If the job of decorating your home—not only with furniture but with floor and wall coverings, artwork, and other elements—seems too big for your available time, know-how, or artistic talent; if you want the benefit of someone else’s ideas; or if you want access to furniture choices available through wholesale showrooms not open to the public; consider using an interior designer.

You can use a designer employed by a store or hire an independent designer. You can hire a designer for the whole job, from developing a design concept to purchasing and supervising installation of the furnishings. Or you can hire one for a two- or three-hour consultation to provide new ideas and perspectives. But even if you hire a designer for the full job, you can remain thoroughly involved. You’ll need to meet with the designer regularly to review plans, fabric samples, proposed furniture pieces, and other design elements.

The cost of hiring a fully trained independent designer to redo a living room (including furniture plus design fee) is typically more than $20,000. But it can cost considerably more or considerably less depending on the room size, quantity and quality of items purchased, and the designer’s fee structure. Although some independent designers won’t accept clients who aren’t prepared to spend in this range, others are willing to work with much more limited budgets, and most understand that you might want a plan now and spread out actual purchases over many months.

Although some store-based designers offer limited service, some provide fairly extensive services, including drawing floor plans, advising on color, and ordering furniture. Different stores’ design departments use different payment formulas. At some stores you pay a small design fee, which is returned in full if furniture purchases exceed a certain dollar amount. You purchase items through the designer at the store’s current prices, including sale prices. Other stores’ design departments may charge on a per-hour basis—or charge a flat fee for a consultation and additional hourly fees for other tasks, such as writing up purchase specifications. Stores may waive the fee if your purchase is large enough. Since arrangements vary so widely, check with stores to find what services they offer and how they charge.