Why Full-Service Is So Important For Renovations
When it comes to renovations, there are many moving parts that contribute to a successful end-result. If those “moving parts” aren’t scheduled efficiently, it can result in extra costs and a much longer timeline. Unless you have a lot of time to spare, or are efficient in the home renovations industry, hiring a designer to execute & project manage the renovation is so important to make the renovation run smoothly. That is why in this blog post, we wanted to explain why choosing full-service for your renovation can be so valuable.
Believe it or not, there is always something that goes wrong with a renovation. Nothing that can’t be resolved, and sometimes it is just a small thing, but when you have a designer running the renovation, you don’t have to worry about having those issues addressed. From a fan that isn’t working, to hardware that is now discontinued, or a tile that is tricky to install (we’ve dealt with all three of those issues), we take care of anything that comes up! Project management is not as easy as you’d think, and it’s important that trades are scheduled in the proper order to prevent delays. And when an unexpected problem occurs and the timeline becomes disrupted, we then have to reschedule certain items and play it by ear! If a designer is handling all of that for you, you don’t have to deal with the stress of managing all the different trades and their timelines plus dealing with resolving the actual problem.
If you’ve purchased furniture and accessories from ME Design, those items are delivered and installed over 48 hours, without you having to lift a finger! We love to give our clients that “HGTV” reveal moment, and it also saves you from so much inconvenience and time spent arranging deliveries, hanging artwork, putting together furniture, etc. Not to mention that creating a beautiful and cohesive space down to the last accessory is not as easy as it looks! We create the vision for your fabrics, furniture, and accessories at the same time as the renovation finishes, which creates a perfectly cohesive space. Having all of the samples gathered together at the same time allows you to see how everything will look together, so you don’t have to guess or worry about the final product.
Now I’d like to give you a couple real-life examples!
Our Didsbury Renovation
In our Didsbury renovation shown above and below, we had to plan out the coffered ceiling design to fit in with the large beam that had to be installed since a load-bearing wall was being removed to open up the space. In addition to making sure that the spacing and design of the coffered ceiling concealed the beam we were putting in, the spacing and pattern also needed to work with the five pendant lights that were going above the double islands. To know where the pendants were going, we needed to know where the islands would be going, which required a floorplan to know accurately, as well as several on-site meetings with trades. Also, the coffered ceiling needed to allow us to have both the dining room chandelier and the breakfast nook chandelier centered above where the tables would be going (installed on the flat ceiling, and not on one of the coffered ceiling beams.) On top of all that, we had to choose placements for all of the pot lights in between the coffered beams, making sure the placement provided the right amount of light in the right spot and looked visually symmetrical. As you can probably understand by now, this was a complicated process and I think it would have been a nightmare for homeowners to attempt to do on their own! We were able to accurately execute this because we already had the full kitchen plan completed, furniture layout completed, and knew where the islands would be placed, and had the ability to draw out different scenarios in AutoCAD (our computer design program).
Our Didsbury Renovation
Another example from this renovation is the outlet covers on the islands. I bet you didn’t notice them in the photos, and that’s exactly what we want! See if you can spot them in the photos below! Outlet covers are usually white, but they do come in other colours, although they’re not readily available in stores and usually have to be special ordered. Having white outlet covers on the islands wouldn’t have looked great as they would have stood out and really distracted from the gorgeous custom cabinetry in grey. Outlets are not usually something you want to see, and we do our best to hide them! So we ended up having to order two different colours of grey outlets, to see which would be a better match to the island colour so that they would blend in. Something like that may seem like an insignificant detail, but those small details really do make a big impact! These kinds of details are what designers think about and take care of, while I’m sure most homeowners would overlook them.
Our Didsbury Renovation
Our Didsbury Renovation
So for your next home project, we hope you will consider hiring an interior designer for a full-service renovation. You won’t be sorry for the amount of time, energy, and headaches that it saves you. Plus, with our experience and expertise, you will receive the best possible result, both in functionality and in visual appeal!