Have you decided to take a step towards your design dreams? Fantastic! We’re thrilled you are considering ESD! However, you might be asking yourself the question, “Now what?”
We wanted to take the opportunity to explain our process in a bit more detail. An ESD design consult has three phases: an online questionnaire, a two-hour meeting at your home or business, and a design proposal.
Phase 1: Online Questionnaire
After contacting us to schedule, we send you a link to our online questionnaire. We require this questionnaire to be completed before we schedule the meeting. Don’t worry – we don’t get too personal! The questionnaire is less than 10 questions, and gives us important insights into how you live so we can adapt your space to accommodate your lifestyle.
Once we receive the completed questionnaire, we add your name to our list. When we have availability we’ll reach out to schedule a meeting. We hate waiting lists as much as you do, so if it’s going to be a long time before we can meet with you, we’ll let you know. Unless the project is new construction or involves some other type of protracted timeline, we schedule when we have availability to start your project.
Phase 2: Two Hour Meeting
Bringing our energy, ideas, and your questionnaire, we aim to formulate a full design plan – tailored specifically to YOU – during our initial client meeting. We break it up into four areas of focus:
- Tour: Upon arrival and introductions, we ask you to give us a tour of the entire property, even areas that aren’t part of the project scope. We look at the overall structure and make recommendations based on the information you gave us in the questionnaire. This is a great way to get to know your likes and dislikes better through casual conversation. Don’t hire housekeeping; we want to see how you live everyday. Cramped or unorganized spaces just communicate that storage and function might need to be included in the design plan. We also love to find forgotten treasures to repurpose.
In this client’s dining room, heirloom art is layered over a mirror and given a new life on this gorgeous mantle.
2. Furniture Placement: In target spaces, we want to work with furniture, rugs and lamps that you already have and treasure. Often beautiful pieces are just not in their optimal location (inches matter!). We get a bit of a workout centering or moving rugs, rearranging your furniture, and moving lighting and artwork. Then we can start to identify gaps in the space, take measurements, talk style and form a needs list.
During this design consultation, we repurposed and rearranged the client’s existing furniture. Then we gathered artwork from around the home and created an extended gallery wall.
3. Aesthetics: We like to sit down with our client to talk more specifically about aesthetics. This is when we ask to see your Pinterest Boards and Houzz pages. We usually have fabric samples on hand that we ask you to separate into a like/dislike pile. This small activity reveals SO much!
A sample fabric and color palette.
4. Budget and Collaborative Approach: By this time we’ll generally have a good needs list and grasp of scope. We’ll discuss strategic spending and offer coaching on project phasing if necessary. We also spend a little bit of time talking about our contractual options for partnering with us based upon the size of the project and how you make decisions. We also explain our budget management process, answer your questions, and confirm total spend.
Phase 3: Design Proposal
Our design proposal document shows that we listened to you and understand your design goals. It summarizes what we discussed for each space during the initial meeting. We include inspiration boards to consolidate all ideas and products into one place.
The inspiration board on the left was used for a full living and dining room redesign. The board on the right was created for a master bath.
Lastly, a preliminary high/low budget is included. It lists a price range for all items that will be purchased and an estimate of total design hours needed to complete the project. We do not provide contractor estimates, but will gladly recommend contractors who have worked for our past clients.
Do we mesh?
Yes, we are designers, but we really just love getting to know people. Through collaboration, we’ll work to help you uncover a part of yourself through design. Our goal is to help you reach a place you couldn’t get to on your own. Interior design requires a great deal of mutual trust. The first meeting and subsequent proposal gives everyone a chance to determine whether the relationship feels right. Our full consultation fee is $200. Once you’re ready to hire us, we ask for a contract and retainer – then it’s off to the design races! You’re in good hands with two women who will work tirelessly until your home or business tells your story.
Happy Design Dreams,
Keri & Amanda
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