"Do I need an Interior Designer?"

The short answer is yes. The long answer is to follow. With the internet and home inspiration websites like Pinterest and Houzz, more and more homeowners are attempting to tackle their renovation or new-build on their own. What they don't often realize is how much an Interior Designer does before those beautiful photos are produced. Before anything is built, we are space planning, examining human factors, researching building and fire code and city bylaw requirements, creating your budget and schedule and ensuring all aspects of your project are feasible and depending on the scope of work preparing your building permit drawings. I cannot tell you how many times I have been given a Pinterest photo and asked to "design" it. Firstly, this is not design, this is replicating someone else's design. Secondly, if a client wants an identical reproduction of an inspo image, they do not need a designer, they just need someone to build it for them. Designers are highly creative people, we want to produce a design that is uniquely you so your home stands out.

What is Interior Design?

Many people use the terms “interior design” and “interior decorating” interchangeably, but these professions differ in critical ways.

Interior design is the art and science of understanding people’s behavior to create functional spaces within a building. Decoration is the furnishing or adorning of a space with fashionable or beautiful things. In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.

Interior designers apply creative and technical solutions within a structure that are functional, attractive and beneficial to the occupants’ quality of life and culture. Designs respond to and coordinate with the building shell and acknowledge the physical location and social context of the project. Designs must adhere to code and regulatory requirements and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability.

Interior Design is defined by CIDQ as "a distinct profession with specialized knowledge applied to the planning and design of interior environments that promote health, safety, and welfare while supporting and enhancing the human experience. Founded upon design and human behavior theories and research, interior designers apply evidence-based methodologies to identify, analyze, and synthesize information in generating holistic, technical, creative, and contextually-appropriate design solutions. Interior designers contribute to the interior environment with knowledge and skills about space planning; interior building materials and finishes; casework, furniture, furnishings, and equipment; lighting; acoustics; wayfinding; ergonomics and anthropometrics; and human environmental behavior. Interior designers analyze, plan, design, document, and manage interior non-structural/non-seismic construction and alteration projects in compliance with applicable building design and construction, fire, life-safety, and energy codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines for the purpose of obtaining a building permit, as allowed by law. "

Budgets and documentation

Every homeowner wants to know how much their project is going to cost. Without a full design package, it's nearly impossible to put a number on it. The only way to get a firm grasp on your budget and project cost is to have it designed, and sent out for pricing to all trades and suppliers required by the project. You can learn more job costing HERE.

Drawings and specification packages are one of the most important part of a designers job. It communicates the design intent and all of it's details to the contractor, suppliers and trades people. Without them, there is no way for them to know what to build or what things are going to cost. So many details are captured in our drawings such as tile pattern, grout thickness, flooring direction, cabinet door style material and finish, shower valve height, outlet/switches locations & types, cabinet hardware placement, light fixture placement, flooring transitions, cabinetry door and drawer sizes, door swing...the list is endless.

An interior designer should be able to produce the following drawings & documentation:

Interior design is becoming more of a requirement in construction, rather than a luxury; no different than a plumber or electrician. Someone needs to make all of the decisions required, and your builder is not going to do it for you! Designers ultimately save you time, money and costly mistakes and delays on your project.

Still have questions? Please reach out, we are always happy to chat anything design!

"How much will my renovation cost?"

This is a great question, and one that we hear daily. The answer to that question: not that simple, but let us explain. As an interior designer and contractor, we are professionals and are well equipped to provide our expertise and general "ballpark" costs for all aspects of a project, but we are not mind readers and these are guidelines only based on previous projects and industry knowledge. Until you have gone through the full design process, the budget is a constant moving target.

There are SO many variables that go into a renovation and a construction budget, and they range drastically in cost. A faucet can range from $300-$3,000 (and up believe it or not!), custom kitchen cabinetry $15,000-$150,000 (or more depending on materials - wood vs. MDF, stain, paint or vinyl wrapped, interior fittings, drawers vs. doors, customization, square footage), even electrical outlets factor into costs ie. standard white Decora outlets LeGrande pop-out outlets. These are just a few examples of how a complete design determines your renovation cost.

