How to hire a home designer

How to hire a home designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step home designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a home designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new home designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a home designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the home designer you need to hire. Certain home designer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A home designer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, home designers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of home designer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Home Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Home Designer	Interior designers make interior spaces functional, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting decorative items, such as colors, lighting, and materials. They read blueprints and must be aware of building codes and inspection regulations, as well as universal accessibility standards.	$18-54
   Graphic Artist	A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project... Show more	$16-40
   Visual Merchandiser	A visual merchandiser is responsible for arranging product displays at retail outlets, attracting customers to purchase the items. Visual merchandisers should be updated with the latest trends in the market to prioritize retail displays and floor plans... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • In-Home
   • Customer Service
   • Design Solutions
   • Space Planning
   • Sales Associates
   • Retail Sales
   • Sketch
   • Design Projects
   • Window Treatments
   • Design Process
   • Product Line
   • Color Coordination
   • Trade Shows
   • Building Materials

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multiple residential kitchen and bath projects simultaneously from design inception to delivery in a fast pace energetic environment.
   • Prepare hand sketch elevations in perspective views.
   • Design kitchen and bath building and renovation projects for consumer and commercial customers, coordinating credit applications and processing payments.
   • Monitor orders utilizing POS system.
   • Manage multiple residential kitchen and bath projects simultaneously from design inception to delivery in a fast pace energetic environment.

   More home designer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your home designer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A home designer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, home designers' average salary in mississippi is 55% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level home designers earn 67% less than senior-level home designers.
   • Certifications. A home designer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a home designer's salary.

   Average home designer salary

   $66,541yearly

   $31.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level home designer salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average home designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$92,791	$45
   2	New York	$75,560	$36
   3	Massachusetts	$73,595	$35
   4	Colorado	$65,236	$31
   5	Michigan	$62,558	$30
   6	Pennsylvania	$61,761	$30
   7	Georgia	$61,577	$30
   8	North Carolina	$60,678	$29
   9	New Jersey	$58,764	$28
   10	Texas	$58,321	$28
   11	Illinois	$50,609	$24
   12	Florida	$46,996	$23

   Average home designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Best Buy	$104,518	$50.25	37
   2	The Home Depot	$102,649	$49.35	1,049
   3	Williams Sonoma	$100,566	$48.35	58
   4	HomeOwners Advantage	$99,155	$47.67
   5	Smith & Noble	$96,045	$46.18
   6	Carter Lumber	$87,132	$41.89	22
   7	Closets By Design	$86,684	$41.67	16
   8	Revman International	$74,481	$35.81
   9	Wisconsin Building Supply	$70,538	$33.91
   10	US LBM	$65,791	$31.63	19
   11	LCI Holdings, Inc	$65,790	$31.63
   12	Aire Serv	$65,214	$31.35	34
   13	Closet Factory	$64,092	$30.81	73
   14	ShelfGenie	$62,399	$30.00	11
   15	Catholic Charities Health and Human Services	$54,137	$26.03

4. Writing a home designer job description

   A home designer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a home designer job description:

   Home designer job description example

   Join our list of Top Sales / Design Consultants who make in excess of $125k of commission income per year.

   Closet Factory, Delaware Valley is currently looking for experienced salespeople with an interest in home organization.

   Looking for a flexible schedule, the ability to work from home and control your income? This opportunity is for you.

   Our national franchise organization has been rated #1 in our industry and has been in business for over 35 years. The brand has experienced substantial, long-term growth. As a result, we are searching for Sales / Design Associates to add to our professional team who are committed to sell and design our products directly to homeowners, builders, interior design firms, architects and engineers.

   Closet Factory (www.closetfactory.com) is the custom storage solution authority serving consumer home organizational needs from coast to coast.

   We design, locally manufacture, sell and install custom closets, home offices, garage cabinetry and flooring, home theaters, pantries, bookshelves, wall beds and more. We want Sales/Design Associates who are dedicated, creative, and committed to excellence and professional success. Our sales territory consists of the 8 southern counties of New Jersey, the 5 eastern counties of Pennsylvania and the northern county of Delaware.

   With our comprehensive and proven training program, those committed to the process will achieve substantial financial success and independence.

   Candidates must have and enjoy the following characteristics:

   * Excellent communication skills and consumer sales experience

   * Detail oriented with some concentration in design & space planning

   * Ability to work both independently and in teams

   * Develop and enjoy long term relationships with clients and the ability to solicit referrals

   * Effective in networking with Trade Associations and Charitable Groups

   * Develop your own portfolio of clients.

   If you embrace the above characteristics and wish to control your own schedule and income, please send your resume today since current positions are limited.

   Job Type: Full-time

   Compensation: $35,000.00 to $150,000.00 /year

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right home designer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with home designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit home designers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your home designer job on Zippia to find and recruit home designer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit home designers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new home designer

   Once you've decided on a perfect home designer candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new home designer. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a home designer?