It is appealing to look at pictures of well designed spaces, select one you like and endevor to copy it in your home or within your organisation however being an Interior Designer does involve study, a decent amount of aptitude, great sourcing contacts and a natural flare. Therefore attempting the process yourself can often lead to a unsatisfactory outcome and extra spend on getting the Professional Interior Design organisation in to sort out the mess. Obviously this is not always the case, particularly in home interior design, where often you can find a room layout that can be copied almost perfectly. Also if using some of the designs from the interiors magazines you’ll find that the sourcing information is provided for you so that you can actually get the same wallpaper, accessories and furniture that is shown in the design.

The issues start to arise where there is a more public area, either offices, shop or restaurant. By the very nature of the buildings that house these forms of business there will be many different styles, sizes and shapes of space and it is nearly impossible to find a comparable layout that has the same foot fall etc whilst being used for the same purpose. Take for example the different wishes of a retail outlet and a eating establishment. We have all see in the current climate, high street shops changing use rapidly from shops to restaurants and back the other way. You will also have noticed those restaurants that are housed in what used to be a retail outlet, at least you will recognise the ones that have not had a good or professional Interior Design Firm working on them. The wishes of a restaurant are quite different to the retail outlet. They need to offer an element of privacy and intimacy whilst having as many seats as possible, they need to be well ventilated, allow people to see inside but not be feel like they are on display when seated and must not feel like a passage that the waiter prowls up and down. The movement of people moving about in this type of business will be hugely different from the retail outlet which requires order, clear paths through giving easy access to all areas of the shop. It needs specific lighting allowing the products to be seen at their best and must entice people in from outside. Pushchairs and prams as well as wheel chairs need to be accounted for.

Attempting to cope with either of these forms of designs without training will generally result in a sub standard result. Customer flow, dealing with natural and artificial light and space utilization are some of the extra skills held by an Interior Designer. Certainly if thinking about the redesign of some space for business purposes it will probably prove a false economy to try to go it alone. Even if you don’t end up starting again and wasting the original effort the productivity of the area could very well be affected. Fitting and extra table into a restaurant will soon pay back any money spent on an interior design firm.