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Saturday, January 6, 2018

Communicating With Your Designer - Part 2


It's time to follow up from Part 1 of this series.  

Part 1 dealt with the initial contact and consultation with one or more designers.  You've gotten to know a bit about him or her and they have done the same with you. They may request more time to meet with you to further define your style and provide you with a chance to voice your opinion on all kinds of things: color, art, what you want to keep, what must go, and much, much more.  This exploration may take the form of a face to face interview or a questionnaire that you can fill out at your leisure.  If you've already provided them with a non-refundable retainer fee, you may be requested to return the filled out questionnaire within a couple of days or a week.  Your designer does not want to sit on your money without doing anything, so put them to work!  Be open and honest with answers and don't be afraid to add details no matter how small you think they are.

Once detailed information is gathered by your designer, she/he will take detailed measurements and pictures of your space(s).  Taking down measurements can be tedious work.  Ask your designer how much time is needed for taking measurements if they haven't told you already and commit to allowing your designer in the space for that time.  Try to hold off on asking questions until the work is done if at all possible.  Your designer should allow time at the end to discuss next steps. 


Now, the real design work begins.  The pictures, measurements, and details gathered from interviews and questionnaires will all be analyzed in depth. Your designer will create one or more artifacts/documents for various purposes.  At first, one or more 'concepts' may be drawn up in the form of a collage showing examples of furniture styles, flooring, window coverings, accessories, and colors.  This may be provided to you online or on paper.  




The purpose of these concept drawings is to gain a reaction from you on the look as a whole and on individual items.  They are not intended to be the exact furnishings as this is just one more information gathering tool.  


Did your designer capture something that excites you?  Does the concept give you confidence that your designer is heading in the right direction?  If not, tell them.   


This is a great time to have discussions on why you don't like some items, but like others. 


Another artifact is a 2D floor plan to show furniture placement, door swings, electrical outlets, and more.  These diagrams may be numbered so that a detailed furnishings list can accompany the diagram.  Do not send these diagrams to a builder and expect them to build from them.  Even though great attention is paid to ensuring that measurements are accurate, these diagrams are not architectural diagrams.  In a full design/execution of an interior design project, a designer is responsible for ordering furnishings and fixtures and wants to order items that fit appropriately; however, architects are responsible for knowing how to diagram the correct measurements for walls, drywall, ceiling height and all other physical aspects of the structure itself from which builders take direction. 

If you have received a detailed floor plan from your designer, she will likely use it for the basis of many discussions.  You can work through the flow of the layout - how easily is it to walk through the space?  Will the placement of the furnishings impede wheel chair accessibility when that is a concern. Do the door swings show you any problems with their use?  Does the overall placement of furnishings and the furnishings themselves work for you?  Ask your designer about the symbols and any other questions you have so that you feel very comfortable in interpreting what they are showing you.

Do you need more visuals before you can move on to the next phase - hiring trades to build, paint, fabricate, and more, and/or asking your designer to go ahead and source and purchase various pieces for the room?  Depending on the agreement made with your designer and how far into the project you are, they may provide you with additional artifacts to give you a better picture of how your space will look.  


Elevation Diagrams can be hand sketched or digital:

3D models may be provided physically or digitally and can be viewed from many angles. 
 Furnishings may not represent actual products, but they will show you the style intended and give you a very good idea for the feel of the room. 

Videos can be fun, but not all designers provide them.  That is not an indication of their talent.  Sometimes a designer will determine that taking the time to generate a 3D design or a video is not a good use of your design budget. 


Your relationship with your designer is an important one.  Relationships require open and honest communication.  A remodeling project has many phases.  All phases, especially the design phase, are opportunities to fine tune your project so that you will be delighted with the end result.


For your next project, contact Brenda Szarek
AutumnLightInteriors@gmail.com
or view my website www.AutumnLightInteriors.weebly.com