Designed by: Stephanie Hilton Design // Built by: Westerncraft Contracting // Photography: Snowchimp Creative

I love analogies. I use this one when it comes to construction and when asked what a "typical" renovation will cost:

Let's say you are car shopping, but you don't know what make or model you want (Honda or Mercedes), or what options you like (A/C/ GPS, heated seats, remote start), interest rates or financing options haven't been discussed, but you want to know what a car is going to cost. It's impossible! A renovation is no different. You must go through the design process to define all of the materials, fixtures, equipment, furniture, and trades people required for your specific project.

First of all, there is no such thing as a typical renovation. Secondly and most importantly, it's important to understand all of the pieces that make up a renovation.

"What factors will determine my budget?"

"How are renovations budgeted and priced? "

Another great question. There are a few common types of construction budgets and contracts we will dive into next. Reno's are always full of surprises that cannot be predicted. Once we get into demo, we may discover you have outdated electrical that needs to be upgraded to current code, that there are structural deficiencies behind your drywall which needs to be addressed, or your plumbing is Polybutylene (commonly known as Poly-B) and needs to be upgraded to PVC or PEX.

COST PLUS CONTRACT

Cost plus is the most common type of budget and contract in residential construction. Simply put, it is the cost to your contractor for materials, fixtures, and sub-trades plus a percentage (management fee) to mange the project, which is typically between 15-40%. Contractor or PM time on site is also billed on an hourly basis. Usually, a design is required so that all of the materials and trades can be accurately priced by suppliers and required trades, and accounted for in the budget. It is ideal to have a complete design package so that nothing is overlooked in your budget and you are provided with a detailed cost breakdown of your renovation. This also provides the opportunity to scale back on certain design elements if it exceeds your budget, or revisit your budget to allow for the proposed design. A good interior designer will help you create a working budget, or if a budget has already been established by your builder, we request the budget from them so that we can design accordingly and within your anticipated budget.

ALLOWANCE BASED BUDGET

An allowance based budget is typically used when there has been no design and no pricing, so you are given allowances for each area of your project from fixtures & finishes, to framing and painting.

Whether you stay within those allowances, or exceed them, is ultimately up to you, similar to a cost plus contract. You use your budget the way you would like to, and the costs are billed to you.

For example, you are given a $15,000 flooring allowance, which would give you a nice luxury vinyl plank, but you decide you MUST have white oak engineered hardwood floors that come in at $25,000, your budget would have an overage of $10,000, but you might offset that by changing your plumbing and lighting fixtures to chrome instead of matte black which is a more costly finish, thus reducing your overall budget.

FIXED FEE

A fixed fee contract appeals to many homeowners because they feel comfortable owing they are getting "X" for "X" amount of dollars. There are a few things to consider before signing a fixed fee contract.

  1. The scope must be very clearly defined. Anything outside of your scope of work will be billable and not included in your fixed fee contract. For example, you have beenquoted for $5 subway tile, but decide to change it to marble, this is not going to be the same cost to you, you will be charged for the difference. Or, your stud's are rotted behind your shower and needs to be re-framed, you will be charged for that. Fixed fee does not mean unlimited!

2. A "buffer" is always added when working on a fixed fee to cover the contractor for any unexpected or missed items on the scope of work. But, if their cost comes in lower than your quoted amount, they will still charge you the fixed amount, so it may end up costing you more than a cost plus agreement. On the flip side, if you were given a price of $7500 for painting, but the painter that quoted the job is no longer available and a different more expensive painter has to be used and costs more, the contractor will have to eat that cost. Typically, 10-25% will be added to the anticipated costs, regardless of the actual cost. This is to ensure the contractor does not lose money

The bottom-line is, whatever type of construction contract you get into, make sure you know the differences and find room in your budget to hire a designer. We don't say this because we are designers, we are also project managers and wear both hats here, and know the importance of good design and preparing a proper budget. Hiring an Interior Designer may seem like an extravagant expense, however it is not. Interior designers save you valuable time, money and costly delays.

