Your Dream Space Requires Structure & Planning For Success. Here's An Overview Of The Steps.
Updated: 7 days ago
Designing Your Home: A Comprehensive Guide to Our Process
Designing your home is an involved journey. There are many design decisions to make, budgets to balance, contractors to schedule, materials to purchase, and logistics to decipher. The list goes on and on!
Our clients rely on us to handle all this and more.
Our Proven Process
Over the years, we have developed a process to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Actually, with our proven process, there are no cracks!
While we remain flexible and customize our approach to suit each client's needs, we are guided by this process to complete every project with excellence. We aim to far surpass our clients' expectations.
Planning for Success
We plan for success from the very beginning. Our small but agile team prioritizes customer service, communication, and integrity. It truly is a joy to work with our clients! Our process helps clients understand how we work and where we are in the process at any given time.
We created an infographic to briefly walk through the design process.
Side note: I got really carried away with these fun icons and graphics in Canva. I hope you like them! Pin to your heart's content on Pinterest!
Be sure to download the free PDF version of our 12 steps at the end of this post if you'd like to refer back to them in the future.
Step 1: The FREE Discovery Call
We ask prospective clients to schedule a Discovery Call through our convenient platform on Wix. This call lasts about 30 minutes and allows us to discuss your project in detail.
Of course, if you prefer, you can pick up the phone and call during business hours. However, we recommend scheduling a time slot to ensure we can focus on your needs without distractions. You can schedule one below.
During the Discovery Call, we can meet via phone or video conference. The call typically lasts about 15-20 minutes. This gives us enough time to discuss your project scope, service type, timeframe, goals, investment, and how you prefer to work with a design firm. You can also ask any questions you have about the design process. By the end of the call, we will both determine if we would like to move to the next step: the In-Home Consultation.
Step 2: The In-Home Consultation
The In-Home Consultation can also serve as a "one-off" session for clients seeking advice before embarking on a DIY project. However, it is primarily used as the next step in the design process for full-service interior renovation and design.
You can book one below.
The In-Home Consultation is a crucial step in the design process. We accomplish a lot in these two hours. We assess your space in detail to understand the feasibility of your goals and dreams.
We want to understand your lifestyle and routines now, and how you would like to improve them by the end of the project. We consider your future needs, such as whether you plan to sell, have children or pets, or entertain guests. We also discuss your hobbies and how you envision using the space. It’s essential to identify how the rooms are currently used and what challenges exist.
As one of my dear colleagues always says, we are essentially "diagnosing the patient." We need to know what's not working and what you want to improve to generate design ideas and solutions.
As we walk through your home during the consultation, we also take the opportunity to get to know you. Understanding personalities is integral to this process. We enjoy working with clients who prefer to be hands-on, as well as those who prefer to leave everything to us. We will discuss these differences during the consultation.
One key benefit of inviting us for the In-Home Consultation is that we will leave you much more educated about the design process than before we arrived. Many consumers are still unsure about how it all works. They may have experience working with another designer who operates differently, or their understanding of the design process may come from TV reality shows. We want you to fully understand what to expect as we embark on this journey together.
While we are flexible and cater to your unique needs, we will never compromise on a structured and fluid process. We are diligent in explaining everything involved—the good and the not-so-good aspects of embarking on a renovation or decorating a home. Design is not a perfect process; things can go wrong. From tradespeople not doing the right thing to products arriving damaged or delays from backorders, we have seen it all. We come prepared with solutions, managing it all so you don't have to.
One of the most important conversations during the consultation is about the budget. This topic can feel awkward, but we want to ensure we are on the same page. While we cannot define an exact budget or our design fee during the consultation, we will help you understand what to expect.
We use past projects to provide insight into a budget range you should consider while remaining open to the fact that we are designing a unique space for you. We have written several posts about budgets, including one of our most recent posts.
By the end of the consultation, we will have a full understanding of the scope of work, gathered enough information about your functional and style needs, identified your priorities, and established a budget range and timeframe for your project.
Step 3: The Design Fee Estimate Proposal + Agreement
The Design Fee Estimate Proposal + Agreement is the document we send you within 2-3 business days of the consultation. This document engages our services for your interior design project.
It outlines the scope of work in detail, the deliverables, the estimated timeframe, the design phases, and the design fee estimate, along with the terms and conditions.
