At times, interior design gets left behind or dismissed as some sort of “additional service”. You may hear things such as “we’re ways away from that” or “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there” but when decision time comes around, you find yourself wrapped up in indecisiveness and “I don’t have the time to think about this right now” type of situations. As if that weren’t stressful enough, this usually happens at the final stages of a project when anxiety is at its highest and everyone wants to call it a day.
In any case, for these particular reasons, I prefer to incorporate interior design into the initial stages of my projects. Don’t believe me? Here are the key factors as to why it is advantageous to have these details in order from the start:
1. Expectations: You will know, with high levels of detail, every finish on every part of the construction. Everything ranging from the type to quality of the products involved such as:
- Doors: double lining or solid type, made out of teak, melina or laurel wood
- Floor tiles: ceramic or porcelain, layout and supplier
- Curtain rods: automated or manual, exposed or covered with borders
- Sanitary fixtures: type of slab, color and brand of faucets, toilets and sinks. Whether or not the faucet is wall mounted or deck mounted, wall mounted or ceiling mounted shower head, as well as wall hung or floor mounted toilet
- Furniture: Made of melamine or wood and their type. Location for doors, drawers, both major and minor household appliances, and other accessories.
- Countertops: granite or quartz and their type, location of the backsplash and at what height
- Mirrors: type and design
- Lamps/Lighting: type and location of general lighting and decorative lighting.
2. Budget: You will get a more precise construction estimate including all fees and material costs. Without a well-defined interior design, the total cost can only be estimated roughly, which may then come to your surprise as to how you might have gone overbudget. This is the number one cause for unwanted finishes in your building or having to pay “extra” for the finishes you do want.
3. Last minute calls: When interior design is tackled at later stages of the construction, the builder is then faced with delays due to manufacturing and reworks. For example:
- Let’s say it’s time to install doors but we still haven’t settled on their design. This implies a setback in time due to their manufacturing at that point instead of having them ready by the time they had to get installed.
- Having to readjust the height and the inner workings of a sink because the one chosen doesn’t match the agreed upon type at the beginning of the project