Qanvast Guide: How to Work with an Interior Designer

Most people want their homes to be special. There’s a good reason for that. A home is probably the most important property you will ever own.

A home is many things – It’s a safe haven to go back to everyday, a gathering place for family and friends, and a nook to celebrate life’s most important milestones.

A beautiful home doesn’t happen by accident, which is why designing a home can be so fun yet nerve wrecking, especially for first-timers. But before you get too flustered at the thought of it all, we are here to help!

Interior designing is actually very much like a love relationship – take it step by step, and you will have a smooth-sailing one.

Step 1: Knowing Each Other

The First Date. This is when you meet your interior designer for the first time. Unlike real dates, the conversation is all about you and your requirements:

Space planning
Interior design concept
Timeline
Budget

The average home renovation budget is around $56,000, and usually excludes furnishing and appliances. Expect it to take at least 6 to 12 weeks to complete.

Step 2: Propose Ideas - 3D images or Floor plan

The Proposal. Things are getting serious. Your interior designer will present you with detailed visuals (3D images or floor plan) of what your finished home will look like. Don’t say yes until you are very sure that you are happy!

The visuals will include:

Types of rooms (e.g. walk-in wardrobe, kids room)
Orientation and layout of rooms (e.g. position of furniture and appliances)
Utility of spaces (e.g. hacking of walls, cabinets, storage)

All these will help contractors understand your requirements, so take time to review and refine the details before approving them.

Upon your consent, the drawings will be submitted to the respective Government departments (i.e. HDB, BCA and URA) for final approval.

Step 3: Finalising Details

Marriage Preparation. Congratulations on finding the right interior designer. At this point, commitment in the form of a deposit is required. As a benchmark, most interior designers will ask for 30% of the total fee upon confirmation, and the remaining 70% upon work done (depending on your agreement). To safeguard your interests, make sure you have everything in black and white.

The designer will propose specific selections for the major components, such as:

Carpentry
Lighting
Electrical points
Flooring
Tiles
Feature wall
False ceiling

And to the little details, such as:

Finishes
Material
Fittings
Colour
Paint
Wallpaper

Step 4: Commencement of Renovation

The Marriage. This is when everything comes into fruition, and also the most exciting part of interior design! Like any wedding, you are going to be very busy.

Be sure to request a timeline from your interior designer, with the contractor work schedule incorporated. This will make sure that everything is considered and will finish on time.

Take a trip to your new home at least twice to inspect the progress
Start shopping for fittings, fixture, furniture, and appliances

Whatsapp is the most common communication channel between homeowners and interior designers in Singapore. Communication is key. If you see a sofa you would like to purchase, take a photo and send it to your interior designer for their inputs.

Step 5: Home Handover

Happily Ever After. You are finally ready to enjoy your new home! Just before the handover, these are the key things to take note of:

Cleaning of your home with chemical wash
Request for any changes required
Check to assess the quality of work
Complete the rest of the payment

Home renovation sounds much less intimidating now, doesn’t it? We hope you find your perfect interior designer, and live happily ever after in your splendid dream home.

Featuring project by Space Define Interior
Cost of Renovation: $32,000, at Ceylon Road

If you like what you see, fire up Qanvast app and start saving interior design ideas onto your boards. Or, drop us a complimentary quote request and we will match you with up to five interior designers that align with your renovation preferences.