Do Architects Also Do Interior Design, or Should You Hire a Luxury Interior Designer?
If you’re planning a house or doing a big renovation, you’ve probably already looked into getting an architect. Makes sense—they’re the ones who draw up the plans, figure out how everything fits together, and deal with all the council bits most of us don’t want to touch.
But then you start thinking about what comes next. The colours, furniture, lighting, finishes, the things that make the place feel like your home. And that’s when the question pops up: Does the architect handle that too? Or do you need a luxury interior designer?
There’s some overlap between what architects and luxury interior designers do, but they’re coming at it from different angles. So do you stick with just the architect and hope they cover enough? Or is bringing in a luxury interior designer the key to getting the kind of result you’re really after?
What Do Architects Actually Do?
Architects are mainly focused on how a place is built. The structure, for example. They’re the ones who work out where things go—walls, windows, doors, the roof. How it all fits together. They’re trained to handle the technical side too, like rules and council approvals.
They usually do the layout and building plans, sometimes throw in lighting or basic material suggestions. But most of the time, their job wraps up once the main structure is done.
What Do Luxury Interior Designers Actually Do?
Interior designers step in and sort out how the place feels to live in. The colours. The lighting. The luxury furniture. They look at how you move through the space, where the eye goes when you walk in, and what makes a place feel calm or lively.
A luxury interior designer? They usually go deeper. They think about things like texture, scale, how materials age, and what kind of luxury furniture fits not just the room, but your life. Some top interior designers even work with makers to get custom pieces or source things you can’t grab from the local shop.
What’s the Difference?
It comes down to this: architects think about how a place stands. Luxury Interior designers think about how it lives. One gives you walls. The other gives you warmth.
Architects will get everything built right. But if you want a home that feels inviting when you walk through the door, that’s usually where a luxury interior designer makes their mark.
Can Architects Do Interior Design Too?
Sometimes. Some do offer interior design help. They might choose tiles or paint colours, maybe suggest where to place some furniture. If you’re after a clean, minimal setup, this might be enough.
But it’s usually not the same depth you’d get from a top interior designer who focuses purely on interiors. Most architects just don’t go into the finer details of luxury furniture, finishes, or lighting layers.
The Right Team Makes All the Difference
When thinking about whether to hire an architect or a luxury interior designer in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide, everything depends on what you’re building and on your goals.
If you’re renovating or building from scratch, you’ll probably need an architect to handle the structure and plans. But if you care about the living part — the mood, the atmosphere, the comfort — a luxury interior designer can make a big difference.
You don’t have to choose one or the other. And you don’t need everything to be ridiculously expensive. But if you want everything done right, hiring the right professionals will save you money and headaches later.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, your home is an extension of you. It should feel like a place you really want to be. Architects make it stand. Luxury designers make it feel like home. If you need an interior designer in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane, click here to get in touch with luxury interior designer and furniture manufacturer Mark Alexander.
