What to know about working with a designer for your next construction project
Working with a designer for your next construction project may not be the first thought in your mind, many may assume that they’ll spend more working with a designer on an already large investment. This is such a common thought process, one we completely understand. Something you may not know about working with a designer is our goal is to protect your investment, whether you’re furnishing your home or renovating/building, which is what I’d like to focus on here. We work on behalf of our client in every way, including making wise investment decisions throughout their home. Our goal is for you to not only love the design, but also work to ensure the entire project aligns with your planned investment.
Personally, I’ve been in the construction industry my entire life and have worked with contractors and builders for many years. Because of this, I’ve vetted many trades people and have hand selected the ones that I’d recommend to clients. This is a big deal because we’re not just bringing in anyone who is quickly available (big red flag) or the least expensive (also red flag) or lack of good references (you’ve guessed it…red flag). Going with a contractor or builder that have any of these red flags will absolutely cause you many headaches that we help our clients avoid. Working with a designer will help you in this selection process and give you invaluable guidance on how the process, timeline, and project investment planning works.
In addition to finding the right contractor, working with a designer will shorten the time not only YOU spend on selections and project management, but also it will decrease the time the contractor or builder will need to spend on the selection and project management phases of the project saving THEM time and money, thus YOU time and money. There are many contractors and builders who will actually only work on new build or renovation projects if a designer is on the project because they know it will run quicker, and smoother, which allows them to focus on quality management so there are less mistakes and efficient use of time.
We also live in a time of product manufacturing and shipping delays, which are inevitable. One of our focuses in the design phase of every project is ensuring all selections will meet the timeline of the project. We are not recommending products that have a 8 month lead time on a project that will need it in 4 weeks. That just wastes everyones time, and our goal is to be as efficient as possible to cause the least amount of disruption in our clients’ homes. Of course if that product is really worth the wait we’ll plan the project accordingly and prioritize as necessary so there are no major hold ups and unfinished spaces while waiting.
Lastly, when it comes to construction projects, either new construction or remodels, the unfortunate times the investment figures do creep over the initial plan are usually because of two things. Either something majorly unforeseen came up during the project, which happens, even with experienced contractors who can usually anticipate potential issues from the beginning. Or the design vision does not fit the selection allowances or changes are made after the project has begun. Working with an experienced designer can prevent the latter from happening. When we sit down with clients from the initial meeting and we look over images and discuss the overall vision of the space, a large part of our process is ensuring the investment matches this vision. There’s nothing worse than dreaming with the client and telling them it’s not going to work with their space or planned investment, but we have those hard conversations in the beginning. No one wants to get to the end of the project and not be able to finish with those dream selections or going completely over what they’re comfortable with on the project in the end all because of poor planning. With our experience, we understand the overall vision and work with you to achieve that with a design that compliments your planned investment before construction even begins.
Construction projects don’t need to be a headache or a full-time job, as some people describe them. Working with a designer isn’t just about the pretty things, though making our client’s visions come to life is certainly an incredible part of our job, it’s ensuring the project runs smoothly, on time, sticks to the plan and is the least amount of a disruption to your life as possible so that everyone is happy in the end.
Planning a project soon? Let’s chat!