Who’s Who in Design: Designer, Decorator, Project Manager, Contractor

If you’ve ever started a home project, you know the confusion: do I need a designer? Or is a decorator enough? Who actually runs the project? And wait — who hires the contractor? Let’s untangle it.

Interior Designer

The architect of how your space works. Designers think about flow, function, codes, and the bones of the room as much as the beauty. They’re trained (often licensed) to move walls, plan kitchens, and make sure the lighting plan actually works with the furniture plan. If you want a space reimagined from the inside out, you need a designer.

Interior Decorator

The stylist of how your space feels. Decorators don’t move walls — they move mood. Furniture, rugs, art, paint colors, fabrics. They make the room sing once the structure is set. If your bones are good but your vibe is flat, a decorator is your ally.

Project Manager

The translator and traffic cop. Project managers don’t design or decorate; they keep the trains running. They coordinate vendors, schedule installs, chase timelines, and make sure all the moving parts land in the right order. If you don’t want to spend your life on the phone chasing tile shipments, you want one of these.

Contractor

The builder. The contractor and their crew actually make it real: demo, framing, plumbing, electrical, tile, trim, paint. They’re licensed to pull permits, meet codes, and make sure your space stands up — literally. If something physical is changing in your house, you’ll need a contractor.

The VPI Takeaway

You don’t have to pick and juggle. At VPI, we bring all of it under one roof — design, decoration, project management, and construction. That means one vision, one team, one smooth path from idea to finished space. No hand-offs, no confusion, no stress. Just a project that feels aligned from start to finish.