Should you work with a solo designer?
I spent years working in marketing for a large grocery retail business where teams of people each handled a piece of a much bigger brief, so going it alone has been a revelation. I’ve found that doing everything yourself sharpened my thinking, clarified my values and given me a better understanding of who I am, what I’m offering and why.
If you're thinking about hiring an interior designer, you might naturally gravitate towards a larger studio - one with a portfolio full of impressive projects and a team to match. It's a completely understandable instinct, but before you do, it's worth knowing a few things about how sole practitioners work, because there are some genuine advantages that often get overlooked.
The person you meet is the person you get
In a larger studio, the principal designer's name attracts the work but the day-to-day is typically carried by junior members of the team, with the senior and principal designer involved at key moments rather than throughout. With a sole practitioner, there's one designer, and they're present for everything: every site visit, every sourcing decision, every conversation with your trades. Continuity matters.
Being lean doesn’t mean getting less
It's natural to assume that a larger, well-established studio comes with a price tag to match and that a sole practitioner offering competitive fees could be cutting corners somewhere to get there. In reality, a different scale of practice simply has a different cost structure behind the business, and that can work in a client's favour without any compromise on quality of materials, sourcing, or time spent on the project.
It can also mean that smaller or more focused projects are genuinely worth taking on, and worth doing properly. If your project doesn't need a full team, why pay for one?
Flexibility is a real advantage
A bigger practice is naturally geared towards a certain kind of project that suits its size and ways of working. That's completely logical, but it does mean that briefs which are tighter in scope, quicker in pace, or a little outside the usual template can sometimes be harder to accommodate. A solo designer tends to have more room to adapt, whether to a shifting brief, a tighter timeline, or something that doesn't fit neatly into a standard format.
A note on qualifications - it's worth asking
Interior design is an unregulated profession in the UK, which means there's no requirement to hold any formal qualification to practise. That doesn't automatically separate the good from the less good. I know of lots of extremely talented designers who've built their eye and their instincts via other creative disciplines, whether that's fashion, fine art, architecture, years of hands-on experience, or just pure talent.
However, I feel a formal qualification does signal a certain commitment to the discipline. I personally had a willingness to study it more formally, understand its technical side, and treat it as a profession in its own right. A Level 3 Diploma in Professional Interior Design, which I have, covers spatial planning, technical drawing, materials, and professional practice alongside the aesthetic. Yes, it's not the only route to being a great designer, but I would perhaps think about asking about it when you're choosing who to work with.
Last note
Studios do brilliant work, of course they do, and I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to be able to work in one to gain that kind of experience. But if you've been assuming that a larger practice is automatically the safer or more professional choice, I would say that a sole practitioner can offer some things that are genuinely difficult to replicate at scale.
Are you considering a design project in Surrey, South West London or the surrounding areas?
If you are planning a project and would like to explore working together, you can learn more on my Services page, or get in touch at hello@roxanarahamandesign.co.uk