Best Interior Designers: What Actually Separates Them from Everyone Else

The best interior designers are separated by five things: design thinking, craftsmanship, whole home planning, control over furniture making and the quality of their service. Fame and a polished image gallery are poor guides, while these five can be tested. Each one can be checked before you commit to the interior designer.

This guide explains each one. It links to focused articles on finding, judging and hiring the best interior designers for a home, an office or a compact space. Luxury interior designer, furniture designer and manufacturer, Mark Alexander, and his studio, Mark Alexander Design Artistry, are our reference point. The studio was established in 1981.

What Separates the Best Interior Designers From the Rest?

The best interior designers think before they decorate, build with real craft and plan the whole home. They also control how furniture is made and look after clients from the first call to the final installation. Each of these shows in the way an interior designer works, not only in the finished photographs.

Many interior designers can produce an attractive room. Fewer can explain why the layout works, who built each piece and how the details will hold up over time. The sections below take the five qualities in turn, so you can test them yourself.

How Does Design Thinking Set the Best Interior Designers Apart?

The best interior designers start with the room and the way you live in it, not with a favourite look. They ask why before they decide what, and every choice can be explained in terms of light, proportion and use.

That starts with seeing the space. Luxury interior designer, furniture designer and manufacturer, Mark Alexander, visits every space before designing, so each piece is drawn to the room’s real dimensions. Photographs cannot show how a doorway narrows a walkway or how afternoon light changes a wall.

Design thinking also keeps a scheme modern. Contemporary and modern interiors depend on restraint, clean lines and careful editing. An interior designer who knows why each element earns its place can achieve that without the room becoming cold.

Design thinking also tests ideas against daily routines. Where do bags land when you arrive? How do guests move between the dining table and the living area? Answers like these shape the plan long before any fabric is chosen.

Why Does Craftsmanship Matter to the Best Interior Designers?

Craftsmanship decides whether a room still looks sharp long after installation. Good detail is rarely obvious on the first day, but it becomes obvious when it is missing.

From an early age, luxury interior designer, furniture designer and manufacturer, Mark Alexander, showed a natural talent for art, style, drawing and woodwork. Mark Alexander went on to train in French polishing and furniture manufacturing. That hands on knowledge shapes how the studio specifies finish, joins and materials.

Hand drawn concepts are part of the same habit. Drawing a piece by hand forces decisions about curve, proportion and edge before any material is cut. The studio designs pieces to serve for generations, and that intention starts on paper.

How Do the Best Interior Designers Plan a Whole Home?

The best interior designers  plan every room as part of one idea, with consistent materials, a clear flow and furniture that belongs together. The result reads as calm because nothing competes with anything else.

Room by room decorating tends to produce a home of separate moods. Whole home planning avoids that by settling the palette, the materials and the furniture families first. Our article on why the best interior designers think about the entire home, not individual rooms explains the method.

Why Do the Best Interior Designers Make Their Own Furniture?

The best interior designers who make their own furniture control proportion, material and finish directly, which most interior designers who buy in cannot do. The studio describes itself as “Australia’s only interior designer with in house furniture manufacturing”.

When an interior designer buys furniture, proportion depends on what suppliers offer. When the interior designer makes it, proportion follows the room. That is why the difference shows most in sofas, dining tables and wall units, where a few centimetres change the whole space.

Every item of furniture is custom made and bespoke. It can be bought as designed or fully customised. The range includes sofas, dining tables, dining chairs, console tables, sideboards, wall units, bedroom furniture, office furniture and outdoor furniture.

The Cartier Sydney flagship shows the approach at work. The studio created a series of curved and modular luxury sofas, custom designed and built for the boutique. You can explore the studio’s custom sofas and custom tables.

What Does Service Look Like From the Best Interior Designers?

Service from the best interior designers is clear, documented and visible at every stage. You know what you are getting before work begins, and you see progress while it is under way.

At the studio, a clear, itemised proposal tailored to the space comes first. Hand drawn concepts, fabric selections and detailed project plans follow, and they are approved before production starts. Production is overseen personally at each stage, by interior designer Mark Alexander with regular photo and video updates.

Service is also about honesty. The best interior designers explain what a design will and will not achieve, describe trade offs plainly and set out what has been agreed. A documented process means fewer surprises and keeps everyone working towards the same result.

Delivery is white glove, with pieces installed and placed to the vision. The design process page sets out every stage in order.

How Do You Find the Best Interior Designers in Australia?

Start with referrals, studio websites and finished projects you can inspect, then compare each interior designer on the same questions. A structured search beats a quick scroll through images. It also gives you a fair basis for comparing interior designers who work in very different ways, and it keeps the decision calm and informed.

Our national guide covers where to look, how to review a portfolio, what to ask at a first appointment and which red flags matter. Read how to find the best interior designers in Australia and what to look for in one before you book any meetings.

Do the Best Interior Designers Understand Your City?

Yes, the best interior designers adapt to the light, climate and building types of each city. The studio serves Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and each city has its own article and service page.

• Sydney: best interior designers in Sydney and the interior designer Sydney page
• Melbourne: best interior designer in Melbourne and the interior designer Melbourne page
• Brisbane: best interior designer in Brisbane and the interior designer Brisbane page
• Adelaide: best interior designer in Adelaide and the interior designer Adelaide page

Do the Best Interior Designers Work on Every Type of Space?

The best interior designers apply the same thinking to homes, offices and compact spaces, adjusting scale and detail for each. The principles stay constant, while the solutions change.

Homes call for room by room decisions that still add up to one scheme, and you can read about the best interior designers for home. Workplaces need a different balance of impression and function, covered in the best interior designers for office. Apartments and compact homes reward careful scaling, explored in the best interior designers for small spaces.

The studio’s commercial work includes Cartier’s flagship stores in Sydney and Melbourne, and it continues across store refurbishments throughout the Asia Pacific region. See the luxury commercial projects page for more.

How Do You Book a Private Appointment With One of the Best Interior Designers?

Call 1300 133 326 to book a private appointment or in home consultation with Mark Alexander Design Artistry. The first step is a conversation, by phone, online meeting or home visit.

After that, share photos, floor plans or inspiration images. The studio then prepares a proposal for your space. You can also browse the studio’s portfolio of work before you call.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Interior Designers

Is the most famous interior designer always the best choice?

No. Fame shows visibility, not fit. The best choice is the interior designer whose finished work, methods and range match what you want for your own home.

Should I involve the best interior designers before or after choosing a builder?

Involve them as early as you can. Layout, joinery and furniture decisions are simplest before construction begins, and an interior designer can then coordinate with your builder from the start.

Do the best interior designers only take on large projects?

No. The best interior designers bring the same planning to a single room as to a whole home. What matters is the care taken with proportion, material and detail, not the size of the space.

Do the best interior designers offer support after installation?

The best ones do. The studio offers care guidance and styling help for future additions, so the room keeps its character as your collection grows.

Will the best interior designers respect my own taste?

Yes. The studio begins with your vision, shared through photos, floor plans or inspiration images. It then tailors a proposal to the space, so the result reflects you.