Speaker A

Updating your interior design can enliven your surroundings and bring a new sense of order to your living space. I knew what I wanted to change in the aesthetics of my flat but on the one hand I didn’t feel I had enough expertise to do it myself and on the other I wasn’t too keen to hire a professional. I doubted whether a stranger could take my vision and run with it. Still, after I considered the scale of the project, I had no choice but to take a risk. The woman I hired was firm, charged a flat fee and demanded payment up-front in full on any purchases that had to be made. I hesitated about that for fear that I might be swindled, but eventually I reluctantly agreed, and it was one of the best decisions in my life. She helped me narrow down the overwhelming choices and knew exactly where to find the best deals. The thing I appreciated most was her fresh perspective on my home.

Speaker B

As interior design is subjective, it can be an intimidating process to hire someone to make decisions about your home. But I felt so bored with my apartment that I was ready to take the plunge into the unknown. I just needed a professional who could rise to the occasion. But I was already overdrawn and I really had to keep the expenses within my budget. The designer I hired charged an hourly rate so to trim down her fee I decided to do my own purchasing and installation. However, when I asked for a shopping list and the floor plan so that I could choose certain items myself, she was very vocal in her displeasure. She had a go at me and made snide remarks about my stinginess. I gave back as good as I got and at some point we found ourselves in a no-win situation. But let’s face it, I didn’t hire a designer to do the shopping or order things on the Internet, did I?

Speaker C

I’m not a person who willingly cedes control, so knowing the effect I wanted to achieve, I decided to attempt the makeover myself. I thought that it would spare me the onerous task of trying to convey my ideas to a stranger. But I work long hours so I had to carry out the project in stages and it turned out to be a real mess. The colours were wrong, the lighting was too dim and the tiles in the bathroom needed redoing because they were misaligned. I had no choice but to hire a professional to put things right. The problem was that by that time all my savings had run out. To cover the designer’s fee I got a substantial loan and after a week of lengthy negotiations signed a contract. I had the flat done within a month, and surprisingly the result wasn’t much different from what I had wanted originally.