How do you choose your interior designer? I have quotations from a really wide range, from RM 3k plus to RM40k plus. And what do we expect them to cover?

Pls read another trend in here title "what is an interior designer" by me.

I have read but it doesn't really answer my question. I just need some tips on how to select a suitable interior designer. BTW, is an interior decorator different from interior designer? And if so, are they available in Malaysia? If I dont want to do a lot of wet works and build-ins, does it mean it is more suitable to get an interior decorator?

Interior designers provide a wide range of services. Interior decorator provides aesthetics only like furniture layout, help choosing furnishings like curtains, paint colour, decorative elements, etc. Just superficial changes to a space, really. Most people hire interior decorators when they want to redecorate their homes to spice things up or for a change without knocking any walls down or other such reno work. Interior decorating falls under interior design in general.

Nobody calls themselves interior decorators here in Malaysia because the market is so limited for such a specific service. But a lot of people call themselves interior designers when they shouldn't do so.

You can specify what kind of responsibilities (big or small) the interior designer will be given. So you can say you need redecorating and he/she can do the design work and collaborate with you on the aesthetics, even help you source items like furniture, light fixtures, etc.

I suggest comparing the values of each quotation. If, like the other thread has posted before, you can get more bang for the same amount of buck, go for the one who provides more services.

I heard a friend saying that we can get a few quotations who will roughly show their design before deciding on the engagement. Is that true? Its kinda dangerous to appoint someone without knowing if their design is really what you want....

It is not dangerous to appoint anyone to design what you want. Just communicate with them.
For example if you don't like dark colours, doesn't fancy too modern, wanted to have a comfort home yet in style and etc. An interior designer will ask you questions and provide feedbacks and ideas.
An interior designer should ask for a budget before designing anything because there's no point giving false hope to client who cannot afford to achieve what they want. As a client, you need to be frank, communicate and listen. As an interior designer, he or she has to come out with solutions and ideas to achieve the desire design. I personally will tell my client if the budget is durable or not.

This post has been edited by ID adrien: Oct 14 2013, 03:05 AM

Means, it does not matter on which interior designer? I am just scared that I may appoint someone whose style may differ from mine... I guess I have to really look at their portfolio to see if they fits?

Hi Sir,
For a professional interior designer, RM3k is almost impossible for any house...
May i know what is ur house size/ single/double story?
semi d? bungalow? all have different charges..

RM40k is almost built up 7000sqf price as we done before...

like ID adrien said, try to look on their portfolio, choose the one you like, and ask what is the things they provided..

4300 sq feet super link...

Its difficult to decide on who to choose... 3k plus is real, btw.

Hi, maybe they just provide you layout and some 3d only?
or you get the price from freelancer??

try to ask for detail of the jobscope

Jobscope about the same.. including site supervision. And yes, freelancer...

RM3k to RM40k is a HUGE price difference.

for 4,300 sqft I would expect the price range to be more like RM10-20k.

That is based on the quotes I got for a 2,200 sft Duplex Condo that ranged from Rm4k - RM9k.

Regarding Rm3K freelancer - I'm assuming your using the term "freelancer" to mean someone who works by day as an ID for a company and is doing some personal jobs on the side in their own time. This is correctly known as "moonlighting"

The correct meaning of freelancer is someone that is working as a self-employed professional without any ties to another company.

A few things to bear in mind with this "moonlighting" proffesional.

1) They are actually stealing business from their employer. Most employment contact bar this type of activity and courts will take the employers side when push comes to shove on this issue.

Imagine if your employees were also actually your competitor, is that very nice for the employer?

The reason I mention this is it shows the moral and ethical values of the person. So don't be surprised if when you are dealing with them they short change you or cheat you. either in $$$ or in not giving what they promised.

2) If/When something goes wrong, there is no superior or company to complain to, that moonlighter might just stop taking your calls and then what do you do?

3) the moonlighter often doesn't have the time or full resources that a professional freelancer or company has to dedicate to your project.

Now to address the RM40K quote? are they on DRUGS?
Ok lets assume their not crazy or on drugs, maybe they are including other services or items that the others arnt.

Eg they might be providing
1) Organising of contractors or trades workers.
1) supervision of certain parts of the reno
2) supplying some carpentry items.


Generally you only get what you pay for.

In Business a common practice in assessing quotes is to throw away the cheapest quote (assumption is they are cutting to many corners or it will be low quality) and the highest quote (assumption is they are overcharging or you dont need rolls royce quality) and then start negotiating with the 3-5 other vendors that have quoted in between the lowest and highest. Negotiation is on both price and quantity/quality of what is offered compared to other quotes.

Just a General Observation about ID costs.

I have seen ID quote ranges like RM X k for 1200sft condo and RM 2X k for 2200sqft.

