How Architects and Interior Designers Work Together
How Architects and Interior Designers Work Together
Our Austin Architects Explain How We Work With Interior Designers to Build Your Dream Home
Embarking on a home renovation, addition, or new build is intimidating without help from an expert design team. Many professionals come together to design and build a home; two key players are architects and interior designers. We explain how architects and interior designers work together, the differences between their roles, and why you need both professionals on your team.
To start, let’s look at how architects and interior designers are different…
What Does an Architect Do?
Architects work within the architectural design process to create floor plans and exterior elevations and ultimately deliver construction documents for the contractor to carry out. Architects are responsible for the shell of the home, establishing an attractive exterior and a floor plan with good flow. At our Austin architecture firm, our team also creates initial cabinet drawings and chooses exterior material selections.
Lake Travis Remodel, 3D Model by DK Studio
What Does an Interior Designer Do?
Our Austin architects pass the task of choosing “the pretty things” to our interior design partners. Interior designers furnish and decorate the architect’s floor plan (and sometimes help collaborate on the initial design) to maximize form and function. While an architect will draw cabinet drawings and indicate material selections on the construction documents, an interior designer will select the cabinet style, the wood floor & color, and other interior design elements like paint colors, light fixtures, and furnishings.
Kitchen with Island/By DK Studio
Architect vs. Interior Designer: What's the Difference?
The roles of architects and interior designers overlap. For example, architects can make interior finish specifications, and interior designers can propose edits to the floor plan. However, each of these professionals has a distinct role on your home design team. Ultimately, your architect will be responsible for designing your floor plan and choosing exterior finishes. On the other hand, your interior designer will work with you to maximize interior functionality through furnishings, select interior finishes, and create a beautiful space that ties into the home's architectural style.
Do You Need an Architect and an Interior Designer to Build or Renovate Your Dream Home?
So, do you need both an architect and an interior designer for your project? Yes, you do! We recommend bringing in an interior designer after finalizing schematic designs. From here, we can work with interior designers to fine-tune floor plans to meet specific needs, such as locations for wall sconces or enough clearance to fit the client’s heirloom armoire. In addition to getting a better design through collaboration, your architect and interior designer will both be able to use their resources to bring on other key design team members, like structural engineers, furniture makers, and painters.
How Architects and Interior Designers Work Together on Projects
Here’s how architects and interior designers work together to deliver your dream home.
Traditional Cabinets/Design by DK Studio
Ensure Cohesive Style Inside and Out
Architects and interior designers work side by side to ensure your home has a cohesive style inside and out. For example, suppose you build a Craftsman-style home. In that case, the architect will communicate the plans with the interior designer so the exterior style and color choices can be carried through the interior. A home would feel disjointed if the interior was finished in a completely different style, like mid-century modern.
Create Chef-Worthy Kitchens
Your architect will design the layout of your kitchen and create initial cabinet elevation drawings. From there, your interior designer will take the plan and make final selections for the cabinet style, appliances, countertops, plumbing fixtures, and backsplash material. However, the process doesn’t end there. Once the interior designer makes the final selections, they will work with the architect to make any necessary adjustments to the plan. For example, the cabinet specification may change if the client chooses a six-burner range instead of a four-burner one.
Shed Light on Lighting Plans
The established purpose of the room will determine the lighting plan, and the architect and interior designer need to work together to “shed some light” on the final result. The architect and interior designer will jointly evaluate the room's natural light and intended function. Then, they will collaborate to establish the placement of task, ambient, and accent lighting.
Assemble the Right Professionals
Your architect and interior designer will also have access to different tradespeople and design professionals needed to complete your home. For example, your architect can recommend structural engineers and builders, while your interior designer can offer recommendations for wallpaper installers and window covering experts. If you didn’t have these two leading professionals on your design team, you’d be left choosing for yourself and may not get the speed of service as someone who already has the connection.
Problem Solve Together
Most importantly, architects and interior designers problem-solve together to create better homes for their clients. Each profession takes years of education, training, and experience to master, bringing a different perspective to the design challenges at hand. Hiring a team of problem solvers means a smoother home building or renovation experience for you.
Hiring the Right Professionals for Your Residential Design Project
The first step to hiring the right professionals for your home design project is knowing who to include on your design team. For large-scale projects, it’s necessary to hire both an architect and interior designer who work well with you and understand your vision. Our team of Austin architects believes in design for the spirit and can help you understand your needs, channel your style, and start building your home design team.