I faced the same dilemma 4 years ago. At first I found a few ID's and they sent me a draft design. What I found out is that all of them have their own ideas, which I didn't like. At the time, I don't know why. I mean, their designs are nice, but didn't click with me. Secondly, their fees are not cheap, and the materials they plan to use also not cheap.

Next, I bought some magazines, I found the best are "iN Design" and "Square Rooms" because they have lots of examples for ordinary houses and condos, not those luxurious bungalows, haha. I also visited Houzz website, also lots of practical and nice ideas there.

After doing the research and reading, finally the idea of what I want formed in my mind - "Modern Contemporary". From there, I chose a few pictures and showed them to kitchen cabinet companies and custom furniture companies. They drew up the 3D design, I reviewed them, and from there, my renovation started.

Nowadays, friends who visit me can't believe I didn't use an ID for my house


So, in summary, find out what you really like through research and reading, and from there talk to the renovators. ID's are often quite stubborn and prefer you to follow their ideas.