In the last few years, online interior design has become a beacon for busy homeowners.
Online design services allow you to collaborate with expert designers from the comfort of your home or office: fitting seamlessly into your hectic schedule. Sounds great, right?
Have you ever felt overwhelmed at all the time and decision making that is involved with designing and decorating your home? Then you’ll appreciate all the convenience customization and efficiency that online interior design offers.
No more needing to make time to meet with someone in person at your home. And say goodbye to spending weekend after weekend shopping in-person, tagging along with your designer or on your own, going from store-to-store to find all the items you need for your home. That doesn’t just translate into time saved and convenience but it can also mean keeping some of your hard earned cash in your wallet.
We’ll guide you through how online interior design can revolutionize your living spaces, discuss why it’s a great resource for those who value both time, function and a great looking home, and offer insights into selecting the right service to match your unique style.
What Exactly is Online Interior Design?
Online interior design is a digital approach to home decorating and space planning. It involves professional designers providing design services remotely, using online tools like email and Zoom.
Clients typically share details about their space, style preferences, and budget, and designers use this information to create custom, bespoke design plans, often including 3D models and digital mood boards.
This approach to designing a home emphasizes convenience, which means homeowners can access design services from anywhere. How cool is that?!
Unlike traditional interior design, which often requires in-person meetings, site visits, and physical samples, online interior design is conducted virtually. This digital format offers greater flexibility and accessibility, making it ideal for busy people.
Online design tends to be more cost-effective and quicker, as it eliminates travel time and physical meeting costs, focusing instead on virtual communication and presentation.
It also means that if you really like a designer that is not physically located in the same city as you, you can still work with them on your home as long as they offer online design services.
Online designers cater to a wider audience, offering custom solutions that range from single-room makeovers to whole-house redesigns. The range of these services reflects the changing needs and preferences of a digitally savvy clientele. It’s perfect for those of us who are always online and understand the value of time.
How Can Online Interior Design Benefit You?
The number one reason for doing a design project online vs. doing it the old-fashioned way is convenience. Online means busy homeowners can engage in the design process at their convenience; fitting everything around their packed schedules.
If you’ve ever tried to arrange a gathering with friends from college and understand how difficult it is to find a time when everyone is available, then you’ll appreciate the kind of convenience that online interior design offers. It means that there is no need to align your time with a designer’s availability for in-person meetings.
Collaborating remotely means unparalleled convenience. You can share ideas, feedback, and modifications with your designer through online tools, all from the comfort of your home or office. Or even while you’re on vacation. Because it’s this easy to communicate and collaborate, it makes the design process smoother and much more enjoyable.
It is also cost effective because you don’t have the need for physical meetings and samples. Online design reduces overhead costs. This often makes it more affordable than traditional interior design services.
Don’t get me wrong – this doesn’t imply interior design services will be cheap. You’re still paying for a specific type of expertise. It’s just that online services tend to be less than the traditional interior design services in general because of some cost efficiencies you can gain from eliminating some types of direct costs.
How Online Interior Design Works
Most online interior designers will follow a process similar to the one below.
Step 1: Initial Consultation
In most instances, your online interior design journey will start with an initial consultation. You’ll get to share your vision, style preferences, and budget details with your designer, often through an online questionnaire or a virtual meeting. This first step is all about understanding your unique needs and aspirations.
At Daakor, we’ve found that breaking this step down to two virtual meetings yields the best experience for our clients. In the first call, we talk about your goals and budget and in the second we review all of the input you provided and get any questions answered.
Step 2: Initial Concept
Next up is where you get a design concept based on your initial consultation. This stage often includes mood boards or initial sketches, giving you a glimpse of what’s possible in your space.
We offer you the option to purchase an extra initial concept. Our past clients have leveraged this opportunity to be able to choose from two completely different designs for their space.
Step 3: Feedback and Revisions
Like in any project that involves working with a professional, you will get to provide feedback on the initial concept, and watch as your designer refines and tweaks the design to align perfectly with your vision.
When you work with Daakor, we offer 2 revisions with the purchase of every design package and the option to provide feedback via phone, email or directly on our proprietary online platform.
Step 4: Final Design Plan
The final stage unveils a detailed design, including a comprehensive floor plan, life-like 3D renderings, and a curated shopping list for all the items needed to bring your new space to life.
We like to review the final design plan with you on a virtual meeting to give you an opportunity to hear about all the details and answer any questions you might have.
Step 5: Sourcing & Installation
Once you get past the design plan stage, that’s where you might see some big differences in various online service providers. Some design services will provide a turnkey service where they will deliver and install everything in the design in your home. And others will stop after they provide you with a design plan that may not even include a shopping list or sourcing.
