How to choose the best interior designer in Lagos
Lagos has hundreds of interior designers, from decorators who style a single room to luxury studios that design, make and install whole houses. Search for the best interior designers in Lagos and you will find lists and rankings, but the best designer for you depends on your space, your budget and the way you want to work. The choice shapes every decision that follows, from the first drawing to the evening you move in, so it deserves time.
These are the questions we would ask if we were choosing a studio ourselves.
Look at finished rooms
Start with work that has been completed and lived in. Photographs of real rooms tell you far more than computer renderings, which show an idea before it has met a builder, a budget or a Lagos rainy season. Ask which projects in the portfolio are finished, and whether you can see more of one you love.
Look for a point of view
The best studios have a recognisable eye. Across their projects you should see the same care for proportion, light, materials and detail, even when the rooms look nothing alike. If their work already feels close to how you want to live, every conversation that follows will be easier.
Ask who makes what
What makes a luxury interior feel finished is usually bespoke: joinery, upholstery, metalwork and curtains, made to measure for the room. Ask which pieces the studio designs and has made, who makes them, and how quality is checked before anything reaches the site. Ask, too, how the pieces that are bought are chosen, ordered and delivered.
Understand how the fees work
Studios charge in different ways: a design fee, a fee for each stage, a percentage of the project cost, or a mix of these. What matters is that you know what is included, what is extra and when payments fall due. Ask for the fee and the scope in writing before design begins, and ask how furniture and materials are priced.
Ask how the project will run
A clear process protects your time and your budget. Ask what the stages are, how long each usually takes, who will be on site and how often, and how you will see progress. If you are building from a distance, ask how design reviews and updates work while you are away.
Speak to past clients
A short call with a previous client tells you how a studio handles the parts photographs cannot show: changes of plan, delays and the final weeks before handover. Google reviews help too, especially when they describe the whole project as well as the finished look.
Notice the questions they ask you
In a first meeting, a good designer listens more than they present. They want to know how you live, who uses each room, what you want to keep and what the space needs to do in ten years. The questions a studio asks you are often the clearest sign of how it will work.
Questions to take to a first meeting
Which finished projects are closest to what I have in mind? Which pieces are bespoke, and who makes them? How do you charge, and what does the fee include? What are the stages, and how will I see progress? Who manages the site day to day? Can I speak to a past client?
If you are considering Studio Mogore, our Approach page sets out how a project runs from first conversation to handover. To begin, email hello@studiomogore.com with your floor plan, photographs of the property and an indication of your budget, or use our enquiry form.