When To Bring A Designer Into Your New Home Build or Renovation Project

Well hey there it’s Donna Hoffman, and welcome into the design studio.

I thought it was time for a little designer, design lover birds and bees talk when it comes to something really important – plans. If you are embarking on a Reno or a full design build, couple of things I would love for you to know because I’m watching something, with a potential client, go off the rails. And I don’t want to see that happen with anyone else.

Manage Your Expectations

I want you to align your expectations with what the process is going to be and feel like. When you look at when to bring in a design team – like Interiors By Donna Hoffman – the answer is early. Because when you look at – and I’m going to bring up the visual aid agin, I’m sorry, can’t help it – when you and your builder look at plans like this. You’re seeing something very different than a designer like I will see. Because, yes I’m seeing all the structural issues, but I’m seeing things down into their tiniest most important component, down to how’s that room going to look, feel and function. Where are the lamps gonna get plugged in, what kind of textures are going to be rolling in, what kind of lifestyle are we trying to support for you, the way you love to live the way vs the say Jane smith loves to live.

So getting us involved really early in the process is so important because that’s how you safeguard to make sure you’re getting the right types of rooms, the right size rooms, not too many rooms. So that brings me to the next piece of this puzzle, it’s so easy when it’s on paper to say, hey move that out a couple of inches which is aka a couple of feet. Before you know it a house can swell from 7,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet. However, the most important part of it is not how big it all becomes but how it’s going to function. And the bigger you make it guys, the more expensive it is to furnish it and fill and heat and cool, so I want you to think really clearly about having that amazing home of your dreams, or that renovation or addition of your dreams but lets make sure by getting us in nice and early that you’re getting what you need and the way you need it and not just oversizing things for the sake of oversizing it.

Cost of A Beautiful Home

So what might it cost to have a designer involved from blueprint stage if you’re doing -bringing out the visual aid again can’t help it some body smack this girl – give her a prop she needs to stop using it. What does it cost to get a designer involved on a home that’s 5,000 square feet or up, to start a assigning finishes to make sure that everything is cohesive for the on suite bath and guest room number two or child’s room number two, so that it works with the design elements that will be in that bathroom.

Well there are two ways to do it.

You can either engage a design team just to select all your finishes or you could engage a design team select all your finishes and design your whole home. Whole home design is always the delicious way to go, if the budget will support it. But with a good design team you can always look at phasing things, so if example I know your design fingerprint is and where you’re going to be going with the design of your home even though we may not be designing everything for you up front because of costs but if we know where things are going to ultimately go in the master bedroom – yeah – that going to form or inform I should say what we will select with you and for you for your master bath. So that there is cohesion at the end of the day. So that when you do that, when you have that type of rhythm running through a beautiful home you’re home breaths and there is such an expansive nature to it, regardless of the design style

DIY vs Design Teams

And the last piece of caution I want to put out there to you, if you are getting involved in a new build or Reno I want you to really think hard about what do you want to do on your own and what do you want to have a design team do for you. Can you pick out your own finishes – sure- anyone can pick out a finish anyone can buy a piece of furniture. But if you’re looking for something that has a cohesiveness and a style perspective that you recognize you can’t do on your own, then bring in a design team. And I do want to manage you’re expectations, having a design team pick out your finishes for a new build, that’s not a 20 hour job, that’s not even a 50 hour job, that could be a few hundred hours of uh client service and design to really want to be clear on what you’re budget is and really clear on what you’re expectations are how much service you want and what kind end product you want

And the last cautionary piece I’ll put out there to you- when you’re falling in love with more and more and more and more square footage and you’re fantasying about yourself in that beautiful new space at Christmas time or thanksgiving time I highly doubt you’re fantasying about being in a cavernous empty structure I highly doubt you’re thinking about having mismatched furniture three rooms that are fully empty another room that is sort of cobbled together. I doubt that is what the fantasy is – so think about it if you know you’re going to want to furnish and fill a home and appoint it beautifully it’s not going to be a zero cost endeavor so you may want to think about building less home so that you can really furnish it in the way you really want to do it. So may you don’t need an extra conservatory maybe instead the library living room conservatory can function as a single space that really makes since eliminate two extra rooms and make one fabulous room that can embrace all of that.

So I know this was a lengthier video, but I wanted to make sure with this new year upon us as people are thinking about moving, renovating or building. I want to make sure that you’re thinking is aligned so that you get what you want and that I want for you. And by all mean feel free to call the studio if we can be of any of any assistance to you.

Thanks guys!