We strive to make everything clear from the beginning to avoid surprises. We send the Proposal via a link to our digital platform, where you can sign from any device to get started.
Of course, we are happy to meet with you in your home, or via phone or video call, to review the Proposal and answer any questions you may have. Once you are ready to move forward, we require a minimum of 50% of the estimated design fee to get started.
Step 4: Site Measure and Assessment
The site measure and assessment, along with initial meetings with trades, is the big kickoff of your project. This usually happens within 1-3 weeks after the consultation.
We can't do much without accurate measurements, so this step is crucial. We arrive equipped with all the necessary tools, like our heavy-duty tape measure, to ensure accuracy. Measuring spaces with the right tools makes the job much easier.
For larger projects, we may even bring in a digital scanner company to capture the entire floor plan digitally.
In some cases, we work with new construction, where we already have plans from the architect. We still conduct this meeting to verify dimensions and meet with our trades and general contractor (GC). If plan review is part of the scope, we will review the plans to ensure they work for your lifestyle. You can read more about how we conduct plan reviews HERE and the different roles of the architect, builder, and general contractor HERE.
We also try to invite as many tradespeople involved in the process as possible. At this point, we have not begun designing your space yet, but we already have some initial concepts floating around in our heads. Our tradespeople are always willing to meet with us at the site measure to discuss these ideas and ensure they can be executed well and within budget. These are high-level conversations as we begin the process of bringing our combined visions to life.
Some tradespeople can even measure and provide us with initial estimates before the design is complete.
Step 5: Design Development
Design development begins now that we have accurate measurements. This is the fun part, where our initial ideas and concepts start taking shape and become real solutions.
We start with floor plans and elevations, reviewing existing plans for proper flow while keeping your lifestyle needs in mind. If necessary, we create new floor plans and elevations.
Next, we select all the materials and finishes, creating a material spec book for the builder or GC, where we will meet later to review the design details.
We then focus on the furnishings layer—the part that truly makes your house a home. We create furniture layouts for each room to ensure proper traffic flow. We source all the furniture, wallpaper, textiles, art, accents, decorative light fixtures, and statement accessories—everything that contributes to a lush and luxuriously finished home.
We also gather estimates and quotes from tradespeople and begin building the project budget.
We compile the entire scheme for your home into a comprehensive presentation, and we are now ready for the next step.
Step 6: The Design Presentation
The Design Presentation is the exciting day when we meet in your home or our studio to review all the details of your design! We strive to make the presentation fun and inspiring. Therefore, we use many visual aids—detailed floor plans, elevations, digital presentation boards showcasing all the furniture pieces for each room, PowerPoint slides highlighting important details, 3D renderings for certain rooms, and samples of textiles, wallpapers, and finishes.
As we go through the presentation, we explain the design and how we are solving the challenges with the space while addressing your needs.
Your feedback is essential to us as we go through the presentation. We want you to be 100% happy with the design!
An important part of the presentation is the budget review. Every item we present is accounted for in the budget, broken down by room. We also include estimates for certain elements that we cannot price at the moment, such as small styling items, freight charges, receiving fees, storage, and white-glove delivery. We provide fair estimates for these items to ensure they are accounted for from the beginning.
We strive to never surprise you with unexpected invoices throughout the process.
Step 7: Revisions
Revisions are part of the process. If there are elements you are not in love with, we will be happy to revise them.
You hired us for our expertise, so our goal is to take you out of your comfort zone. We aim to show you things you have never seen and present ideas you would have never thought of. We will bring you back to the story we are crafting for you, representing your ideal vision—the big picture of the design. We will advise you not to get caught up in tiny details.
Some elements we present are necessary to maintain the integrity of the design, while a few things can be revised.
Once we achieve full approval of your design, you will sign off on the furnishings agreement and pay the minimum deposit to begin the work start and procurement phase.
Step 8: The Work Start and Procurement Phase
The work start and procurement phase is an exciting part of the process. We begin coordinating schedules and meeting with tradespeople who will be working in your home. In most cases, we confirm design details with them using plans in hand.
It is vital that they have everything they need and understand the design details. We don’t leave anything to chance or interpretation. We firmly disagree with certain accepted industry norms and want to ensure those norms aren't included in your home.
