Get Quotes from Top Interior Designers in Oklahoma City, OK

Are You Registered or Certified to Practice as an Interior Designer in Oklahoma City?

Interior designers in Oklahoma City do not require government-issued occupational or professional licenses to go about their business. However, even though no strict rules prevent interior designers in Oklahoma City from practicing, these professionals are mandated by state law to fulfill certain prerequisites before using the designation 'Registered Interior Designer,' either when referring to themselves or the services they render.

Violations of this law can lead to criminal and civil penalties that include jail time of up to one year or fines of up to $10,000.

The Oklahoma Board of Architects (OBA) handles the interior designer registration process, and individuals who wish to undergo this process must meet certain criteria for education, examination, and experience. These include:

• Must have completed an interior design degree from a university accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). Examples of these universities include the Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Central Oklahoma.
• Must have passed a set of examinations administered by the Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ).
• Must provide evidence of at least two years or 3,250 hours of work experience. Note that this provided evidence is subject to approval by the board.

Registration applications can be submitted to the OBA online via its Application Portal. Applicants are typically required to pay stipulated fees and provide documents like

• Official college transcripts
• Work/training references
• Passport photos

You can contact the Oklahoma Board of Architects at (405) 949-2383 to get more information on its registration requirements for interior designers. It is always in your best interest to ensure that the OBA has properly registered the interior designer you intend to hire, as this gives you confidence in their qualification and professionalism.

To this end, the OBA provides a Public Registry that you can use to confirm your intended interior designer's registration status.

How Much Do You Charge Compared to Other Interior Designers in Oklahoma City?

To avoid misunderstandings down the line, it is necessary to find out how much you will be required to pay for an interior designer's services before entering into any agreements with them. Interior Designers in Oklahoma City typically offer first visits or consultations free of charge. However, charges for subsequent consultations and their overall fees are typically calculated through different methods. These include:

• Fixed or Flat Rate Fee System: with this system, the interior designer typically charges a fixed fee for the services they offer, which will be used to cover every expense incurred during the project. This method is mostly used for large projects.
• Hourly Fee System: with this system, the interior designer usually charges the client based on the number of hours spent on your project. This kind of fee system is recommended for relatively small projects. However, you may need to pay a retainer before the interior designer commences work on the project.
• Percentage Fee System: with this system, the interior designer charges a percentage of the full cost of your home improvement or renovation project. This percentage could range from ten to forty percent, depending on the particular interior designer on the job.

Bear in mind that the reputation of your preferred interior designer will affect their rates and charges. Other determining factors that will influence the cost of your project include the size of your home and the types of materials that will be used for the job.

Nevertheless, it is advisable to ask for and compare quotes from up to three or four interior designers in the city before settling on your preferred choice. Doing this gives you the advantage of finding out the average rates for your required service while spotting interior designers charge highly excessive and outrageous rates.

Interior designers in Oklahoma City earn an average annual wage of $49,390. The list below provides the average hourly wages of these professionals compared with the average hourly wages of interior designers across the rest of Oklahoma as well as several other locations in the United States:

What Kind of Interior Design Services Do You Offer?

Making inquiries into the types of services an interior designer offers is a requisite step in ascertaining if the interior designer is suitable for the project and ensuring that you receive top-notch service and value for your money. Professional interior designers in Oklahoma City typically offer several types of services, such as:

• Commercial and residential interior design
• Interior restorations
• Sustainable interior design
• Paint consultations
• Custom furniture design and procurement
• Holiday and event decoration

A major mistake that several homeowners make when searching for interior design services in Oklahoma City is assuming that interior designers and interior decorators provide the same scope of services. However, even though interior design and interior decoration are similar, these activities are different.

Interior design involves taking a client's unique characteristics and preferences into account to create functional, stylish, and tasteful living spaces for them. Interior designers typically undergo formal training and work closely with general contractors, architects, and other building professionals to achieve their goals.

On the other hand, interior decorators are mostly interested in the beauty and aesthetics of the space in question, and their services do not involve structural alterations or renovations to the home.

Once you confirm that your interior designer's area of expertise aligns with your project requirements, you should also find out and agree on the cost of these services. Listed below are the fee estimates for Interior Design services in Oklahoma City:

Residential Interior Design Services Fee Estimates

Commercial Interior Design Service Fee Estimates

What is Your Favourite Interior Design Style?

