Architect or Interior Designer? Getting the Distinction Right First
Before comparing firms, it's worth settling a more basic question that a lot of homeowners skip: do you actually need an architect, an interior designer, or both? The two disciplines overlap less than most people assume , and hiring the wrong one for your project stage often means paying twice — once for work that has to be redone, and again for the professional you actually needed. When You Need an Architect, Not a Designer Architectural work covers structural planning — building footprint, load-bearing walls, floor-to-floor height, plumbing and electrical risers, compliance with local building bylaws and society or municipal approvals. If you're constructing an independent villa from the ground up, adding a floor, or making structural changes to an existing layout — breaking a wall, altering a staircase, changing a building's external form — this is architect territory. Getting this stage wrong has consequences that surface years later , in the form of structural issues...
