‘Ask yourself not only how you live but most importantly how you’d like to live,’ says Carlos Garcia. ‘Sometimes rooms are used for a completely different purpose than we designers think they should be, and we need to ascertain why is it used that way and whether its use can be improved or changed altogether.’ Do you, for example, have a formal dining room that is in fact only ever used for art projects, or a spare bedroom that has become a de facto office? ‘Ask yourself what you genuinely spend most of your time doing,’ says Nicola Harding. ‘If you actually spend more time sorting laundry than formally entertaining, make your laundry room gorgeous and buy a second hand sofa for the formal living room, rather than something new.’ Taking a schematic approach can be helpful: ‘I sit down and do a sort of “heat map” of the house,’ says interior design consultant Lucinda Griffith. ‘I ask how much of the house they are using every day, how much every week and how much have they not been into since last Christmas. Then we try to work out what is stopping them using all of the footprint.’
What is my budget, really?
‘You have to cut your suit to fit your cloth,’ says interior designer Tamsin Saunders of Home & Found. ‘Be honest about your budget from the outset – that is the key determining factor.’ It’s so important to be realistic about this, and interior designers often find that their clients aren’t. ‘I ask what their budget is, then tear my hair out when they produce fabrics they love that are hundreds of pounds a metre,’ says Lucinda. Bear in mind that the bulk of your budget in a renovation project will go on things like joinery, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms, so the pretty soft furnishings you have your eye on may be the last in a long list of priorities. ‘Make sure you allow enough in your budget for lighting,’ adds Tamsin. ‘It is the litmus test of a truly beautiful original home and has a huge impact on how a room looks and feels.’
What do you hate?
In the wide world of interior design, it can be tricky to figure out what you like best of all, but a good starting place can be the things you really don’t like. If you are decorating with your significant other, it can be particularly helpful to ask what the other person does not want in the house. ‘I rarely ask what my clients like, but rather what they absolutely dislike,’ says Carlos Garcia. ‘Dislikes and fears can be rather irrational and difficult to overcome. There’s no point in living with something one detests. If one of my clients dislikes a particular colour but their partner loves it, I might just choose a couple of accents that make a difference to the room but aren’t too obvious. That way the other party is likely to accept them.’
Equally helpful is to think about what you already find annoying and difficult about your house, ‘I ask what the clients love and what they hate about their house. Then I try to work out why they hate the things they do,’ says Lucinda Griffith. This can lead to discussions about how rooms function, and whether everyone has enough space to do the things they want to do, as well as aesthetic decisions.