The Influence of Recent World Trends

• Major interest in the home, interior décor/design and home wares
• Popular interest in holistics, spiritual fulfilment, feng shui and the environment
• Feng shui concept/services more popular due to interest in holistics/health/well-being
• Feng shui concept is now considered aspirational
• Interest in feng shui concept and services has increased due to the market downshift
• Demand for novelty/innovation/individuality in the home environment
• Faster turnover in interior fashions and trends increases interest in design services/home wares
• Increased selection/availability/affordability of products and services
• Increased interest in home ownership
• Increased investment in quality of makeovers/extensions/renovations/new builds/second homes
• People are more spontaneous and open to change
• As more changes take place in people’s lives their living needs change
• More time spent within the home generates need to improve quality of the home environment
• More people working from home so need to improve working conditions within the home
• These needs and changes are now more affordable for people to implement
• Increased numbers of allergy/asthma sufferers so greater interest in health/natural alternatives

“I recently retired so I was going to spend more time in my home and I knew I needed an interior designer to get the whole house to work as effectively as possible as a complete unit.”

The Benefits of Recent Challenges

• The design profession is no longer over-subscribed
• Fewer under-qualified/inexperienced/untalented operators and unregistered hobbyists
  
• More people know about the benefits of hiring a design professional
• Design profession’s reputation/status is constantly improving
• More qualified/experienced/talented and specialised operators in the marketplace
• More realistic charging rates reflecting value for clients and proper recompense for designers
• Better quality of services/value for money/respect for budgets and timeframes
• More extensions/renovations/makeovers helping to keep design professionals in business
• Designers’ talents are being stretched more, portfolios are improving, ideas are better
• Less pressure of timeframes so more careful attention to clients needs
• Less mistakes being made which can be costly
• More attentive service from suppliers, better product value, better after sales support
• More availability of trades people and better standards of workmanship

“Nina dealt with all aspects of the project and her previous experience was invaluable as she knew all the pitfalls.”