If you have a clear idea of the style or aesthetic you desire in your home, it is important to ensure that the interior designer you hire can implement these ideas and provide a tasteful finish at the end of the project. Leaving this bit to chance, either by not explicitly sharing your ideas or hiring an amateur, would mean ending up with a redesigned space that you would find highly unsatisfactory.

In a situation where the interior designer you wish to hire is known for a specific style, you should ask for and check their portfolio to confirm if their design style matches your living space ideas.

While many residents of Oklahoma City consider the Art Deco design style to be one of the most popular aesthetics for homes in the city, other popular interior design styles found in the area include:

• Organic Modern
• Boho
• Glam
• Country
• Traditional
• Modern
• Modern Farmhouse
• Industrial
• Coastal
• Minimalist
• Transitional
• Mid-Century Modern
• Eclectic
• Rustic

Note that having your interior designer create a distinct style that fits your personality and age is not out of place if you do not have your mind fixed on an exact interior design style or idea. Some common interior design styles favored by different age grades in Oklahoma City include:

• Generation X/Baby Boomer – Rustic, Traditional
• Generation Y/Millennial - Minimalist, Modern
• Generation Z – Rustic, Eclectic

Can You Provide References from People You Have Served in the Oklahoma City?

Residents of Oklahoma City often find interior designers through referrals from friends, family, or online directories made available by organizations such as the Designer Society of America and the American Society of Interior Designers.

Keep in mind that no matter how you contact the interior designer in the city, you should always ask them to provide you with references from people they have served locally before signing any contracts with them. Asking for references and getting first-hand reviews on interior designers is an effective way to verify their legitimacy and confirm any claims they may have made regarding their service delivery and work ethic.

Professional interior designers in Oklahoma will readily offer this information, and many of them will even go a step further by offering you a portfolio showcasing jobs they have completed. Be wary of any interior designer who cannot provide you with at least three local references or even seems hesitant to do so. This is a pointer to substandard service delivery, unprofessionalism, and even possible fraudulent behavior.

You can also consider taking additional steps after requesting and contacting references, like looking up your preferred interior designers via platforms like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, Google Review, and other similar third-party review platforms.

How Do You Structure Your Interior Design Projects?

An important area to watch out for when searching for suitable interior designers for your home remodeling and design in Oklahoma is how the designers structure their projects. How interior designers structure their projects gives you a glimpse of their time management skills and lets you know what to expect from the project.

This is crucial as it helps you confirm if the interior designer's project schedule will tally with your set milestones for the project, such as your expected move-in date or visits from family and friends.

The following is a typical design process utilized by professional interior designers in Oklahoma City:

• Discovery: this involves meeting with the client, discussing the client's unique needs, going through inspiration images, and coming up with an overall space plan of the home that needs designing.
• Inspiration: this involves the interior designer and their design team creating a concept statement for each room or space in the project, which will be used to guide the execution of the project.
• Design: this involves presenting the completed designs and concept statements to the client. Corrections, revisions, or adjustments may be made until a final design is selected.
• Procurement: this step involves ordering the necessary items and furnishings needed to execute the selected design plan.
• Installation: this involves fixing, hanging, and installing the procured items. This could take 1-5 days, depending on the scale of the project.
• Big Reveal: At this point, the project is ready and is unveiled to the client.

What Builders, Architects or Contractors Do You Work With?

The nature and scope of the project an interior designer has been hired for typically determines the kind of professionals they must work with to get the job done. To this end, your interior designer may act as the lead contractor who employs carpenters or painters or work in collaboration with architects, builders, and general contractors.

When the project requires your interior designer to hire subcontractors for the job, it is important to ensure that these individuals have been properly licensed and insured for the kind of work they have been engaged in.

According to the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics, over 57,780 work-related injuries were recorded among construction workers in 2020. Given these figures, the importance of confirming that your work is done by properly insured parties cannot be overemphasized. Failing to do this makes you liable for any injuries that occur during the job.

Therefore, always request insurance proof from your intended interior designer and all other construction-related workers who will be involved in your project, and verify this proof with the appropriate organizations before finalizing any hiring arrangements with them.

Make sure that each of these parties has a general liability insurance cover that is sufficient for the scope of the project, as well as state-mandated workers' compensation insurance where applicable.