Three Reasons You Shouldn’t Piecemeal Your Whole Home Design
Lovelies, here’s what I want to lead with today. Impeccable design, developed by a luxury whole home interior design team like IDH, does NOT happen by piecemeal. It happens via a comprehensive, whole-home design endeavor that encompasses both a 10,000-foot-view and an eye toward every last detail.
On the other hand, bad DIY is always piecemeal. It’s flat. It’s incomplete. It’s uninteresting. There is absolutely no through-line. There’s no rhythm, no harmony.
I know these sound like fancy-schmancy terms, but what they really translate to is the difference between a space you WANT to stay in because it feels so comfortably beautiful and well-done — and one that just doesn’t.
Here are three things that can happen when you approach your whole home design in a disconnected way — we’ll call them the perils of piecemeal.
1. YOU’LL FRAGMENT YOUR AESTHETIC.
Without a comprehensive plan from a luxury whole home interior design team like IDH, the aesthetic of a home can become downright unpleasant. This is because there’s a new design thought in every space, each time you add in another change, upgrade, or about-face. The aesthetic becomes fragmented; it’s choppy and awkward.
You may have even witnessed this in another home, where something just feels “off.” Sometimes it can even be hard for a non-designer to identify what’s wrong with the design, but you know the home feels disjointed and just doesn’t have that streamlined, impeccable aura.
Now I do want to make the distinction here between piecemeal design and a phased approach. Designing in phases is totally acceptable — as long as you have a cohesive, whole-home design plan. We frequently work in phases with our Wise Design method.
For example, when a client of ours in New Jersey wanted to completely overhaul the interior design of their whole home, they asked us to phase the project because of budget. We started at the front of their home and made it spectacular. But we also had an overarching plan to eventually redesign the rear of the home, too, and this ensured everything would feel like one gorgeous, unified space in the end.
With phasing, it could mean you have to live with a little short-term dissonance — some disconnects in design — but, even here, we try to minimize the pain. In the end, the final result is wonderfully consistent throughout and tailored just for you.
2. YOU’LL SACRIFICE SQUARE FOOTAGE.
Whether you carry a mortgage or own your home outright, the one thing that is common to all is this: No matter how many square feet you possess, you want to maximize that space to work for your lifestyle. You paid for it, after all!
But when you piecemeal design, you risk chopping your home into itty bits rather than approaching it with an expansive, cohesive sensibility. That means you’re giving your square footage away!
All elements of design, including color, are dynamic entities. As a skilled, luxury whole home interior design team, we work to maximize flow based on the interplay of these elements. When flow is disrupted — you automatically lose square footage.
3. YOU COULD FACE UNAVAILABLE MATERIAL.
Perhaps you may be avoiding a whole-home renovation because of the life disruption. We get it! But a fragmented approach here can really come back and bite you — especially as it relates to materials like hardwood floors and tile.
When you piecemeal wood flooring or tile, just remember that materials can be discontinued, so “getting to that adjacent room when you can” may not be an option.
The solution? Here again, it’s all about that comprehensive strategy. In this case, it might mean biting the bullet and deciding to redo all your floors — and all at once — not just one room or a few rooms. That’s where our luxury interior design team can come in to advise and guide. IDH is well-poised to make the best whole-home recommendations for you.
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You’ve probably experienced a home that has been envisioned comprehensively and impeccably in partnership with a luxury interior design team. It’s memorable because, boy, is it fun to visit! Even if it’s not your exact style, it just feels amazing to be there.
Take a peek at some of our whole-home designed spaces in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania areas and let’s connect about how we can find your exact Design Fingerprint — and ensure that it’s consistently reflected throughout every square inch of your home.