Whether you are undertaking structural renovations or building your dream home from plan, sourcing and employing the services of a professional designer could be the best decision you could make for the entire project. Forfeiting such a partner and ‘owner building’ could be the most expensive decision you make not just financially but also from a time management perspective.
One of the first disciplines an experienced interior will encourage if not force you to do is to think very carefully about your overall budget, because without a project budget it will be difficult to contract the designer because industry norm dictates that the designers fee be set as a percentage of the anticipated expenditure. Building without a budget figure is not recommended by architects, engineers, project managers or interior designers. Based upon their experience, and a good reason to consider an experienced interior design firm, together with you, they will take a detailed brief, establish your exact requirements and specify your level of finishes, then given the square meterage under roof they should be able to give you a fairly accurate low, mid and high-end budget. Sourcing and contracting an interior designer is also a process, follow this link for more information.
The interior designer should add enormous value when establishing your brief, this normally happens with sight of plans, hence would be able to comment and give guidance on the structure and possible issues. As an experienced space-planner they would add value in identifying areas that could be enhanced or point out potential problem areas.
Furthermore, the interior designer will be able to suggest new materials to achieve your desired look that may be more cost-effective and that you may not be aware of. The same goes for techniques to create the ambience you are trying to achieve. At this early stage, the designer may have already paid their way by navigating pitfalls before the first site meeting.
Your interior designer or decorator will produce mood boards to establish the colour palettes of each room, styles and make-up as well as the synergy between the rooms, the soft and hard finishes proposed need to come together but the mood board is like the litmus test for the project. Without it one will never create that amazing coordinated interior designer look and feel unless you have a very strong creative edge.
Site meetings are an essential but often complicated part of any project; a myriad of contractors are on site and they all have a barrage of questions for you. If an interior designer has drawn up very specific and detailed plans for:
With these detailed drawings, resolving contractor issues becomes manageable, without these spec drawings you will find yourself in deep water unless you are an interior designer by profession. Interior designers draw on their experience to overcome many site issues, again saving you time and money. At this juncture the homeowner is inevitably pressured to spend on unforeseen expenses, but your interior designer has spent (hopefully) decades juggling budgets and will be able to advise where you can cut back and make some savings.
You may have been given some word-of-mouth recommendations for artisans to work on your project, you are going to need a plethora of skill sets all of whom have to be available, competitively priced, competent and able to work as a team. The process of contracting is a time consuming, technical and difficult negotiation, usually decided upon submission of quotes. Are you qualified to interview and adjudicate third party tradesmen who you have never worked with? The risk management is substantial as choosing a rogue contractor could scuttle your project. A reputable interior designer can put forward artisans with whom they have worked over time, you can still ask for comparative quotes and if you have concerns that the interior designer is marking up their services, then negotiate a net deal where all quotes and invoices are transparent. Utilising one of their contacts also relieves you from the responsibility of managing the contractor which is a professional skill.
On most building sites contractor services are reliant upon one another; by way of example if the heating, ventilation and air conditioning supplier has not completed their installation timeously, then ducting and ceilings cannot be installed holing back painting, lighting and electrical installations. Your interior designer will orchestrate these supplier interactions for you.
Many, if not most architects are singularly focused on the exterior of the build. The interior is an off shoot of the project and albeit they populate the plans with room dimensions and arbitrary furniture, they are not employed to think and deliver as per an interior designer. By way of example a bedroom from the exterior looks spectacular but because of the window schedule, there is no place to fit built-in cupboards. An architect’s primary function is to build the shell of your house or renovation, at this point they have technically fulfilled their obligation contractually so do not expect that the architect will start analysing the special dynamics of each and every room relative to your existing or new furniture spec. Your interior designer will dictate the functionality and feasibility of the space from your personal brief and lifestyle dynamics.
The best time is right from the beginning of your project, even at concept stage the interior design agency will add enormous value working parallel to the architect and engineers. Leave the contracting any later and you will start to rack up additional costs immediately as the architects’ drawings will need to be adjusted to accommodate practical, sound and relevant input from the designer to construct a professional space plan.
In fact, if you are undertaking a renovation, your first stop should be the interior designer because their qualifications and experience may well negate the need for an architect who are expensive professionals at the best of time.
In a nutshell, these are some of the reasons why you should employ the services of a professional, experienced interior design team like Interiors by Wanda Michelle. We look forward to hearing from you.
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