But IMHO the price shouldn't be linearly increasing with Sqft, and here is why.

1200sft has Entrance, Lounge, Dinning, Kitchen, 3 Bed and 2 Bathrooms.

2200sft has Entrance, Lounge, Dinning, Kitchen, 4 Bed and 3 Bathrooms.

So only adding 1 extra bedroom and 1 bathroom yet the price quoted by almost all ID was double the 1200sft price.

The Larger Condo has Entrance, Kitchen, Lounge, Bedroomsand bathroom that are about 1.5-2 times larger than the smaller condo and in my opinion it shouldn't cost twice as much to ID a bedroom or lounge that is twice as large, there really isnt that much more work involved just more open space.

Just my 2 cents worth on ID pricing.

It would make more sense to price based on the number of rooms not the total sqft.

eg Price = A x Qty x Entrance + B x Qty x Lounge/living rooms + C x Qty x Kitchen + D x Qty x Bedroom + E x Qty X Bathroom.

Where A thru E are variables that reflect the complexity of each room type.

Cheers

+1 Highly appreciate this comment... 40k.. I certainly cannot afford haha... Will consider the rest.

Exactly how I feel too... I get one quote that follows roughly what you suggest. I think that will be more reasonable...

Can you give the list of RM quoted (ie RM4k, Rm6, 3x RM12k, 2 x rm15k, rm 18k, rm40) , it would be interesting to see the statistical spread and mean $.

Also something worth considering is how well the ID main-style match the style you want. no point getting someone that is very talented at antique style to do contemporary or minimalist style. I'm sure they could still do it, but not as well as someone that is specialised in minimalist style, and vice versa.

So check out their past project portfolio and also their ID concept renderings vs finished photos and take note of their main style.

I saw some ID have a lot of very dark and greyish style and others had a lot of bright and whiteish style. Some have a lot of very clean/minimalist style while others had a lot of cluttered/homely style. all are valid choices as long as it matches the clients desired style.

But it seemed to me that they all had a personal preference that kept showing through in their designs.


Cheers

If is 4300sqft built up, I used to charge 40k. About RM10 per sqft. But I charge low yat forumer RM5-6 per sqft depending on the requirement and drawings involve. So they are not on drugs if they can deliver.

Just curious.. if my condo 1300sqft... 3 bedroom + a living and dining room together + kitchen... so u charges is RM 13,000... wah.... that is expensive.... maybe i should start to rethink of hiring an ID

Wow RM 10/sqft sounds pretty expensive for Malaysia. But probably reasonable for UK/Europe/USA/Australia.

RM 5-6/sqft sounds more in line with the top end of what I found the market rate to be in Malaysia.

Of course it depends what is included. If those prices include site supervision etc then the RM5-6/sqft is sounding more reasonable but the Rm10/sqft still seems a bit on the high side.


Out of the several ID that I have spoken with and received quotes from so far for a 2200 sqft Duplex condo, the range was Rm4k - RM9k. The one I felt was the most professional and understanding my requirements quoted Rm6k. The scope for those quotes was 3D renderings & 2D layout drawings, Lighting and Electrical plans other technical drawings and documents but excluding any site supervision or contractor appointment etc.


BTW I dont necessarily have anything against IDs on Drugs, especially if your going for a pshycodelic look.

Antonio Gaudi is probably my favorite Architect and you cant look at his creations and tell me with a straight face that magic mushroom soup wasn't his favorite meal.

My one of my Favorite artists would be Salvador Dali and he was definitely on LSD or Magic Mushrooms, most likely BOTH!


Cheers

You can afford a 4,300sqft Superlink (Im assuming if that is in/near KL that must have cost around RM1-2Million) but you cant afford Rm40k to make sure its perfect?

Hmmm the two phrases that come to mind are "Penny wise, Pound Foolish" and "maybe you cant afford NOT to spend RM40k ".


BTW 40k on a Rm1-2Mil peroperty is only 2-4% which is less than you would have spent on lawyers and stamp duties etc. I know out of Lawyers, Govt and ID who I would rather give my money to.

Of course if you can get the same thing for RM15k or Rm20k then its foolish to spend the Rm40k, but are you really getting the same thing?

I also think 40k is expensive, but before you put a limit on your budget you should think about the fact that the "design" and "quality of the reno" will make your 4,300sqft home somewhere in the range Average - Good - Great - Perfect and you will have to live with the rest for the next 10-20 yrs.

We all want perfect but often we are only wanting to pay for average. At the end of the day you need to balance Quality & Quantity vs Cost and we all have different expectations.

To use an analogy; Some People will settle for nothing less than Rolls Royce and are happy to pay for it, others think Mercedes is the perfect option, others think Toyota is perfect quality vs cost option, others are more than happy with Proton.

Cheers