10 Questions to Ask an Interior Designer Before You Hire Them

Most people hire an interior designer on the strength of a portfolio and a good conversation. Both matter. Neither tells you what the next nine months will actually be like.

The questions below are the ones that surface how a practice really works. Ask them of every firm you shortlist, and compare the answers rather than the mood boards. A good practice will welcome them — clear expectations make the project easier for us too.

1. Who will actually be on my project, day to day?

In many firms the person who pitches is not the person who runs the job. That is not automatically a problem — large practices have to delegate — but you should know it before you sign, not in month three.

Ask: who draws it, who is on site, who do I call when something goes wrong, and how often will the principal designer actually look at my project?

At a small practice the answer is usually “the same two or three people throughout.” That continuity is most of what you are paying for.

2. How do you charge, and what triggers each payment?

There are three common structures in India:

• Percentage of project cost — the most common structure in India. Simple, but note that the fee rises if the project gets more expensive, and the percentage itself varies widely by firm and scope
• Per square foot — fixed against area, so the fee is known up front
• Lump sum — a fixed fee for a defined scope. Cleanest, provided the scope is genuinely defined

Then ask what triggers each instalment. Fees tied to deliverables — concept approved, drawings issued, site handed over — align everyone. Fees tied to calendar dates do not.

Also ask how the firm handles supplier relationships, and whether any part of its income comes from the vendors it specifies. Practices work differently and no single model is wrong — but it is worth understanding, because it can shape what gets recommended.

3. What exactly is in the scope — and what is out?

Get this in writing before anything else. Specifically:

• How many concept options, and how many rounds of revision are included?
• Are working drawings included, or only 3D visuals?
• Is site supervision included? How many visits, and how often?
• Does the fee cover furniture selection, or only the fitted work?
• Are curtains, art and styling included?
• Who coordinates with the contractor — you or the designer?

The single most common source of friction on residential projects is a scope that both sides interpreted differently. Twenty minutes spent on this question saves months.

4. Can I speak to two clients from projects you finished more than a year ago?

Not the most recent project — anyone can produce a happy client on handover day. A year later you learn whether the drawers still close, whether the waterproofing held through a monsoon, and how the firm responded when something needed fixing.

Ask those clients one specific question: what went wrong, and how did they handle it? Every project has something. The answer tells you more than any portfolio.

5. How do you handle changes once work has started?

You will change your mind about something. Everyone does. What matters is whether the firm has a process: a written variation note with cost and time impact, signed before the change is executed.

Firms without that process either absorb changes silently and resent them, or bill for them at the end without warning. Neither ends well.

6. What does your drawing set actually contain?

This question separates designers from decorators faster than any other. A proper residential set includes furniture layout, electrical and lighting layouts, ceiling plans with levels, plumbing points, joinery drawings with internal sections, flooring layouts with joint lines, and material specifications.

If the answer is “we give 3D views and the contractor works it out,” you are buying pictures, not design. The contractor will make hundreds of decisions on your behalf, and you will live with all of them.

7. What is your realistic timeline — and what usually causes delay?

Any firm can quote a fast timeline. A firm worth hiring will tell you what typically slows projects down: society NOCs, imported material lead times, monsoon, client decision cycles.

If a designer tells you nothing ever gets delayed, they are either inexperienced or not being straight with you.

8. Who do I buy from, and whose name is on the bill?

Three models exist. The designer specifies and you purchase directly. The designer purchases on your behalf and bills at cost plus a stated handling fee. Or the firm executes turnkey and bills you a single price.

All three are legitimate. Problems come from not knowing which one you are in. Ask whether you will see supplier invoices.

9. What happens after handover?

Ask about defect liability — how long, and what it covers. Ask whether you get a handover file with final drawings, material specifications, paint codes, warranties and supplier contacts.

That file is worth a great deal three years later when you need to touch up a wall or replace a broken handle.

10. Have you worked in my building or locality before?

A practical one in Delhi NCR. Societies have rules about working hours, material lifts, structural changes and NOCs. A firm that has worked in your building already knows them. A firm that has not will learn at your expense, in time.

The answers to listen for

You are listening for specificity. “It depends on the project” is a non-answer; “it depends on the project — for a home your size, typically X, and here is what would push it to Y” is a real one.

You are also listening for honesty about constraints. A designer who tells you what a budget cannot buy is far more useful than one who agrees to everything and reveals the gap later.

At Pochē Aesthetics we set scope, fee and process out in writing before any drawing begins, because the projects that run well are the ones where both sides knew what they had agreed. If you are shortlisting firms in Delhi NCR, talk to us — and ask us all ten. You can also read our guide to choosing a designer and see the work itself.

---

About Pochē Aesthetics
Pochē Aesthetics is a luxury residential architecture and interior design practice based in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, founded by architect Niyati Satsangi. We design private homes — farmhouses, villas and apartments — across Delhi NCR and India, handling architecture, interiors, materials, lighting and styling as one connected commission. More about the practice.