If you’ve been contemplating hiring an interior designer but haven’t taken the leap yet, you’re not alone. It’s natural to have questions and concerns about the process, cost, and compatibility. A consultation is a small investment that ensures a successful partnership and creates a strong foundation for moving forward. During this meeting, we’ll delve into the details of your project and determine if we’re the right fit to bring your vision to life. Building a connection and fostering trust from the outset is crucial for a project that truly reflects your style and needs. This information will help you prepare for an interior design consultation.
Trust is the most important design element – it’s more important than scale, proportion, or color. I ask our clients to put aside their expectations and preconceived ideas about color, pattern, and layout, and allow us to uncover their stories.
Where do we meet?
A consultation takes place in your home. Even if the project is a new build, it’s helpful for me to get a feel for your lifestyle and aesthetics. During this initial meeting, I will walk through the space and discuss your goals for the project, how many rooms or spaces are involved, and discuss the budget you have set to achieve your goals. It’s difficult to know the budget, particularly if you have never renovated or decorated before.
How Soon Should We Schedule a Consultation?
We are a small, boutique interior design firm that focuses on large projects requiring a great deal of thought, time, and bandwidth. It typically takes 6-8 weeks after signing our Letter of Agreement before we can begin a new project. Once a project commences it’s between 6-8 weeks before we can present the design. If you have a tight timeline or are eager to begin, it’s best to reach out as soon as possible to secure a spot in our design calendar.
Understand Your Goals
We believe a well-designed home fosters a well-designed life. So we encourage our clients to have clarity on their goals (or struggles) before we meet. You don’t need to identify a solution, that’s our job, but identifying what needs to be improved is critical. Understanding your lifestyle preferences and envisioning how your home can better serve you provides me with invaluable insight. My goal is to optimize the functionality of your space, so any examples or ideas you have about your ideal lifestyle are incredibly valuable for crafting a tailored design solution.
Be Open
In our initial meeting, it’s crucial to be open and honest to ensure we’re aligned right from the start. Our meeting is a safe space without judgment. Your frankness will allow me to creatively integrate these elements into your home, tailored to your taste and lifestyle.
Have a REALISTIC Budget
We ask that you consider your wish list and budget before we begin. We will be good stewards of your budget because we aren’t just your partner – we are your advocate and ally. Investing some time to consider your budget before our meeting is incredibly beneficial and streamlines the process for both of us. A helpful way to gauge your budget for a decorating project is to list the furniture pieces you already have in your room and research prices on sites like Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn. This gives us a ballpark figure to start with during our discussion. Renovation budgets are far more complex and will require further discussion with a general contractor to ensure accuracy and alignment with your vision.
Meeting with Decision-Makers
I ask that anyone involved in the decision-making process be at the initial consultation. This saves a lot of time and frustration and I will get much more clarity of what needs to be included in the design. As a designer, I often have to marry two seemingly opposing styles or concepts, a skill honed through my many years as a professional designer. Although we design with the whole family in mind, it’s best to meet exclusively with the decision-makers during the initial consultation.
I encourage you to minimize distractions during the initial consultation or any meetings moving forward. This ensures that we have a focused environment and get the most out of our time together.
Do You Give Us Ideas?
I freely share my ideas and our consultations are the foundation of a successful project that comes in on time and on budget. Good design takes time and I often discover better solutions once I get your project on my drawing board.
Do I Need To Know My Style?
You will not need to identify your style as you prepare for your interior design consultation. That is done during the design process and is not needed for a consultation. If you move forward with our firm, we deeply dive into your aesthetics and preferences with our detailed style assessment questionnaire.
What Happens After Our Consultation?
I gather the photographs and notes from our consultation and create a detailed scope of work proposal including an approximate project kick-off date and estimated timeline for your project.
We believe in win/win relationships. We offer superior design services to meet your needs and expert knowledge to give you peace of mind. Thank you for taking an interest in Ruxana’s Home Interiors. If you’d like to see if we’re a good fit for your home, schedule a no-obligation telephone chat.
Have a well-designed day,
There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, so we have created a range of services to meet our clients where they are. Our design offerings allow clients to select the level of service that best suits their budget and project scope. Let’s design something beautiful!