The Renovation Process - Step by Step

How does it work? Where do I start? Do I need an engineer? How long does it take? How much will it it cost? Do I need a building permit?

These are all questions I hear over and over again, and they are all very good questions. Every project and renovation is different, and each of these answers are unique to the project. I am here to take a little guesswork out of the equation so you can plan a successful renovation or construction project.

WHERE DO I START?

Every successful project is the result of a well executed design and proper project management. Whether you are managing and designing your own project, or you are working with a designer, or hiring a contractor, proper planning is key.

I always say - Design first, build second. If your renovation is not planned or designed properly, and you begin construction or demo before you have anything planned, you are going to see nothing but delays in your project. Delays cost not only valuable time, but money. Trades are busy! They will not necessarily be available when you are ready for your tile or floor installation, drywall, or custom shower glass. So plan, plan, plan.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There are many people involved in any one renovation. From demolition crew, to tiler, electrician, finishing carpenter, to painter. Below is the typical order that trades will work on a project:

  1. demolition
  2. framing
  3. electrical and/or plumbing rough in
  4. HVAC/ductwork
  5. insulation if necessary
  6. drywall (1-2+ weeks on average, dry time depending)
  7. paint - 1st coat
  8. flooring install
  9. cabinet install
  10. counter measure
  11. counter install
  12. backsplash and wall tile install
  13. electrical and/or plumbing finishing
  14. appliance install
  15. finishing carpentry
  16. paint - final coat

The Interior Design process in itself is structured and divided into 5 stages of design. Check out our design process for more information and what you can expect when working with us.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

So many variables here. Lead times on materials, trade availability, drywall dry time (this is the most time consuming part of a project), speed of making decisions on both the homeowner and designer, unpredictable delays (ie. weather), complexity of the project, whether or not there is a building permit... There are so many things that go into scheduling a renovation, a project will run smoothly and as efficiently as possible if you have everything pre-designed, a handle on your budget, and trades coordinated properly and in well in advance. If I were to give an average, I would say expect a month for a bathroom reno, 4-6 weeks for a kitchen reno, and upwards from there depending on the scope of work.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

This goes back to my original advice - design first, build second. This will provide you with the drawings and documents that you or a builder will need in order to accurately price out your job. It's impossible for a contractor, supplier or trade to give you a price when they don't know what they are building for you. Will you use $3.00 subway tile for your walk-in shower, or $25 carrara marble tiles? Will you be doing a solid maple custom kitchen, or a pre-fabricated MDF kitchen? Laminate counters or solid stone counters? See where I'm going with this?

Alternatively, they may give you an allowance based budget, or ranges. For example, they may give you an allowance of $8/ft for wall tile. If you decide to go with $30/ft tile, you will be over budget, by choice. However, lets say you fall in love with a $4/ft tile, you will have a budget surplus, which you can choose to then put towards another area of your project. Maybe you can now afford to splurge on that chandelier you have been eyeing. I always tell my clients that it is their budget, and how they wish to use it is up to them, but to be careful as budget overages can add up very quickly.

DO I NEED A BUILDING PERMIT?

The general rule of thumb here is if you are removing walls, adding floor space, or making exterior changes, you will need a building permit. If you are doing a kitchen or bath reno, or refacing your fireplace, you should not need a permit; plumbers and electricians will pull their respective permits if necessary. Your best bet is to check with your city building department on requirements for building permits. Your designer or contractor will be able to help you assess if a permit is necessary and what steps to take.

DO I NEED AN ENGINEER?

If you are removing or adding walls, or doing an addition, you will likely need a structural engineer. I recently had a project where we were taking out a section of a kitchen wall that had a pocket door, and to our surprise when we opened up the wall, sure enough it was load bearing. We were able to remedy the situation without an engineer by installing a new beam, but on more significant reno's I highly recommend working with a structural engineer. to ensure correct measures are taken on your renovation.

Still have questions? We would love to hear from you! We are passionate about design and construction and are here to answer your questions. Contact us here to discuss your project, we love to talk design!

Stephanie Hilton Design is a boutique full service Interior Design firm based in Chilliwack, BC.

We service the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, and specialize in Residential Interior Design.