If you’re hiring a living-room designer, decide who uses the room, what you watch or do there, and how many people should sit comfortably.
Prepare for the first meeting
Photograph the room in daylight and at night. Record its dimensions, windows, sockets and fixed lights, then measure furniture you plan to keep. Explain who uses the room, how many people sit there, whether you watch a television, read, work or host visitors, and what you like or dislike about your reference images.
Ask to see a seating plan with walking routes, lamp positions, sockets and cable access marked. Agree whether the designer will provide a shopping list, source items or arrange installation; price the design fee separately from products and labour.
Review function before decoration
Ask to see the proposed furniture arrangement and confirm that circulation routes remain usable. Discuss daylight, glare, television placement, flexible seating and storage for everyday items. If new electrical work is needed, agree who will assess and perform it.
Agree how purchasing will work
Find out whether the designer will provide a shopping list, obtain quotations or purchase items on your behalf. Check delivery, assembly, returns and substitutions. Agree the design fee separately from the cost of products and labour, and decide which purchases can wait.
Search the IDAK directory for available profiles and ask to see living-room projects relevant to your space. For a wider planning approach, explore interior design principles for Kenyan homes.
Related guide: What Is the Cost of Interior Design in Kenya? A Project Budget Checklist.
