Decisions Your Interior Designer Will Make So That You Don't Have To

A few weeks ago, I did an Instagram post about all the decisions your interior designer will make so that you don’t have to. And I thought it would be a great idea to turn it into a blog post. There’s a lot of decisions to make in a remodel project. A successful project, which equals happy clients, a job well done, and a team of experienced home design experts, all working together for that succssful outcome is truly a journey. Its about making decision after decision, because lets face it, when you have on average 450 decisions to make per room, that’s a lot of decision making, and can quickly become overwhelming for anyone. Any design project is a journey to the end, and actually, the slower the project goes, the better and more methodical, and smoother the experience is overall.

In the design world, we want your project to run as smooth as possible, and we want your experience, to be a positive one. By keeping your design team on throughout the build-out phase, this will be the difference between a smooth running project and a stressful one where now the homeowner has to make all the decisions. And who really has time for all of that? At Gina Lauren Interiors we take the load off of the clients, by working hand in hand with the builder and his team of experts and vendors, not just during the design phase, but during the build out phase as well. We work with a detailed schedule and have weekly on-site meetings during the build out phase of any project. We are there to walk through the project, answer questions, verify quality and workmanship, and get ahead of any potential problems that could arise.

During the construction phase of any project, its important to consider the hundreds of decisions that are made when you’re working on a remodeling project that go into the end result. When you are standing in your dream space and all is said and done, the flooring is in, the countertops are installed, the tile has been set, lighting fixtures hung, cabinetry installed, etc, and you realize all the decisions, all the steps, all the back and forth, the discussions that you had between your contractor and designer, it is a culmination of a thousand decisions that led to the final finished product. And you realize looking around at your space, that those decisions were guided by the experts in their field, with knowledge, expertise, and experience and that the success of your project relied on that and determined the outcome, then you know how truly important it is to rely on those experts and their experience.

The majority of full scope home remodeling projects will involve electrical, plumbing, hvac, tile and flooring, cabinetry, countertops, paint, drywall, etc. Within each of those, there are a hundred decisions that have to be made to complete your project. A few of these small decisions such as tile and tile size, placement, color and pattern, grout color and thickness, trim specifications, wall treatment type (paint, wallpaper or millwork), paint color and sheen, lighting type and location, countertop material, edge detail and thickness, cabinetry material, door style, box thickness, hardware type and location, faucet type, finish and location, flooring type, finish, and layout, etc. if you need appliances for your project, what type of appliances, sizes and location, room layout, are you expanding your space or enclosing it, do you need an architect or engineer or any type of specialty expert. These are just some of the examples of decisions and choices that have to be made during the construction phase and you want your design team to be the trusted experts standing by your side through this process.

At Gina Lauren Interiors we rely on our design team, which includes the team of GLI, the architect and engineer, the contractor, any specialty trades and the client as well. When you have a carefully experienced team working with you, you know that the project will run smooth and every decision will be carefully thought through. We do this by creating a weekly meeting schedule for the construction part of our projects. This means that the entire team meets on site every week to walk through the project, discuss the existing build out and get ahead of any potential issues that could arise. Because in the world of home remodeling, lets face it, there’s always some sort of surprise lurking somewhere. And by getting ahead of those pesky issues, you are steps ahead and more likely to come out on top, prepared and ready to complete your project.

And these decisions all impact and have a direct result to the final outcome of your project, your design and the end result. Relying on the experts to make these decisions for you is imperative to the successful outcome of your design project. Taking these hundreds of decisions on all by yourself, is not trecommended, and can lead to overwhelm and mistakes which are more likely to occur. But trusting in your design team and letting the experts do their job, you’ll be in great hands and your project will be a success leading to happy clients, a beautiful space that you’ve spent years dreaming of, and a job well done.

Happy Design & Building!

XOXO,

The GLI Design Team