We catch up with architect Emily Barnes, founder of Design for Me, about how to find the right designer for your scheme

Emily Barnes

Design for Me matches property owners with professionals passionate about residential architecture

What is Design for Me and how does it help self-builders and renovators?

Design for Me is an online platform for property owners to connect with either interior or landscape designers as well as architects. The goal is to match people’s plans and ideas with the best professional to help deliver the scheme.

All of the designers in our database focus on residential works – they are often small practices and start ups or simply studios whose passion is home design. This means the service instantly weeds out all the bigger, commercial practices that perhaps show up on search engines but may not be right for a standard kitchen extension.

When a self-builder or renovator posts their project to the website, we send it out across our database so professionals can show their interest. The profiles have been tailored to make it easy to compare like-for-like, so it’s a lot less overwhelming than looking at companies’ websites separately. For instance, if you are searching for someone who specialises in eco builds, you can easily discover who has experience in that field. The profiles also feature references from previous clients and a picture of the professional, so you can get a real sense of who they are and what type of work they do.