What you need to know about selecting, working with an interior designer

I'm probably asked 10 times a month to recommend an interior designer.

Frankly, I'd feel more comfortable recommending a dentist. After all, dental care follows a tried-and-true approach -- for the most part.

Interior design, let's just say, does not.

Sure there are some tried-and-true rules of design -- balance, scale, rhythm -- but there's a whole lot more that goes into creating a space -- and an entire spectrum of talent to choose from.

"For me," says Portland interior designer Terrance Mason, "education has to be behind a designer. A decorator might be comfortable with furniture and draperies, but they don't get into the basic design concept of space planning and reshaping a room or designing a kitchen and bathroom."

For Mason, good design follows function. Without function, it doesn't matter how good a room looks.

So how do you find a qualified designer? I asked Mason, of Terrance Mason Interiors, and Susan Grady of Grady Interiors for advice.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Look online, says Grady. Check the websites of professional organizations such as the Northwest Society of Interior Designers, the National Kitchen & Bath Association or the Oregon chapters of the American Society of Interior Designers and the International Interior Design Association. Some of these regional and national organizations have links to their members' sites, which contain project portfolios. It's an easy and private way to take a look at a designer's work and also see the firm's size and history, and learn a little about the designer's personality, Grady says.

Or start by asking someone who has hired an interior designer. says Mason. Ask about the experience -- the good and the bad.

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What you need to know about selecting, working with an interior designer