During planning of a house an interior designer can guide the architect or the builder on where to place doors and windows, how can they use the maximum input of natural light, where to allocate storage spaces, avoiding demolition of walls, sizing walls, making desired openings, providing specific light points as per the lighting scheme by the designer and also early spotting of desired plumbing points for the exclusively designed bathrooms. This early involvement of interior decorator during planning will help in saving a lot of money which can be later used for re-modification after the completion of the building.

Clients usually feel that they must have a vivid vision of the problem before they consult a decorator, but this actually is not the fact. In a study conducted by an interior decoration agency in India among the designers and clients, most of the designers argued that they preferred to be involved with the project from the very beginning  interior models. As an interior decorator, I do agree with the point generally the interior decorators used to make regarding the early consultation of an interior decorator. So meet your designer immediately after you finalize the preliminary design proposal by the architect for your residential as well as buildings built for commercial purpose.

Finding a suitable interior decorator is the most important thing before assigning your interior designing job to anyone, you can realize from the list of qualified, certified and registered designers with the government approved design council in the country. In India, the institute which provides authentic information about interior designer in the country is the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID). You can browse through the list of interior decorators practising in the country and select a reputed designer from the list and visit their website or approach them to have a look at their successful projects in the similar category. Once you select the designer, discuss your requirements and budget for the interiors and finalize the agreement on the project's time schedule and professional fees.

Before staring the designing process of your interior first of all the interior decorator have to conduct a series of talks with the customers basically to know the type of designing the person wants. This series of conversations with the client and designer eventually lead to a mutual agreement about the requirements and it will help to know the aspiration and desires of the client with regard to his interior design. About 90% of clients usually have a good idea of their needs and preferences, a professional interior designer must reeducate the client's attitude about preferences.

The next step is the design of the interior to presented before the client as a soft copy or a hard copy. Designer has to present a proposal which might consists of sketches, 2-dimensional drawings of plan and coloured elevations along with a budget proposal. At the preliminary presentation the specific colours, furnishings, and details are not resolved yet, since the aim at that stage is to obtain the basic approval from the client.

Once the preliminary presentation / proposal has been accepted by the client, the designer will start working on the final stages. Some of the clients used to make changes in their agreed design once the design is already approved, for making these change the client must have separate meeting / meetings with the designer to finalize the design. The next stages of the design may consist of a series of drawings such as plans, elevations, details, sections and specifications are the language of good design offices, and they are prepared with carefully drawn dimensions and notes for the contractors who carry out the actual implementation. Each phase of the job is usually under the supervision of a job captain or chief designer to assure that everything has been considered and the job is moving smoothly to completion.