A few weeks ago, we gave you a sneak peek of exclusive Consumer Insights Now research looking at consumers’ attitudes about interior design and their plans to hire designers. The topline note: Nearly half of consumers would hire an interior designer to design their entire home — if money were no object.
It’s a positive sign of how many consumers see the value of designers’ work.
Here, I’m going to dive deeper into the full survey results to look at opportunities for designers to build their businesses.
Where they want help
If they were to hire a designer to do only one room of their house, consumers would, understandably, focus on those rooms where they spend most of their time and areas where guests are likely to visit: living room (24%), kitchen (15%), primary bedroom (12%), family room/den (9%) and dining room (7%). All other interior spaces were mentioned by 5% or fewer respondents.
Interestingly, 13% of consumers aren’t sure what room they’d like assistance with — an indication that designers can help people set their design priorities.
In general, Gen Zers and millennials are slightly more likely to want the help of an interior designer than Gen Xers or baby boomers, perhaps because younger generations have less time to devote to decorating because of family and work obligations, are still figuring out their own style, and may be moving from place to place more frequently. One outlier result: Gen Xers (ages 44-59) are more likely than other generations to want design help for their kitchens.
Who is likely to hire a designer
All those responses were aspirational: consumers imagining how they would use a designer’s help, if money were no object.
But the CIN survey also asked about actual plans, finding that nearly one in five consumers may use a designer, with 6% saying they plan to use a designer in 2024 and 13% indicating they might do so.
Younger consumers are more inclined to hire an interior designer, with 12% of Gen Z and 10% of younger millennials saying they plan to use one in 2024. By comparison, only 2% of baby boomers have plans to hire a designer.
I think younger consumers’ interest in design services represents an opportunity for interior designers to build a new pipeline of repeat business and referrals, as we know that satisfaction with a designer’s work on a client’s home often leads to future work on a client’s subsequent homes, vacation homes and their friends’ homes. The key is finding ways (including SEO) to reach potential design clients when they are early in the process of deciding whether to hire a designer.
Not surprisingly, those with incomes of $100,000 or more have plans to hire or would consider hiring a designer at higher rates than consumers with incomes below $100,000, according to the CIN results.
What resonates with consumers
A qualitative section of the research indicates the types of marketing messages that might be most effective in reaching designer-curious consumers.
Consumers want designer help for several key reasons, including efficiency. “Save me precious time” one respondent said.
They also value the expertise of designers, thinking they themselves lack the skills to create the kinds of interiors they want to live in. As one respondent said, a designer could help show “just how to decorate and where to place furniture (pieces) to look their best.” Another respondent saw the value in a designer helping “with a theme so everything looks stylish and up to date.” Similarly, a respondent noted that “a designer will have new ideas and furnishings I’ve not thought of.”
Other consumers want practical advice from designers regarding the best ways to use and organize their space. “My family has a lot of items, but we don’t know how to store them and effectively live in the space we have,” a survey respondent said.
Time saving. Style guidance. Space management. You can use your own strengths as a designer to decide in which of those areas you want to focus your own marketing efforts — and ways you might want to redefine your own expertise. For instance, consumers interested in the time designers can save them will appreciate well-organized, streamlined client onboarding processes and clear, efficient communication methods.
For more
I encourage you to dive deeper into the CIN research on your own, if you haven’t already had a chance to do so.
In addition to what I’ve written about above, the CIN design report also has details about consumers’ flooring, wall finish and color palette preferences for two key areas of the home — the living room and the primary bedroom — all helpfully broken down by geographic region.
It’s one of six CIN reports that have been released this fall. The full research set, which also includes consumers’ overall furniture buying and financing plans, as well as in-depth reports on living room, primary bedroom and mattress purchasing plans and priorities, is now available for download. This cycle’s CIN surveys were sponsored by Bread Pay and Pay Tomorrow.
About the research: Consumer Insights Now research is conducted twice a year for Design News Now and its sister publications, Home News Now, Casual News Now and Bedding News Now. Industry veteran Dana French leads the CIN research project.
This fall’s research surveyed 1,800 U.S. consumers who planned to purchase one or more home furnishings products from July 2024 to December 2024. All respondents were either the primary or joint purchase decision-maker.
