Frustration is buying a blank canvas to paint a lucid portrait that has lingered in your imagination for months. The image continually evokes feelings and ideas that other people should also be able to appreciate. There is only one problem – you don’t know how to paint.
Like a canvas, our homes typically act as a source of frustration when we know in our mind what should be done with a certain room, but we have no experience with interior design.
Instead of approaching a home renovation alone, research the role of interior designers and determine if it makes sense to hire a professional. If it’s the first time hiring an interior designer, it might be best to understand what kind of accreditation, training and experience these home artists have to offer. The American Society of Interior Designers website, www.asid.org, serves as a great resource to educate consumers on what interior design encompasses, and the website also offers referrals to the top professionals in the area.
After some research a homeowner should make a short list of interior designers to begin contacting. Although the Internet is full of credible sources that will point you in the right
direction, one should also ask friends and family about whom they have used in the past on their own remodeling projects.
Owner and principal Rita L. Peterson of Associates in Building & Design explains, “It is best when a client involves us as soon as they are considering a project.” It is important to be prudent with a new project. Don’t let anyone knock down walls or pick colors without the guidance of professionals – often times this can be counterproductive.
Once a designer has been chosen there is typically an initial meeting at the home. This should feel like a meeting of minds. The right interior designer is not going to look at a room and then dictate what will be done with it. They will sit down and listen to the homeowner’s ideas, feelings and mental imagery of the finished product.
One helpful guide to convey design details is for the homeowner to make a scrapbook of magazine photos. The pictures can be used to depict what they want a room to resemble. Then the interior designer will communicate to their client what will be realistic and ideal. The designer will take into account not only the living space that will be renovated, but the rooms around it so that the home has a positive “flow” to the layout.
At the first meeting the project budget may also be discussed. Peterson says, “It is not uncommon for a client to not really know their budget. As so many clients say, ‘they just didn’t know how much it could cost.’”
The budget, for many projects, must often pay for more than just an interior designer and materials. Depending on the interior designer that is chosen, it may be necessary to bring in an independent architect and contractor. To get the most accurate estimate, a comprehensive plan of action is needed. “I totally believe it is critical to have a detailed set of plans, and the specifications determined before the contractor prices a project,” says Peterson, who is a member of ASID and is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist. This is the only way a client will receive a true cost.” Without plans and schematics drawn up before hand, some contractors will put allowances into an estimate for leeway in the design.
Some designers, like Peterson, include contractors and architects within their own firm to know that the builders are reliable and exact. One reason Peterson has been so successful with her Fort Collins business throughout the years is because her husband oversees the construction side of ABD design. “My husband, Bob Peterson, CGR, CAPS, is my business partner and the general contractor. We started our business 17 and a half years ago as the first, and maybe only true, in house design/build company – that was quite a foresight that many years ago,” says Peterson.
ABD design recently won the 2007 Remodeler of the Year award from the National Association of Home Builders and Remodelers. After nearly two decades of taking abstract ideas and turning them into homes, Peterson wants homeowners to know that to ensure a home renovation produces desired results, it is important to work with an interior designer from the beginning.
