Moving to Dallas? Here Is What You Need to Know Before You Hire Anyone for Your New Home

Dallas is one of the most moved-to cities in the country right now. Families arriving from New York, California, Chicago, and beyond are discovering that their new home is often in a beautiful neighborhood, with a generous budget and a blank canvas of space, and almost no idea where to start.

If that is you, this is the guide we wish someone had handed you at closing.

Dallas has some of the most talented interior designers, architects, and builders in the country. It also has a market where personal relationships and referrals matter enormously. The best professionals are busy. Their waitlists are real. And the gap between a great hire and a mediocre one in this city can be the difference between a home you love coming back to every day and a renovation you are quietly resentful of two years later.

Different Dallas neighborhoods have different architectural characters, different permit requirements, and different pools of professionals who know them well. A designer who has done ten projects in Preston Hollow understands the architectural vocabulary of that neighborhood in a way that a designer who has worked primarily in Frisco does not. When you are hiring, ask specifically whether they have worked in your neighborhood or on homes like yours.

This sounds counterintuitive but it is the most useful advice we can give. Instagram shows you the work that photographs beautifully, not necessarily the work that lives beautifully. It shows you finished projects, not the process that got there. The clients who make the best hires are the ones who talk to other homeowners, ask their real estate agent, and use curated resources that have already done the vetting work.

Before you call anyone, spend an hour getting clear on what you actually want to change about your home, how you live in it, what is not working, and what your realistic budget is. The clearer you are about these things, the better conversation you will have with any professional you meet. And the clearer you are, the easier it is for someone like us to match you with the right fit.

We are a curated matchmaking service for Dallas homeowners. We have done the research, built the relationships, and vetted the professionals across interior design, architecture, and building so you do not have to navigate it from scratch. Tell us about your project and we will match you with the right professionals for your specific situation, style, and budget. If you just moved to Dallas or you are about to, start here.