At a glance:
Alvin, 30, a process engineer and Sabrina, 29, a teacher
Home to 2 adults
Size: 5-room flat, 110sqm / 1184 sqft
Renovation period: 6-8 weeks
Cost of renovation: $29,000 (excludes flooring)
Cost of furnishings: $30,000
Interior Designer Firm: Unity Interior
Interior Designer: Wynn
Against the backdrop of neutral-toned furnishings, the home was adorned with personal momento and favourite collection of the young couple. We spoke to Alvin as he shares his story behind his home renovation journey.
Qanvast: How did Qanvast help in your renovation journey?
Alvin (A): When I needed to renovate my place, I asked my friends for recommendations when one of them introduced Unity Interior and Qanvast. I checked out my friend’s recommendations and downloaded the app. There were good portfolios in the app and I decided to request a quote to get more options.
Coincidentally, one of Qanvast’s recommendations was Unity Interior. After I have the recommendations, I went onine to check out their portfolios and see if their (bad) reviews would surface online.
We met up with 2 of the other recommendations from Qanvast and contact Unity Interior directly.
Qanvast: After meeting with 3 interior firms, what made you picked Unity Interior?
A: To me reviews are really important in selecting an interior designer. It really helps that a friend had used Unity before, despite that there weren’t a lot of reviews on Qanvast. Naturally, I would lean towards what my friend said. He recommended Wynn and shared with me her work style. I met up with Wynn and she did up the design concept for me.
The other 2 interior firms from Qanvast were good and established firms. It was a good meetup with them, but reliability wise, I choose to go with my friend’s designer.
Price wise, the 3 firms were quite on par with others. Thus Unity Interior was our choice, mainly because of my friend’s reviews.
Qanvast: Did Wynn meet your expectations?
A: True to what my friend said, Wynn was reliable and prompt in following up. There were some hiccups and mistakes along on electrical wiring and on the kitchen countertop and Wynn managed to rectify it immediately. The workmanship from Unity Interior is really good too.
Except for 1-2 ideas, she proposed good design concepts and we pretty much went along with her. The contractors at Unity Interior were friendly and helpful, as they helped out in a few rectifications after the renovation.
Wynn made us feel that our house was well taken care of, as she often sent photo updates on the renovation progress. I was pretty satisfied in how everything turned out.
Qanvast: How would you sum up your whole renovation journey?
A: The whole process is a time-consuming one. I approached Qanvast, spoke to the interior designers and friends, compared quotes and narrowed down to a reliable interior designer. Thankfully, we had picked the right one because from then onwards, it was pretty smooth and everything was delivered exactly on schedule.
I believe Qanvast did help to save quite a fair bit of time on research, from design ideas to reviews and even the interesting writeup on interior designers. If possible, I will again use Qanvast for my next property.
Furniture shopping was fun. We took some photos and showed to Wynn and she will advise us accordingly. We had neighbours who organised bulk buy on certain items but we didn’t join in because we were one of the last few to moved in and the promotional offer was over by then.
Qanvast: How was your experience in using the Qanvast app?
A: Once we started using Qanvast, we stuck to that and dropped other online platforms that we initially used. We tried magazines but we dropped it after a while because it was inconvenient.
The Qanvast app was pretty comprehensive and it acts as a mobile catalogue; which makes it easy to save ideas. It is easy-to-use and I can quickly narrow down my search based on prices and rooms.
The reviews were helpful, but I would prefer to see more so that it is more representative on how the interior designers fared as a whole. To me, this aspect is really important. While I trust my friend’s reviews on Unity Interior, I would want to see what others had said about them as well.
Qanvast: Before we end, tell us what you would advise to new homeowners.
A: You need to know what you want. When we started ours, we just walked into the interior designer studios and were pretty lost. After you know what you want, do a lot of market research and ensure you are not overcharged.
When it comes to selecting an interior, go with an open mind. Take it if you like it or tell her what you want. It’s a tiring and extensive experience to be bouncing our requirements and I’m so glad it’s over. Lastly, don’t take the first quote that comes.
Want to enjoy a smooth renovation journey like Alvin? Download the app and try out Qanvast today! With hundreds of trusted home professionals on board, you can browse through their portfolios and reviews. If you need help to secure an interior designer, drop us a complimentary quote request and we will match you with 5 best-matched interior designers.
