Homeowners can find interior designers through a number of avenues. You may hear about a home interior design specialist through a friend, search through an online interior design directory or contact an interior design association. How you find an interior designer is up to you, but many people use a combination of the following methods.

Find Interior Designers Through Word of Mouth

Much like home improvement contractors, an interior designer’s success relies heavily on word of mouth. People who are happy with the results of their home interior design projects tend to tell friends and family. They also tend to want to show off their newly designed rooms, which gives homeowners a chance to evaluate the interior designer’s talents first hand.

People are even more likely to talk if they have bad interior design experiences, so pay close attention to what people say about interior designers. No matter how much a person sings the praises of an interior designer, always check the designer’s work, credentials and references. The person praising the designer may know her personally.

Find Interior Designers in Decorating Magazines

If you’re interested in home interior design, chances are you’ve looked through decorating magazines. If you haven’t, you should: Decorating magazines are wonderful sources of ideas for your home, and can also help you to find an interior designer.

If you see a room you like in an interior design magazine, make a note of the designer. If he lives close to you, you want to add the room’s designer to your list of possible interior designers. Local newspapers may sometime run home interior design articles, and will credit any designer whose work appears in the article.

Contacting Interior Design Associations

Homeowners can also find interior designers by contacting interior design associations and asking for a list of association members in their local area.

Although several interior design associations exist, the most influential association in the United States is probably the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). The ASID includes a nationwide interior design directory you can search for designers near you.

The ASID isn’t the only organization to offer online interior design directories. A number of web sites offer services that allow you to “find an interior designer.” Often the homeowner just needs to enter the nature of his home interior design project and his zip code to access a list of local designers.

No matter how you find interior designers, it’s vital that you take the time to confirm their credentials and references. Don’t feel rushed or pressured into making a decision until you find an interior designer that will work best with you.