Acme How To - Architect vs: Designer

DIY Guy

08-10-2008, 01:33 PM

Architects and Interior Designers do very different things, although they also overlap on some things. Furthermore, what each one will do for you varies by the person you hire.

Speaking from experience, you might need both or you might need neither. I hired both an architect, and an interior designer. I also ended up hiring a kitchen designer, an engineer, a decorator, a window consultant, an energy consultant and a very good builder who was more helpful on most topics than many of the specialists.

My builder had more hands-on, practical experience and knowledge that proved helpful than most of my specialists.

My architect came up with the design for building alterations but was not needed for most of my major remodel. She drew up the plans for the city to approve, she took all the measurements and proposed different ways to fit what we wanted into the space we had to work with. She did not/would not work on aesthetics when it came down to railing styles, trim, mouldings and so on. But she did work on the aesthetics of scale and design of the structural features. Some architects wil go much farther and even design furniture, fixtures and small detail features for your home.

Our designer was focused on making the home comfortable, livable and functional. He learned about our family and style and then made good suggestions about material choices like flooring, counters, maximizing storage space, room design, flow and so on. He was willing to help us design down to the minute detail. He would make suggestions about the benefits of almost anything. For instance the moulding we liked, he told us, had the tendency to really accumulate dust. A different moulding would be much easier to keep clean. We never would have thought of that. On the other hand, he would have cost us more than the building contractor if we had had let him keep going. He was knowledgable, but he way too expensive.

As it turned out, our building contractor also knew that the moulding was dust prone. He knew just about everything our designer knew but he was much more practical. The designer would list every possible choice and consideration, even ones that really made no sense for us. The builder suggested much more practical and relevant things. No discussion of the benefits of frize versus berber carpet because we already said we didn't want any carpet.

We hired an Interior Decorator too. She was focused on what went inside the house. She focused on furniture, decorations, color, fabrics and so on. We fired the first one after she tried to decorate our house the way she liked to decorate, strangely similar to the way she decorated her office. We fired the second one after she asked us what we liked and then essentially told us to paint the color we mentioned, buy the furniture we said we liked without adding any value or benefit of her knowledge and experience. If we said we like blue and we like antique furniture, she would advise us to go out and buy blue antique furniture. She was worthless.

The engineer was necessary because anything structural has to be reviewed by an engineer, at least where we live. Of course our builder caught an oversight of the engineer (which the engineer later acknowledged).

Our kitchen designer knew everything about kitchens, from comfortable counter heights to lighting. She was was free, her services were included with the cost of the cabinetry.

Bottom line, our builder was our single greatest resource. For the cost, he was also the most economical. However, we were fortunate, we hired a quality, consciencious contractor. We've worked with plenty who just get the job done but won't tell you if you are making a mistake. That would just slow them down when they are focused on getting the job completed as quickly as possible.

My advise is to find a good builder and ask them if you need an architect for your project. If you don't have a clear idea of how you want your home layed out, and you don't have distinct ideas of materials to be used, then a designer might be very helpful. After all, it isn't the builder's job to tell you what to build. But once you have the idea planned out, then the builder's advice is invaluable. A lot of the decision of how many people you need on your project comes down to how much you need help with, versus how much you have already decided upon.