Are you thinking, “but I’ve never worked with a designer before, I don’t know what to expect.”?
Then this is the blog post for you!
We get it.
You want to make your home beautiful.
You want it to express who you are and what you’re interested in.
And if you’ve never hired an expert for something like this, you’re probably wondering what the process is like!
Luckily, that’s where we come in.
We’ve worked with hundreds of clients and most of them have never worked with a designer before!
We believe that transparency builds good relationships. That’s why we build transparency and learning throughout our client process. We will explain and teach you about the interior design process before we even decide if we’re a good fit.
Our process starts with a simple phone call.
Step One - Initial “Discovery” Call:
In our initial call, you’ll share about your project. What you want to change about your space and what you’re looking for. In this call, we share how we build our fees and what it’s like to work with Red Door. At the end of the initial call, if we both decide to go on to the next step of the process, we will book a time to come to your home, take rough measurements, and see the space.
Step Two - Initial Meeting
During the initial meeting, we’ll tour your space and get to know one another. You’ll share what you don’t like about the space, what you’d like to change, and how you envision your home being improved. We’ll also take basic measurements of the area(s). After this meeting, we will use the measurements to determine the flat design fee based on our square footage design formula.
- A note about fees: Our business model is based on both a flat design fee and furnishing purchasing and execution going through us. For renovations, the design fee covers the selection of all finishes and collaborating with contractors for the construction bid. We’ve done hourly design fees in the past and found that the flat design fee is of more benefit to you. It allows you to have a better understanding of what the total cost will be and helps with determining a budget for the project. We find the flat design fee to be more transparent as you know the total cost of the design up front, instead of wondering how many hours the design will take. The formula we use has been determined based on our experience with the hundreds of clients we’ve worked with in the past and the analyzing data to determine how much time a project typically takes us. With a flat fee design, you’re paying for the entire design, installation day, and everything needed to make the design come to life. In the event that a projects has a significant delay or change of scope, we will charge an additional design fee to re-start the project.
Step Three - Proposal Meeting:
The next step in the process involves you coming into our design studio to review the proposal. In this meeting we review a presentation explaining our design process and the design agreement. Again, we honor transparency and want to make sure that you understand what working with Red Door entails.
We will share our design fee and review our investment estimate for furnishings and renovations. We are a full service design studio and our agreement outlines the requirement that all furnishing be purchased and ordered through Red Door. We do the research, order management, quality control, and white glove delivery so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Once you’ve reviewed and signed the agreement and we both have decided to work together, we will invoice you for half of the design fee. The second half of the design fee will be due before the detailed design meeting.
Step Four - Conceptual Design Phase:
During this phase we:
- document your space
- capture your input and desires
- gather inspiration images and envision your home from every angle
- For renovations we connect with contractors to check feasibility and ballpark figures
The conceptual design phase exists to confirm your scope, layout,
investment estimate, and aesthetic direction and the process goes as follows:
After you’ve paid the invoice and signed the design agreement, we will request that you complete a “Get to Know You” Questionnaire so we learn your style and personality so we can create a vision and space that reflects YOU. We will then start working on your design.
We start with renderings of the space creating potential layouts for your space. We also create a vision board and do initial furniture or renovation materials research that will be reviewed during the conceptual design meeting.
This meeting serves as an opportunity to review the layout, vision, and potential furnishings and materials. We get your feedback in order to make revisions to the conceptual design. The design fee includes one round of revisions during the conceptual design phase.
Step Five - Detailed Design Phase:
During this phase we:
- We source all finishes and furnishings
- We create detailed specifications
- Presenting floor plans and elevations and all final finishes and furnishings for approval.
The detailed design phase exists to turn ideas into bids and orders and the process goes as follows:
After you have approved the conceptual design, we will finalize the finishes and create floor plans and elevations so you can truly envision the space. For renovations, we also create a specification guide with every specific detail outlined so the contractor knows exactly what to bid and build. This makes it so that your bid is based on the actual materials used, not the “allowances” that are commonly used by contractors. It also includes all the details so the renovation turns into what was designed and envisioned. The specification guide takes all questions out of the renovation and makes the renovation easier for you when you’re going through the construction process.
During this phase we will collect samples for you to touch and feel. We will review all final decisions in a detailed design meeting. If any changes are needed we will have one round of revisions and once we have final review we will start the procurement phase and for renovations will facilitate getting bids from contractors.
Step Six - Purchasing and Execution
The next phase is where the vision comes to life. We will communicate all details to vendors and contractors, place orders, track deliveries, resolve deficiencies, and oversee and coordinate deliveries and installation of furnishings. For renovations, we will check-in on project progress ensuring the construction matches the design, specification guide, and overall vision.
Step Seven - Project Wrap-Up
In the final phase, we follow-up on any outstanding items, see the punch list and all details
through to completion, and for renovations, provide our detailed specification binder so you can properly maintain your new finishes.
That covers it! Our entire process from start to finish!
And if you’re ready to chat about your project, visit the Get In Touch Page so we can get your discovery call booked.
We can’t wait to chat about your project!
Lara and Megan