5 Things to look for when Hiring an Interior Designer in Orange County

Ready to make the jump into hiring someone to help you create your dream home in Orange County? Your space is intensely personal, so choosing the right person to work with needs to be equally so! Here are a few tips on how to hire the right interior designer for you!

1. Make Sure Your Orange County Interior Designer Matches Your Style!

Before anything, your interior designer has to be able to have the same vision as you. This doesn’t necessarily mean you two have to have the exact same personal style, but it does mean that your designer needs to: 

• Listen to your ideas, pain points, functional needs, and goals. 

• Add your personality into their design plans.

• Work within your timeline and budget.

• Not only have an eye for aesthetics, but also have a technical background and plenty of experience.

Some designers may specialize in only one “signature look”, but here at Viève Interiors, our portfolio spans a wide range of stylistic and aesthetic approaches! From Transitional to Traditional, and Modern to Minimalist, we have experience designing spaces in many different design styles. 

2. Get References & Credentials Before Selecting an OC Interior Design Company

Put your Orange County interior designer’s experience to the test! Remember, it is OK to ask your interior designer where they studied design, or how they got their technical training. It is also recommended that you look at pedigree, past reviews, and previous projects, as well as speak with some of their previous clients. While pictures give you an idea of the final product, they don’t show your designer executing the interior design process itself. However, previous clients can provide you with insight into what it is like working with a specific designer! At Viève Interiors, clients and contractors love that we make the process of design easy.

3. How Does the Interior Designer Charge for Services?

It’s not just important to discuss how much a designer may charge, but how they charge as well! Some interior design companies may charge an hourly rate, while others charge a flat fee. If you want a high level of involvement every step of the way, then you may want a flat rate for full-service design, while someone who just needs to replace an item or two or even just a few hours of design consulting might do best with an hourly fee. At Viève Interiors, we offer either flat-fee or hourly design services to accommodate your needs no matter how big or small your project may be. 

Payment schedule is also an important thing to consider when looking at your budget. Whether your Orange County designer invoices on a monthly basis, requires an upfront retainer or regular installments, make sure to find what works for you and your plans. 

4. How Long Will Your Interior Design Project Take?

Of course, if you could hire the Mary Poppins of interior design in Orange County, and everything would be new at the snap of a finger, we would hire her too!. Unfortunately, the design process doesn’t work that way. The reality is that full home renovations take many months, even a year or more to complete. And, since the COVID pandemic, we are still seeing major delays in the shipment and delivery of materials and merchandise needed to complete your designs. 

Make sure to be realistic about the timeline of your project and ask your designer how long it might take. Also keep in mind, everything doesn’t have to be done at once. In fact, many homeowners break their project into phases or by room. If your timeline or budget is limited, consider focusing on the key areas of your home first. Whichever way you decide to go—room-by-room or full remodel—choose an interior designer that will be forthcoming about the timeline.

5. Does Your Interior Designer Have Relationships with Contractors in OC?

An interior designer can’t be successful without great, long-term, relationships with local contractors in Orange County. While the interior designer might be steering the ship, contractors are the engine that get the project to where it needs to go.  

A good contractor is worth their weight in gold, and a great interior designer has a solid rolodex of good contractors. After all, what good is the design if it never makes it off paper? 

We hope that you have gained a better understanding of what to look for when hiring an interior designer in Orange County! If you have questions, or would like to book a discovery call, call 949-610-7800 or fill out the contact form and we will reach out to you directly!  

At Viève Interiors, it is our mission to help homeowners love where they live because happy homes are the most beautiful homes!

Top 5 Reasons Customers Love Viève Interiors & Choose Us for Interior Design

Can we let you in on a little secret? When it comes to how our interior design concepts transform homes across Orange County, we are OK with tooting our own horn. In fact, we kind of love bragging about our work—we’re really proud of the beautiful spaces we have designed for our customers. 

However, when it comes to bragging about other aspects of our Newport Beach Interior Design business—and why our customers love Viève Interiors so much—we get a little shy. So, we have decided to let our customers do the talking for us! Here are the top 5 reasons customers love Viève Interiors and chose us for interior design.

We are not just decorators (although decorating is a big part of our job description)—we help our customers every step of the way in the remodel process. Viève Interiors can help you with any and all phases of your design project. Here’s how we do it: 

Step 1: Conceptual Design & Space Planning

Using our spatial skills and depth of knowledge, we rework your existing floor plan to meet your needs, which may even include removing walls (if budget and desired results warrant).  We improve flow patterns and can also incorporate your existing furniture into the furniture space plan. In this step of the process, we discover and implement the design direction and define the color palette. 

Step 2: Architectural Detailing & Rendering

The architectural detailing and 3D rendering includes creating specific plans that will be expressed and shared with your contractor. These plans will include descriptions of cabinets, inserts, millwork, floor finishings, countertops, tile, plumbing and light fixtures, and all other details we select for your home. 

Step 3: Furniture & Accessory Selection

We thoughtfully integrate your existing cherished items with new furniture and accessories to create a cohesive design plan. At this stage of the interior design process, all furniture and art is selected along with window treatments and bedding. 

Step 4: Purchasing & Procurement 

Let us do the hard, tedious work of communicating with vendors for you. We will use our resources to create purchase orders and coordinate deliveries and/or expedited services with a wealth of vendors we’ve built relationships with over time.

Step 5: Installation & Styling

The last step of the interior design process includes the installation of the furniture and adding the finishing touches to your home. These final items often include the addition of accessories, art work, table settings, and even custom flower arrangements . 

No project is too big or small for us. We work within your budget and your needs to create your dream home. To spice up your space while staying on budget, we can select more affordable items, and then weave in a few designer pieces to elevate your design.

We also offer a couple different payment options—a flat rate fee for the entire project, or based on an hourly rate, billed every two weeks. This way, you can choose to have as much or as little help as you need or can afford.

And, we offer a super juicy secret-menu item: an E-design service. The E-design service is a budget-friendly way for clients to work with Viève Interiors (great for our out-of-state friends, too!). With this service, you send photos and dimensions of a room you’d like designed, and we will  share our vision, recommendations and links of items to purchase.

Genevieve, owner and creative visionary of our Newport Beach interior design company, has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and continued her education in interior design at the Interior Designers Institute. Genevieve’s civil engineering background allows for her to communicate with your contractor on a deeper level than most other interior designers. It also means we are capable of producing a professional set of AutoCAD drawings and even 3D renderings for a complete remodel. 

And her creativity? Well that speaks for itself through our work. Genevieve’s expertise, education, and creativity make Viève interiors boldly stand out from the competition.

We take note of what is turning heads in your home, and what items you absolutely have to keep. Then, we come up with a design plan that includes and embraces these items to make sure you are happy with your home. Something that makes Viève Interiors unique in our industry is that we don’t just design in one style. We take your style preferences into consideration and incorporate the items in your home that have special meaning to you all the while ensuring that the overall design is cohesive and the blending of your pieces is seamless.

We believe that any design style can look flawless, as long as you stick to a few key design principles—a good balance of color, using a variety of textures, checking the scale and proportions, and implementing good contrast, to name a few. That’s how we are able to ensure your home will look classy and beautiful while staying true to your own design style. Bottom line, we will have a vision for your home that you will love, no matter your style or budget.

We couldn’t be more grateful and proud of the reviews we have received. Thank you to our extraordinary clients!

Will your home be our next project? We hope so! To help you decide, set up a consultation with Viève Interiors today.