What happens during an interior design consultation?
Most people book a design consultation months after they first thought about it. They put it off because they picture turning up, being shown something enormous and expensive, and having to be polite about it. It really isn't like that, which is a shame, because a consultation is mostly just a long and very useful conversation about how you actually live in your house.
So here's the whole thing, from the first phone call to the day it's all sitting in your living room. It's written about how the design service works here at Roomes, though a lot of it holds true wherever you book one, and the questions at the end are worth asking of anybody.
What actually happens in an interior design consultation?
You sit down with a designer and talk about your home, how you live in it, what you'd like it to feel like and what you'd like to spend. It's a conversation rather than a presentation, because nobody can design a room they haven't heard you describe yet.
After that it moves in stages. We put a scheme together covering furniture, fabrics, lighting, colours and the finishing touches, and bring it to life with mood boards and specific product recommendations. You look at it and tell us what's working and what isn't, we refine it, and when you're happy we help you place the orders and choose the last few bits. Then you settle into it, with us still on the end of the phone.
Do I need to know what I want before I book?
No, and most people don't. "I hate this room and I can't work out why" is a perfectly good starting point, and it's often easier to work with than a fixed idea that turns out not to suit the space.
What helps far more than a plan is a sense of what you don't like. If the room's too dark, or the sofa's in the wrong place, or you've genuinely never once eaten at the dining table, say so. That's the useful bit.
What should I bring with me?
Measurements and photographs, if you have them. A rough size for the room, the window sizes and a photo of each wall on your phone will let a designer get straight to the interesting part instead of spending the first half hour picturing the place.
Beyond that, it's worth bringing:
- Anything you're keeping. The armchair that was your nan's, the rug you love, the telly that has to go on that wall.
- Anything you've saved. Screenshots, Pinterest boards, a page torn out of a magazine, all of it counts.
- Anything you've already ruled out, and why you ruled it out.
- A rough idea of what you'd like to spend. More on that below, because it matters more than people expect.
And if you turn up with none of the above, don't worry about it. Plenty of people do.
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What will the designer ask me?
Mostly how you live, rather than what you like. Who uses the room, when, what for, whether anyone eats in there, whether the dog gets on the sofa, which way it faces and what time the sun comes round to it.
It can feel like a lot of questions about nothing much, but those are the answers doing the real work. Three grandchildren under five decides the fabric. Which way the room faces decides the colour.
Do I have to talk about money?
Yes, and it's the most useful part of the appointment. A budget isn't a limit somebody's trying to talk you past, it's the thing that decides what gets designed in the first place, and a designer who knows the number can spend it where you'll actually notice it.
It's also how you avoid the one genuinely miserable outcome, which is falling in love with a scheme you were never going to be able to have. Say the figure out loud at the start, even a rough one, and everything you're shown after that is something you can say yes to.
What do I get at the end of it?
A scheme for your room, put in front of you as mood boards and specific product recommendations rather than vague suggestions. You see the furniture, fabrics, lighting, colours and finishing touches together, so you can tell how the room is going to feel instead of trying to imagine it one item at a time.
That's the part people find surprisingly emotional. Seeing two fabrics against a paint colour against the actual lamp is usually the moment it stops being a project and starts being your living room.
How much does an interior design consultation cost?
It's £250 per room. If you go on to place an order of £5,000 or more we refund the design fee in full, so for a lot of people doing a whole room it ends up costing nothing at all.
If you'd rather test the water first, there's a free 15 minute discovery call. You tell us what you're thinking of doing, we tell you honestly whether the design service is the right thing for it, and nobody is going to talk you into booking something you don't need.
Can I do just one room?
Yes, and it's how most people start. The fee is per room, so one room is a normal way to use the service rather than a small version of a proper job.
It's often the sensible order of things, too. Do the living room, live in it for a few months, then come back for the bedroom once you've seen how the first one turned out.
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Who will I be working with?
One of our own designers, and there are two of them, each with their own leaning. Holly Ambrose, our Senior Interior Designer, works in Modern Classic, and Lauren Perrett, our Design Consultant, works in Relaxed Contemporary.
