Interior design is a comprehensive discipline requiring innate creative talent, formal education or apprentice training, and years of experience to master. There are no requirements to enter the  field, consequently there is a plethora of people professing to be interior designers or “decorators” without any formal training or education.

 The principal role of a professional interior designer is to determine what manner or style of design their client desires and then create a functional  and aesthetically pleasing  plan  implementing the design with the right furnishings.  A good designer has the unique ability to envision their clients objectives. Many interior designers do not  a have comprehensive understanding of the home furnishings industry. Their knowledge of furniture manufacturing, product design, quality, value, and the companies that produce fine furniture falls short. This often leads to designers inadvertently specifying inferior products from  second-rate   manufacturers simply  because they don’t have a  clear  perception of the industry. Furthermore interior designers are rarely able to purchase directly from most manufacturers, although some will sell designers at a higher pricing level; the result is that they are paying more for products because they are buying through a distributor or not getting the best price from manufacturers.  Check the furniture companies the designer has used in previous projects, and ask  where and how the furnishings were purchased and priced.

 If you are interviewing a designer, you will likely discuss their capabilities and examine their portfolio to determine the quality of their work. Personalities are also an important consideration , but never let a “friend” or “relative”  touch your home’s interior.  Your designer should be a professional and your partner;  hiring a friend or relative  will inevitably become a tenuous  situation, one in which you are  uncomfortable and reluctant to voice your true  opinions.  A perfect client- designer relationship needs to have total transparency so that decisions  can be made with confidence and clarity.

 I implore people not to attempt to decorate their million dollar plus homes themselves, unless they are  true professionals actively engaged in the interior design business.  An individual may have superb taste and even some latent talent, but if they don’t have the education. and training. and years of involvement in the profession, then they will not have  the knowledge, the contacts, and access to important resources that a professional has.  Those who choose this method believe they will save money and have an enjoyable experience.  Actually  a professional interior designer will save you a lot more money because of their insider status and personal associations with sources that are only available to the trade.  Interior design is considered a glamorous profession, involving sophisticated men and women frequenting design centers and antique shops  in search of fashionable furnishings; this is a myth.  Behind the scenes the reality becomes apparent; it’s a tedious job requiring many hours  of intense work, organizing a multitude of details, checking and cross checking  to prevent costly mistakes,  and to ensure that clients receive  a flawless product.  A competent designer can create an interior environment that is far beyond the ordinary, and will personally handle all the innumerable details that go into an exceptional design plan saving you considerable time, frustration and money.

 Most designers  will offer references whose credibility is only as relevant as that individual’s good or bad taste. What is good-looking to a person, whom you do not know, could very well be tasteless to you and most likely is. As in any profession there are those who excel, those who are average, and those with relatively little ability. Some people have difficulty aesthetically distinguishing a mediocre interior designer from an outstanding one.  Although it is not easy to vet an interior designer, it is extremely important to do so in a profession that does not have parameters or standards.

 Interior ”decorators” mostly employed by furniture and department  stores are generally commissioned sales persons whose principle responsibility is to sell furniture. Because their primary function consumes much of their time they are unable to offer the broad range of services that independent design professionals provide. The design  service is usually free which is a good indication of its various limitations.                                                                                                                                

 The majority of the top interior designers are located in metropolitan areas. That is not to say that a good designer cannot be found elsewhere; they do exist, but they’re in the minority (our firm, Delier & Delier, happens to be located in a small town 90 minutes north of Philadelphia in Bucks  CountyPennsylvania).  Search the internet for interior designers in your area and look at their portfolios – if you have a modicum of refined taste, and I assume you do or you wouldn’t be reading this blog, you will be astonished at  what you find.       

 Delier & Delier has taken the interior design profession to the next level. We are talented and highly qualified interior design professionals, moreover we like to refer to ourselves with a more specific and comprehensive terminology – Residential Interior & Home Furnishings Specialists. We consider ourselves to be among the best in our profession, but I’ll let you make that determination by visiting our website http://www.delierco.com. I’m confident that you will like what you see. But, I will lay claim to our credentials as home furnishings experts. Linda and I each have more than thirty years of experience in furniture manufacturing,  home textiles, designing, marketing and retailing in the home furnishings industry, as well as our years of experience in the interior design profession. We personally know the people who produce the furniture, we know the products and where to find them, and we know the quality companies and those companies that should be avoided. Our expertise and knowledge is all-encompassing because we have been involved in an industry and a profession for decades that we consider our passion.

 Through the years Linda and I have developed scores of personal relationships with our resources. For this reason the Delier Co. has become an authorized dealer for more than seventy-five of the worlds leading home furnishings manufacturers.  Our firm does not purchase through distributors; we buy direct at dead cost which gives us a significant pricing advantage over the trade.  Thus our clients benefit with unequaled prices on all furnishings that we specify.

 We can assure our clients that any product that we choose will be selected through an extensive thought process rather than an impulsive reaction - a process supported by information gained through years of experience. We have the unique ability to find that uncommon piece to satisfy our client’s desire for something out of the ordinary. We have the manufacturing resources and superior product knowledge and a level of discriminating taste to enable us to select outstanding furnishings for our client’s homes. We can separate the extraordinary from the ordinary.

 Our next level of interior designing will continue to fashion extraordinary home environments; the distinction will be our guarantee that the furnishings purchased for our client’s homes will be the right furnishings - precisely selected because of their scale, form, and finish;  furnishings that are realistically priced, and tastefully designed with exceptional quality and value, acquired only from the preeminent furniture makers in the world.  Please visit our website http://www.delierco.com and select products and resource library - to view pictures of high-end furniture and a list of the top home furnishings manufacturers that we are authorized to represent.

 Richard Delier