House remodeling isn’t an easy job. It is often difficult and tedious, whether it be for the ones planning or the ones constructing; however, the whole process can be much easier if you work efficiently with a professional designer.

Working with designers allows homeowners to turn their abstract ideas into something visually concrete, then gradually transition to the actual concrete portion. From aesthetic, color, furniture style, furniture arrangement, to functionality, building code requirement, and construction standard, your designer will be there to assist you with their professional knowledge on practically everything related to your remodeling project.

So, what is it like generally working with designers? 

Asking and Exploring

The first step of the working process together would be to ask questions and explore options. Now, maybe you already have a perfect image of how you would like the final product to look like, but you probably have not come up with the seemingly tedious but extremely necessary details.

You want white cabinets, but which shade? You want an island in the center of the kitchen, but is there enough space? You want to have certain drawers next to each other, but will the doors clash when you open them? Or perhaps, you don’t have anything in mind yet and want to explore more options from a professional viewpoint, that’s totally fine! That’s exactly what your designer is there to help you with. Now, be prepared for A LOT of questions from your designer. They are not trying to overwhelm you, but instead to filter out your preferences and develop a better understanding of your vision in order to better assist you.

Vice versa, if there is anything very specific you’d like your designer to keep in mind, such as designing for special needs, for children or elders, or general things like a very specific budget, or a set of specific items you’d like to include, let them know early on! This will not only help your designer in coming up with a more personalized remodeling plan, but also help you avoid the mess later on when the job is done and you realize you forgot to include something or take something out.

Planning and Evaluating

After gathering a huge amount of information from you, the designer will start compiling a list of potential items for your home, and sketching out a blueprint of your remodeling plan. Oftentimes, different minds can have very completely different pictures even with the same description, so it is crucial for the designer to put all the words and thoughts you guys have shared and collaborated onto something visible, so that everyone can be on the same page. 

Nowadays with technology being infused in almost everything, it has been much easier for designers to prepare realistic blueprints on software. The software provides exact measurements of all furniture and kitchenware, and the 3D perspective allows you to get a realistic “estimated” view of how your new place would look, based on what your designer has so far. You can add on and take out things that you didn’t think of earlier on, or even find inspiration by browsing the other options on the software.

You might either find what you are looking for after just a few trials, or maybe you are going to need tons of trials before coming up with the best “version” for you, and both are completely okay! Just remember - the steps might be tedious, but at the end this is going to be your project that you are investing in, so that afterwards you can fully enjoy living in the place while increasing its monetary property value overtime. 

Engaging and Waiting

After you and your designer have finalized the blueprint, the designer will work with the contractor that either they suggested or you found, and the construction portion will finally begin! You might think “Ah finally! I can now relax and wait now.” Well, nobody is going to stop you, but we strongly suggest you stay engaged to make sure the whole project finishes on a good note.

Stay engaged with your designer, in that your designer would be able to better communicate with the contractor, since the two speak the same “language”. If any issues arise during the process and adjustments need to be made, your designer is able to discuss with them better with a known sense of what you are looking for and how the contractor could accommodate to your preference the best. Or, if anything pops up in your mind mid-project, let your designer know ASAP and they can alert the contractor before it is too late.

One very important thing is that, make sure to get everything down in writing. When we say everything, we mean everything you can possibly think of regarding this project, especially changes made after the building process has begun. This is to prevent any miscommunication from occurring, to make sure every party involved is on the same page for everything, and to have a physical copy of everything discussed in case one party messes up and tries to avoid responsibility. Use the contractor’s or designer’s forms if they are available, or print out your own ones and have them sign after acknowledging every change. 

Takeaway

Overall, what we described above is just an overview of a general remodeling project process. Each homeowner’s experience will likely vary depending on how each step of the way goes. Remember, a great remodeling project is going to be very consuming time wise, energy wise, and money wise (depending on your budget). However, by walking along the route with a trusted professional designer, you will get their help on all aspects of the entire remodeling process, whether it be making suggestions regarding functionality or exploring new options for a fresh aesthetic. 

You might not like their initial ideas or plans, that is completely normal and should prompt you to voice your opinions more. This is your project after all, you get to decide what you want! Reasonably.