If one of those sounds like your house, do mention it when you get in touch. And if neither means much to you yet, that's absolutely fine. Working out which one you are is half of what the first appointment is for.
What if you and your partner want completely different things?
Very common, and much less of a problem than it feels like on the drive over. Most couples disagree about two or three specific things and quietly agree about far more than they realise, they've just never had anybody in the room writing the agreements down.
That's where a designer earns their money, for the fairly unglamorous reason that they're a third person with no stake in who wins. Somebody neutral asking "which of these do you both actively like?" tends to settle in one afternoon what a year of pointing at furniture in shop windows hasn't.
Should I book in the showroom or online?
Both are available, and it comes down to whether you want to touch things. Appointments happen in our Upminster showroom or online, and the online version suits people who are short on time or don't live nearby.
If you can get to us, the showroom has one big advantage, and that's samples. Fabric books, leather, the actual sofa you can sit down on, spread across 42,000 square feet with over 80 sofa ranges in it. An afternoon here will rule things out far faster than a screen will.
What about curtains, blinds and anything that needs measuring?
That's our curtains and blinds service, and yes, somebody comes out to you for that one. It runs in four steps: a consultation in store or at home, expert measuring, made to measure production, then our fitters install the tracks, poles or blind system.
Raise it at the design consultation rather than afterwards. Window treatments change how a room reads more than almost anything else in it, and the fabric decisions are much easier made alongside the sofa than six weeks after it's arrived.
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What happens once the design is agreed?
You place the orders, and the timings become our job rather than yours. Some pieces are in stock and can be with you quickly, others are being made for you in the fabric you chose and take as long as the factory takes, so a full scheme usually lands in stages rather than all in one morning.
We'll give you an estimated timescale for each piece, keep an eye on it, and ring you to book a slot when things reach the warehouse. If you'd rather have one big delivery day than four small ones, just say so and we'll hold things back until the last piece arrives. That, and how you can spread the cost, is all covered in how delivery and finance work.
How do I book?
Three ways, and none of them commits you to anything. Book a consultation or the free 15 minute discovery call on our interior design page, ring the showroom on 01708 255300, or simply come in and ask.
We're at 22-24 Station Road, Upminster, RM14 2UB, a couple of minutes from the station, with low cost parking on St Lawrence Road. Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10.30am to 4.30pm. You don't need an appointment for a general look round, and it's worth having one before you book anything, if only to see the size of the place.
The short version
An interior design consultation is a conversation about how you live, followed by a scheme built around it. You talk through the room, your lifestyle and your budget, we put together mood boards and product recommendations covering furniture, fabrics, lighting and colour, you refine it until it's right, and then we help you order it and get it in.
It costs £250 per room, and the fee is refunded in full on orders of £5,000 or more. You can have it in the showroom or online, you don't need to know what you want beforehand, and there's a free 15 minute call first if you'd like to work out whether it's for you.
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Frequently asked questions
What happens in an interior design consultation? You meet a designer, in the showroom or online, and talk through your home, your lifestyle, your budget and the look you want. The designer then creates a scheme for the room using mood boards and specific product recommendations covering furniture, fabrics, lighting, colours and finishing touches. You review it and refine it, then place the orders with help choosing the final details.
How much does an interior design consultation cost at Roomes? The design service is £250 per room. When you place an order of £5,000 or more, the design fee is refunded in full, which makes the service complimentary. There is also a free 15 minute discovery call if you want to talk it through before booking.
Do I need to know what I want before booking an interior designer? No. Most people book because they are unhappy with a room and cannot work out why, and that is a perfectly good starting point. Knowing what you dislike is more useful than arriving with a plan.
Are consultations held in store or at home? Interior design consultations are held in the Upminster showroom or online. The curtains and blinds service is separate and does include a home appointment, with expert measuring and installation by fitters.
What should I bring to an interior design consultation? Rough room measurements, window sizes and photos of each wall, plus anything you are keeping, anything you have saved for inspiration and a rough budget. None of it is essential, and plenty of people arrive with nothing at all.
Can I use the interior design service for just one room? Yes. The fee is charged per room, so a single room is a normal way to use the service. Many people do one room, live with it, then come back for the next.
- 12th September 2026