We also begin the procurement process for all the furnishings we agreed on. This process is detailed. Every single item must be ordered and managed. For larger projects, we are talking about hundreds of purchase orders to create, send out, and follow up on for statuses. With many delays and backorders, we are more diligent than ever.
We ensure materials are delivered to our tradespeople for fabrication—draperies, upholstery, framing, and other custom pieces.
Step 9: Site Visits
Regular site visits help ensure the integrity of the design. The more we can be on-site as items are installed, the better.
We arrive on-site on the start date of anything being installed that we designed or selected. This is another meeting with the trades to walk them through the design before installation.
This could include laying out tile patterns on the floor, starting and stopping points of tile work, millwork layout, wood flooring layout, plumbing layout on shower walls, verifying paint colors and finishes, height and placement of light fixtures, placement of outlets, curb heights, transitions, and layout for wallpaper repeats.
These seemingly small details are crucial to how your home will look upon completion.
We also observe site conditions and report back to you. We are your eyes and ears on the job site.
Step 10: Receiving Products
Many clients are shocked to learn that we don't just ship products to their home throughout the process. Imagine having to be home constantly to receive furniture—yikes!
We have a structured and professional process for receiving products. Most of our trade vendors require a commercial warehouse with a dock, so this is necessary. Your products arrive on 18-wheelers, which cannot go into neighborhoods, so they must be shipped to a receiving dock.
We work with a professional receiving company that checks all items against the freight driver's list for damage. They unbox and inspect for damage to the actual items, dispose of all packaging materials, and send us a photo of each piece. If there is any damage, we take the necessary actions—filing a claim with the vendor or freight company or having items touched up locally by our furniture artisan.
Every item is then rewrapped in blankets and stored until we are ready for installation day.
Step 11: Product Management
As the process progresses, we check on products out on open purchase orders weekly. We maintain a master list in our product management software, Zoho Connect, and keep constant communication with the receivers' staff.
When every item has arrived, we notify them and compare their list with ours.
It's time for installation day!
Next, we schedule a date that works for you. We ask our clients not to be home on installation day, as it is a fast-paced day. We will talk you through what to expect and how long it will take.
If you have furniture that needs to be moved out, or if we need to bring in a cleaner and organizer, we will help you arrange these services.
Once we have a date on the calendar, we set out to do the final local shopping for small styling items. These accessory items were not presented at the presentation meeting since we shop for them just before installation. We use these items to style bookcases and fill in the layers for a more lush and finished look.
We shop at local retailers like West Elm, CB2, Target, HomeGoods, and local antique and specialty decor shops.
Step 12: Turnkey Installation and Styling
We made it! The process of getting to installation day is worth it.
All you have to do is be away for a few hours while we do our thing.
It may seem a bit chaotic, but we have an organized process. The warehouse white-glove delivery team starts early in the morning with loading the truck. For example, rugs are loaded last because they are the first thing to be placed.
We instruct the delivery crew on where to place items. They adjust and move things around as needed to get everything just right. Once all rugs and furniture are in place, they clean up all packaging materials.
We then hang artwork, style shelves and tabletops, and do our final cleanup.
Now it's time for the BIG REVEAL! Yay!!
Our clients are always excited to receive the call that it’s time for the reveal. They race home to see their beautiful new space. It’s not just about beauty; the new space represents their dreams and an improvement in their daily lives.
Now they can entertain, sleep better in a restful retreat, spend time together as a family, cook amazing meals in the new kitchen, or get ready faster in the new bathroom.
After the joyful moment, we do a walkthrough to discuss the space and how to care for the materials.
We then leave you to enjoy your new space and check in with you in a few days. If there are any deficiencies we missed, we will address them as quickly as possible.
We also arrange for photography to capture all our hard work for our portfolio. We try to schedule photography within a week of installation. You are welcome to be home, but often clients prefer to be away while we get the shoot done.
So there you have it! The design process in a nutshell.
As I mentioned, we understand that our clients are all different. We may need to customize the process slightly for their needs. In any case, we keep things structured and running smoothly.
As promised, here is the PDF version of the infographic above. Feel free to download it!
You can pin any graphic from this post for easy reference or the one below.
Ready to get started with your design project? Book a consultation and let us help!
Wishing You Boldness & Great Style!
Veronica
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