What is the Interior Designer’s Role During Construction?
If you’re considering a major renovation or are building a home, you may be wondering: who you need on your build team? If you have a general contractor and an architect, do you still need an interior designer? Or, do you only need the designer for the design aspect, and once construction is underway, you can rest easy?
These are common questions we are asked, so in this post, we’ll explain how we work with contractors during construction to avoid confusion and stress while saving our clients precious time and money.
Of course, as an interior designer, we can interpret your aesthetic and style and bring it to life through beautiful finishes and furnishings. But we also have to know a great deal about construction methods: the impacts of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and structural systems on interior components; residential building codes; interior finish materials and appropriate installation methods; cabinetry and millwork fabrication; maintenance requirements for products and materials; strategies for using and modulating light sources; and necessary sequencing for the installation of plumbing, electrical, and other building and finish systems.
Transparently, it’s quite a bit more complicated than simply picking out a sofa and paint colors.
By the time your project is under construction, we’ll already have a complete understanding of each specific detail of your project. When we visit your construction site, we’re equipped with that intimate knowledge, allowing us to recognize both potential impacts of the work already completed and spot critical requirements needed for work to proceed successfully.
In other words, as your interior designer, we’ll have insight into what may affect project progression, and what issues may or have arisen that could impact the final delivery of your design.
Your contractor and tradespeople (painters, carpenters, electricians, plumbers) have invaluable expertise in their particular trade, and no one can do what they do — they are enormously skilled. Your general contractor brings vast value to the project: through cost-estimating, construction sequencing, construction site safety requirements, permitting and inspections, ordering build supplies, and much more. However, a general contractor and their subcontractors won’t really know the design intent the way we do as your interior designer.
We’re the only people who can see the complete vision (oftentimes even more than our clients can - this is what makes us experts!) and we know how construction activities can impact proper execution of the approved design. We’ve seen countless examples of installation and fabrication issues in homes, which could have been avoided if an interior designer had been on-site during the critical construction phase of a project.
Here’s some insight into how we support our clients during the construction phase of a project, while making site visits and while continuing to monitor progress and coordinate details via other communication channels.
We are the point person for all questions or concerns that arise regarding the design of the space, and we provide specific instructions to installers or tradespeople.
Because we are intimately familiar with every design-related aspect in a project, we are consulted throughout the project on anything that might impact the final outcome.
Once the design is approved, we compile thorough documentation to guide everyone through the next steps of bringing it to life. Each project we work on is documented in an impressive spec book that includes in-depth details on every item selected for the project, with no detail left unaccounted for.
But even with these detailed documents provided, questions of interpretation or intention can still arise. Relying on the installers to guess at the designer’s intent is never the way to go. We prefer to be consulted throughout construction to ensure any adjustments that need to happen are aligned with the overall vision for the home.
We answer any questions installers and fabricators have about products, materials, and furnishings and troubleshoot unforeseen issues.
For example, in the event that something comes up related to extended lead time on an item that is already approved, we are there to determine whether the project can absorb the delay or whether another choice should be made. If we decide an alternative is the best route, we’re there to make the new selection and ensure it works with the other elements already chosen.
As another example, if a natural stone slab is chosen for countertops, we provide drawings or set up precut viewings of where to make the cuts in the stone so the veining and coloring are best highlighted (or hidden). Sometimes these decisions are made on site once the material arrives, and from experience, we know our clients typically don’t want to be responsible for where their slabs are cut.
Inevitably, during demolition or even construction, something problematic will happen. Luckily, we are known for being excellent creative problem solvers, so we can provide recommendations and determine the optimal course of action to deal with the issue.
Ultimately, we are there to make sure our clients are never left scrambling to make any tough decisions on their own.
We ensure the installation matches the design intent.
There may be instances where something needs to be installed a certain way to properly align with another component. The installer may not realize this, and it’s our job to be sure costly mistakes are avoided. Because we have a big picture view of the project, we can be sure everything progresses according to plan and each component is installed to match our client’s intended design outcome.
We help make on-the-fly decisions when it comes to changes.
We’d love to say once a design is approved, nothing will change, but in a large-scale construction project, some changes will inevitably need to be made once construction is underway.
When this happens, we work alongside the construction team and our clients to assist with and review change orders. A “change order” is an official document that details the approval of a change to any aspect of the project, whether it’s the design of a specific feature, the elimination of an element, or the addition of a detail not originally specified. This paper trail is important, as we never want to risk any change being forgotten, misinterpreted, or overlooked.
Because change orders are official documents, if the work is done incorrectly or charged incorrectly, everyone can refer back to the original plan documents and the change order to find a remedy. Change orders protect our clients, the contractor, and us, ensuring that all revisions being made are approved and acknowledged by everyone involved.
We advocate for our clients to ensure everything is done right the first time.
Let’s say the plumber is about to install the garbage control switch to the right of the sink, but the homeowner is left-handed. Or that the same plumber is installing the shower head at standard height, but the client is particularly tall. We notice and account for these kinds of details to be sure that decisions are made to address them ahead of time.
It might seem trivial, but even the smallest of inconveniences can be avoided with a designer who has the client’s best interests in mind.
We open our clients’ eyes to what is possible.
When our clients are building a home or taking on a large-scale renovation, they want to make sure they’re investing their money wisely. That means, they want their choices to make sense for their current life stage and the future (after all, we do specialize in forever homes). You can change just about anything in a home with a good construction team, but it’s important to get it right the first time.
We provide insights and ideas into what is possible - what we’ve seen done on other projects that turned out beautifully, creative ways to add more natural light or avoid future function issues by making simple changes, and selections that will create a timeless look that will be loved forever.
With over a decade of experience, we’ve seen a lot, and always love when we’re brought into a project from the beginning to help our clients fully maximize the investment in their construction project.
Are you ready for the next step?
Having an interior designer involved during the construction phase of your project ensures you won’t live with regret that something wasn’t executed exactly to your liking, or that you missed an opportunity to make your home truly unique and perfect for your needs.
If you’re about to embark on a large-scale renovation or new build project and don’t want to do it alone, we invite you to collaborate with us on creating a vision of your perfect forever home.