Some services will provide a design plan with a shopping list with links where you can purchase on your own. Other services like Daakor, will do the shopping for you and have everything shipped right to your home.
At Daakor, we also provide our clients the flexibility to execute their design plan on their own or hire us to help. We are experts at managing design projects with various trades whether they are local or remote.
However, this flexibility gives our clients the ability to save on the most expensive phase of an interior design project, if they are handy. For those clients, we create an installation guide and make ourselves available when they have questions through the installation process.
How to Choose the Right Online Interior Design Service For You
Choosing an online interior designer is a lot like choosing a traditional interior designer but with some nuances.
Style & Budget
Some designers specialize in specific styles and often designers will have a minimum budget they will work with. Knowing this information will help you narrow down which designers you might consider for your home and project.
At Daakor, our design philosophy is that we want your home to reflect your personal design style. We are firm believers that your home should not be my style or that of someone on our design team. That’s why we’ve created a process to help us get a good handle on your style before we begin working on your design concept.
Follow this link for some tips on how to communicate your design style to your designer.
We also work with a variety of budgets with a minimum of $2500 for a project. However, it’s important to note that one of our requirements when we work with a client is that they have a realistic budget that helps them achieve the vision that they have for their home.
We want you to be ecstatic with the outcome of your design project while we get to create a design we can be proud of. And a healthy, realistic budget is key to achieving those goals.
Reviews & Portfolios
Just like you would check out the reviews of a product you plan to purchase online, we highly recommend that you delve into the portfolios of potential designers. Their past work is a window into their aesthetic and skill. Reviews from previous clients can provide invaluable insights into their working style and client satisfaction levels.
Often you will find renderings and drawings in the portfolios of online interior designers as it is always a challenge to get photographs of completed projects from clients in a timely fashion.
Beware of inauthentic reviews that are aimed to sway your choices as well. This is probably one of my biggest pet peeves about shopping online these days!
If you’re curious about our reviews, you can check them out here.
Comparison of Services
Research and compare various online interior design services. Look at their service offerings, price points, and the extent of customization they provide. Some might offer more involvement in the design process, while others may take a more hands-on approach.
At Daakor, we have refined our service offerings and the processes based on client feedback over the years. Our current services offer adequate rounds of revisions for our clients to get a design they love.
We also offer our clients the flexibility of providing feedback via video calls or through email in multiple touchpoints through the design process. If convenience is what our clients are after, they are also able to message us directly on our online platform.
Our design service combines the design of the space and the sourcing of all the material, like furniture, accessories and even things like tiles and cabinetry, needed for the transformation of the space. We also give our clients flexibility to do the installation on their own or to enlist our help. Since installation is typically the costliest part of a design project, this allows our clients to save some money if they are handy and are able to execute on their own.
Online design services also vary based on the scope of the project. Some designers will only take on furnishing and decorating projects. Others may only do kitchen and bath remodels. At Daakor we take on both furnishing and decorating spaces as well as helping our clients reimagine their kitchens and baths.
One common theme among online designers for the most part when it comes to scope is that they will prefer projects where changes you’re looking to make do not include tearing down walls or moving utilities.
In any design project, communication is key. Make sure your chosen designer understands your vision and communicates clearly with you. It’s important to feel a connection, as this person is helping to create a space that reflects your personality and lifestyle.
The right service for you is one that not only fits your aesthetic and budget but also makes the process enjoyable and fulfilling.
Implementing Your Online Design Plan
There is no point in having a design plan if you are not able to execute the plan. So here are some tips that will be hopefully helpful.
Start by reviewing your design plan in detail. Break down the plan into manageable tasks and create a timeline. Approach the implementation systematically, focusing on one space or aspect at a time.
If your online interior design service provider doesn’t source the items for you, review the shopping list provided by your designer. Explore recommended online retailers or local stores. Look for vendors that align with the quality and style outlined in your design.
If there’s one thing I can leave you with that is to expect the unexpected during an installation. Homeowners are often surprised by slight delays or small hiccups that invariably happen during the installation process. Those of us who do this on a regular basis know that it’s part of the process.
No matter how well you plan, there will always be some surprise that comes up. The key is to be flexible and be prepared. Patience is a virtue when you’re doing any type of home improvement.
Stay in touch with your designer for guidance or reassessment of options if you encounter significant hurdles.
Remember, designing a home you love is more than just a process; it’s a transformation. This guide, much like a well-thought-out design plan, is aimed to equip you with the information and confidence to consider an option that you may have not been aware of or have been curious about.
Think of online interior design as where convenience meets elegance, and your personal style gets to shine through in every detail.
May your home not only reflect your achievements but also become a sanctuary that resonates with your unique story. Embrace this journey with enthusiasm, and witness the unfolding of your dream space, where every corner tells a tale of your taste and aspirations.
