Going into her first major renovation (after having moved six times), homeowner Doris knew that finding the right interior designer would have a huge bearing on whether her renovation experience would be a good one.
Turning to Qanvast for interior designer recommendations, Doris was matched with The Orange Cube and meeting up with designer Chris, her worries were assuaged as she found Chris to be a designer that she could comfortably talk to and trust.
We sit down for a chat with Doris to find out more about her experience renovating her 3-bedroom condo at The Rivervale.
About finding an interior designer
Doris (D): Qanvast recommended five interior designers for us and out of these five, we met up with Chris from The Orange Cube and a designer from another firm. In the end, my husband, Raymond, and I decided to enlist Chris’ services because her pricing was reasonable. Furthermore, her designs fulfilled our requirements for our home and she understood the look we were going for.
On the couple's Balinese inspiration
D: We wanted a Balinese-themed design for our home to suit the wooden furniture we were bringing over from our previous place. Fortunately for us, Chris had done previous projects in a Balinese style, so she was able to capture the interior style we had in mind.
Their requirements for the space
D: We have a big family and we often have people over so we needed our home to be spacious enough to accommodate them. To that end, I wanted a smaller dining area so that I could have a larger living area.
D: We wanted a feature wall in the hall and a built-in shoe cabinet near the living area. For our dining area, I told Chris that I wanted a bench that can double up as storage. In the master bedroom, I wanted an L-shaped walk in-wardrobe and two sinks for our master bedroom toilet.
On working with Chris from The Orange Cube
D: She’s quite a flexible designer to work with. She was always okay with our decisions to change any aspect of the design during the design conceptualisation. Even after we finalised the design, there were a couple of minor changes we wanted to make and she was happy to accommodate to them. Overall, I could communicate with her very comfortably.
On shopping for furniture and fittings
D: Chris brought us to shop for our fans and other fittings in our home. She also accompanied us to the tile shop to select our tiles, giving us suggestions for the colours of the tiles and advising us on which anti-slip tiles to purchase.
Advice for other homeowners
D: When homeowners meet up with interior designers, they should go through the whole list of line items that they want and not be afraid to ask questions. It is also good for them to start on the right foot with their interior designer so that when the work starts, they are able to better communicate with their designer.