Working With An Interior Designer :The Process

Are you considering a renovation?  Or are you thinking about a lighter refresh that includes painting, rearranging or adding new furniture, window coverings, or lighting?  This is a great time to contact us and start to understand your options.

In this edition of StudioMinutes we are looking at what’s next once you select Meg Deshpande Design Studio as your interior designer. Understanding the process will help you make the most of our time together.

Initial Consultation

As you begin your designer selection process, you will also want to make sure you have done your homework.  You will need to outline the scope of the work you want completed so that we can share our expertise in those areas.  Maybe you will be able to share architectural drawings of the existing spaces to further explain. We will discuss your timeline and budget at the initial consultation as well as whether you will live in or move out while the work is underway.  You will also be able to share your thoughts on the design through images that you have researched.  From this meeting, we will be able to create a detailed proposal outlining the services we offer and fees that are associated with those services.

We Start Collaborating

Once hired, we will discuss the project in more depth.  We will want to know more detail about your inspirations –exactly what you like in your chosen images and why.  We will want to hear about your daily routines as they relate to how you use the space, understand your needs, your likes/dislikes, hear about your hobbies, and learn your personality traits.  We will have a series of questions that will help us get this information and more from you.  Your answers will have significant impact on traffic flow, material selection, accessibility, and space functions.  These conversations will set the framework for all of our designs.

If there are multiple professionals and trades involved in the project, we will want to get connected with those persons at this time.  There will be information that needs to be shared involving the various roles and schedules as well as specifications and drawings. This collaborative approach is so important for project success. 

Before we head back to the studio we will confirm measurements of any spaces that we are working on.  We will document everything from window locations, ceiling heights, room dimensions, lighting locations, outlet locations, and if you are reusing your furniture, we will need to measure and inventory each of those furniture pieces.

Back in the Studio

Our first order of business back in the studio will be to input all the existing dimensions into a plan.  We use AutoCad software to ensure that everything is scaled accurately. Once we have an existing base plan, we start to sketch and arrive at new options.

To prepare for our next presentation, we will review your answers to our questions and start making changes to the existing plans.  We also start pulling ideas for materials, plumbing & lighting fixtures, hardware, door styles, paint colors, etc.  We start developing the design with selections of furniture and fabrics, carpet, and wallcoverings. We will prepare a 3-D rendering of this solution so that you can have an accurate visual.  

Our next meetings will be used to refine the designs and confirm the various selections are meeting your budget. We will be getting quotes for pricing and lead times and sharing those with you.  Once everyone is comfortable with the visuals and the quotes, we will move forward with final documentation for bidding.  The documents will ultimately be released to the project team for pricing.

Project Management

Once our documents are out for pricing, we then start to take on a project management role. Project management includes vendor management and job site management.  

Vendor management:

If we are procuring items, it is our responsibility to make sure they are delivered safely and on time to the job site.  The trades are relying on timely deliveries in order to stay on schedule.  Excessive delays can require us to make substitutions and can increase the prices due to schedule changes.  In order to avoid this, we need good communication between all parties. 

 Job Site management:

In this role, we are your liaison between our drawings and the rest of the team.  We know the design intent very well so we will make sure the execution is as expected.  Unforeseen circumstances, common with renovations to existing homes, will require expedited decisions. Our experience working with field conditions keeps us prepared for these scenarios.  

You will visit the site with us through each phase of construction.  We will work with you to get any questions answered and explain the remaining schedule to you. These site visits will be worthwhile for everyone to get updated on the progress.

The Last Phase

The project team will eventually reach substantial completion.  This is when the project is considered very near complete and ready for a punch list. We will walk through the project with our drawings and make a list of any discrepancies that are still remaining.  This list should be minimal as we have been visiting the job site and communicating with the team regularly, but there is typically at least a small punch list.  Upon receipt of the punch list, the trades will finish the project and clean up the site.

Delivery of furniture and furnishings requires a pristine job site. We will be working with the vendors to time the delivery of any finished items such as furniture and furnishings so that when your goods arrive they have a clean place to sit. If there are any discrepancies found on the furniture and furnishings upon arrival, we will arrange to have a punch list for those items as well. We will revert back to the vendors and coordinate with them on how to rectify any issues.

At last, you will have a completed project! The magic unfolds when you move in and start to live in the space.   You wonder how you could have lived any other way.  You see all the details and how they all work together to make this space undeniably yours!

Meg Deshpande is principal of Meg Deshpande Design Studio in Westchester, NY. She uses her 30 years of design collaboration to help clients realize their lifestyle.