As consumer confidence ticks upward, the interior design industry has been quick to flourish via a burgeoning list of options in a demonstrably scaled-back building universe.
Olga Adler, owner of Olga Adler Interiors in Ridgefield, said the interior design world has come through the recession and is emerging as a service-based, rather than product-based, industry.
“The main change in the interior design industry is how designers structure their fees and the way in which they do business,” said Adler. “Eighty percent of designers used to rely on markups on products.”
Adler said that has changed as high-end home-goods retailers have had to open up their selling channels to move product.
“Five years ago, very few to-the-trade products were actually available to the public,” said Adler. “The design industry was catered to by D&D Building or New York Design Center” ”“ both in Manhattan ”“ “and designers would shop in places that nobody else could shop except the designer. You couldn”™t get the right products unless you worked with a designer.”
Adler said as dollars became tight more and more companies realized they must open to the public.
“You”™re turning away business if you”™re not,” said Adler. “So what”™s happening today is that design fees are based more on the designers time and expertise, rather than what they have access to.”
Adler, who began her business in Greenwich six years ago, has recently opened up a new office on Main Street in Ridgefield and added two designers to her staff. Adler said, however, that having an online voice for interior design is more important than the brick and mortar. She said 80 percent of new business comes through her web presence.
“There is very broad access now to design insight on the Internet; that has changed everything,” said Adler, including a rapid growth in design practitioners.
“Before an interior designer was something not everyone could afford,” said Adler. “It has definitely become more accessible to everyone.”
Cyndi Sadowsky, co-owner of Center Stage Designs in Fairfield, said hit television programs like “Extreme Home Makeover” and “Flip This House” have done a great deal for the exposure of interior design, though they have also created misperceptions.
“Those shows are both good and bad for us,” said Sadowsky. “It”™s great for the exposure of the industry and the validity of our expertise, but those jobs are done for free and by major crews in only a few days. It can give clients misconceptions about the fee structure and unreasonable time demands.”
Sadowsky said another adaptation of the industry has been the growth of home-staging as a service.
“We are brought in to home listings on the market with the intent of making it ”˜over the top”™ and making it memorable,” Sadowsky said. “It was a growing trend in theS and out West and now it has really grown in the Northeast.”
Sadowsky said they are approached for staging projects in equal numbers by homeowners and real estate brokers. “Realtors come to us saying we need to compete with the Greenwich market: ”˜What can we do to make this house stand out?”™”
Adler said wallets have tightened and the industry has become more approachable and ordinary to the public at large. She was able to adapt her business into online services that applied to a lower price point and to an earlier-stage homeowner.
There are now websites that cater to do-it-yourselfers, such as Stylishhometogo.com
Adler said unlike its parent industry of architecture the interior design business did not see a drop in business through 2009 and 2010.
“There were more remodeling projects, but that”™s already where often the interior design business lives,” said Alder. “Our business was steady through ”™08 and then ”™09. And 2010 turned out the be a great year for us.” Adler said the success in the past two years relates to scaling down larger projects. The result broadened the interior designers”™ project pool.
The Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 60.6, up from 53.3 in December. With rising consumer confidence, Adler said she expects 2011 to be a very good year for interior design and home improvement projects.
Also growing has been the collection of individuals diving into the interior design education process. Fairfield University has built a notable program, headed by interior design professionals from the Fairfield County area, including Trudy Dujardin, president of Dujardin Design Associates, Steven Gerber, manager of the City Lights Art Center in Bridgeport, and Fenella Pearson, president of Fenella Pearson Designs in Norwalk.
“There is more and more interest in the field,” said Dujardin. “It is more important than ever that if you are going to go into this field that you do find a firm that is respected and accredited.”
“The influx represents how strong interior design has become,” Adler said. “It has really solidified itself as its own mainstream industry.”
2011 Interior Designing Trends
· Animal prints in unusual shades
· Bright juicy colors for accents
· Use of sheers
· Muted beiges and soft natural tones for room colors
· British inspired punk-rock interior design
Thirty years ago, in 1981, I founded Use What You Have Interiors, a service-based interior redecorating firm in New York City, that shows people how to correct their existing mistakes and educates them.
Within months, as word spread, the business grew and we began to receive national print and TV coverage (NY Times, L.A. Times, Oprah, HGTV, House Beautiful, etc.).
Today, through my firm’s Decorator Training Program, there are redecorators who have been trained in my system all across North America and in other countries who offer affordable design help.
Lauri Ward
Author and Home Design Expert
This is the most interesting feature article I’ve read on the new interior design paradigm.
Wow, a design firm that did not see a “drop in business” like the architecture community!! I guess AZ was the exception! Call me doubtful.