At a Glance
- Lenard, 30, auditor, his wife and their son
- Size: 93 sqm / 1,001 sqft
- Location: Bendeemer Road Block 10C
- Cost of Renovation: $40,000
- Cost of Furnishing: $10,000
- Interior Design Firm: DS2000 Interior & Design
- Interior Designer: Joseph
With practicality on his mind, Lenard sought an interior designer who could value-add to his ideas and come up with a design that strikes a balance between practicality and aesthetics.
Taking some time out of his busy schedule, Lenard meets up with us for a chat where he shares on his renovation journey and the one thing that was hard to anticipate for.
Qanvast: How did Joseph differentiate himself from the other interior designers that you met?
Lenard (L): Out of the four interior designers that I met, I felt that Joseph was the one who best demonstrated his capabilities as a designer. The rest of the designers were just executing what I wanted.
For example, most of the designers did up the layout of the house based on what I wanted whereas Joseph made the extra effort to plan the layout based on what he felt was best for me.
Qanvast: Was there any particular occasion when Joseph stood out from his competitors?
L: Yes. Joseph showed that he really understood our need for storage by planning a whole panel of cupboards for our TV feature wall while the other designers just suggested placing the TV here and the cupboards elsewhere.
Besides fulfilling our storage requirements, Joseph’s design for this TV feature wall also looks better from a design perspective as compared to the designs which the other designers came up with. Hence, we felt that he was the best choice for us.
Qanvast: What was your design brief?
L: We wanted a design which is a mix between the Scandinavian and modern theme. We also wanted a clean, functional space with sufficient storage.
Qanvast: What would you say is Joseph’s best quality as an interior designer?
L: I would say it’s his ability to compromise. When certain things we wanted did not match the theme, he would do his best to find a way to make it blend into the overall theme. He was also able to give us advice without being too pushy and would leave it up to us to make the decision on what we wanted.
He communicated quite closely with me and updated me during every single stage of the renovation. He even let us know when was the appropriate time to start looking for furniture because we wanted to time our furniture deliveries around our move-in date.
Qanvast: Is there any reason why you didn’t hack any walls in your home?
L: We did consider it but ultimately, we felt it would be more practical not to hack any walls. Firstly, if we have another child in future, we would need the additional bedroom and this would mean that we would have to rebuild the wall. Secondly, it is easier to sell the home if it is left intact.
Qanvast: What is one takeaway that you have from your renovation experience?
L: After shifting the furniture into the home, I realised that it would have been better if some of the power sockets were placed at different locations. This was something which was hard for me to anticipate for when I was planning the position of the power sockets as I did not know the exact dimensions of my furniture at that time.
Qanvast: What advice can you give to potential homeowners who are shopping for an interior designer?
L: Homeowners need to find an interior designer who they have chemistry with and who understand their needs. It is of utmost importance for them and their interior designer to be on the same page.
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