Your home is your sanctuary – a place of retreat at the end of a long day. But what if your space isn’t making your life easier?

Just as a therapist can help organize head space, an interior designer can make your home work for you.

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Before jumping to conclusions, check out these five common misconceptions most homeowners have when it comes to working with interior designers:

1. Designers are too expensive.

“We always ask about a customer’s budget and find out what they’re comfortable spending before we even get started,” said Jim Hendren, owner of La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, located at 7087 Academy Blvd.

Hendren’s design team does everything it can to work within a customer’s desired price range, offering design payment plans and budgeting assistance. “Some opt to do design updates in phases, over the course of six months or a year. Others make changes one room at a time. Either way, we make sure it’s affordable and worth every cent.”

2. A designer won’t respect my opinion or ideas.

A good designer knows her stuff, but she also knows her limits. “I always say ‘It’s not about me, I don’t have to live here,’” said Jessica Brown, director of design services at La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries.

Interior designers use universal layout and design principles to guide homeowners in making the best use of space. Designers often use existing pieces in a home to complement a new layout and fresh furniture. “Some pieces are a part of who you are, and it’s important to honor and showcase them, whether it’s your grandma’s cedar chest or your mother’s rocking chair,” Brown said.

3. Retail design services are limited and amateur.

When you hire a designer, you want to get more than 30 minutes and two or three abstract sentences about Feng Shui.

“We have the resources and connections to offer full-fledged design services,” Hendren said. “We can talk window treatments, flooring, anything our customer needs. We’re there from start to finish.”

La-Z-Boy’s design team is proud of its professionalism and design work, having won multiple awards, including Best Overall Home in its price category in the 2015 Parade of Homes.

4. I don’t need a designer to do what I can do myself. I’ve watched HGTV!

From Beverly Hills dream home scouting trips to urban loft renovations, design reality shows are a whirlwind of reclaimed barnwood and trendy color palettes.

“It’s very difficult for a consumer to take lessons from TV shows and apply them to their own space, but I do this every day; it’s my profession and I live in this world,” Brown said “A designer can take your dreams and ideas and turn them into reality, with less frustration than if you attempted to do it all yourself.”

5. Design is just for show – it’s unnecessary.

Design might not save your life, but it might save your spirit – and isn’t that the same thing, really?

“A home is so much more than a house, and the way it’s designed matters,” Brown said. “No one wants to come home to a place that makes them unhappy or doesn’t make sense.”

From soldiers returning to Colorado Springs after deployment to young parents, new home owners and retirees readying their last home, Brown and the La-Z-Boy design team have helped members of the community gain a fresh perspective on their spaces and the way design influences day-to-day activities.

Brown said. “Function is a huge part – it can bring comfort and peace to a space that a family can enjoy using. When people feel comfortable in their home, it can change everything about the flow of life.”