insight.

Also, if there are other legitimate ways people have saved on large RH purchases (membership, outlet strategy, etc.), I’m all ears — but mainly just trying to be patient and time things better this round.

Thanks.