What Renovation Mistakes Do Designers Help to Avoid?

It’s a common misconception that a Designer is only good at selecting colours and attractive furniture.

A Designer is a professional whose main goal is to improve their client’s home by optimizing its functionality, safety, and visual appeal. Most important in their mind is to design the home all the while considering the needs and preferences of their clients.

In our experience, professional design has proven to be a key element to the success of any project. A renovation project that starts with a solid design plan will ultimately run more smoothly and efficiently. A good designer will help homeowners avoid mistakes and keep the project organized from start to finish.

The following are ways in which a Designer ensures your project is a success:

Overlooking functionality

Good designers ensure that the renovated space is both beautiful and functional.

A good designer creates a space that maximizes functionality and is unmistakably yours. A space where every square inch is utilized to fit your personal needs.

In addition to being expensive, renovations can take a lot out of you emotionally, physically, and mentally as well. It only makes sense to ensure the end result is visually pleasing if you’ve decided to take on all of the risks associated with renovating.

In pursuit of beauty, it can be easy to overlook functionality, however having an experienced designer on your side will keep you on track and grounded in reality. Designers know how much space you need inside the shower, the minimum shoulder room when you are using a toilet, and the distance between your kitchen island and fridge door. They know right away if space will be cramped or wasted.

Getting To Know You to Find a Personalized Solution (Finding the right recipe)

A question we hear often is – how do we know your designer has similar tastes to ours?

Well, we are pretty sure our designers’ tastes are very different from most people’s. Their tastes can be extravagant. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be designers.

A skilled Designer must get into your head to understand how you think and feel. It is the designer’s job to understand YOUR tastes to provide you with the best design solutions.

A good Designer understands that this is your home, and it needs to meet your budget, and your specific needs. A Designer will spend time getting to know you to fully understand why your home is not working for you, and what matters to you most before offering any design solutions.

Keeping the Peace

Oftentimes, a Designer must find solutions that work for several people at the same time. For instance, a married couple. Each may have their own priorities or taste. A CMHC study concluded that 19% of couples consider divorce at the end of a renovation project.

A good Designer will act as a liaison between everyone involved, hearing what matters to each person involved, and finding unique solutions that meet the needs of all parties.

Visualization

Designers are people from a different planet. They have the unique ability to visualize how a space can look before any work is done, and before any money is spent.

They can visualize the space in different dimensions, allowing them to see the potential for functional layouts that perhaps the homeowner had not thought of, or even thought possible.

To share this vision with you, they will create a 3d sketch rendering to give a tangible look at what every inch of the space will look like when it’s done.

This allows you to actually see the end result before making a decision , allowing you to make clear, thoughtful decisions before committing to construction.

Knowing and seeing the end result before making a commitment will ensure that the end result will not be a disappointment. You will get exactly what you envisioned.

Spending – Avoiding over or under spending

A designer will keep a close eye on the different components of the project and their costs through the duration of the project, keeping your priorities in mind.

At first thought, saving money sounds like it could be the right answer, but purchases and decisions made regarding a home renovation are ones that will remain with you long term.

Underspending in some areas could end up costing you more money and headache in the long run if the work or fixture does not stand up to the test of time. The designer will help to determine the areas where money can be saved, and where it makes sense to invest more, getting you the best long term value for your budget.

Selecting Materials

A Designer works with many homeowners, suppliers, and manufactures day after day, year after year. Because of this, they will know detailed differences in materials. Each product and fixture has its pros and cons. With their extensive knowledge, a designer will help you to make educated decisions so that the fixtures and finishes chosen will be ideal for your specific needs.

A good example would be a homeowner who has found a brand name Kitchen faucet at a good price from a well known store – sounds ideal, right?

With their history of researching and working with different products, a designer can tell you that they have tried to work with this product in the past, and found that because of this faucet’s height, the water is likely to bounce from the sink, and splash all over your countertop.

Or maybe you’ve found a beautiful tile on sale. The designer may look at the tile and note that while it’s a beautiful tile, its type becomes very slippery when wet, and likely to be a safety concern. Not to mention, if we were to install this tile, we would need to create wider grout joints, which would also be a headache to clean!

Designers can educate you on the different fixtures and elements to help you make informed decisions that work for you. This will avoid costly, difficult, and sometimes impossible changes to rectify issues resulting from bad choices after construction.

Because of their unique abilities designers may often select an inexpensive material that will look posh in coordination with fixtures and surroundings.

We have seen too many cases where homeowners take on the design role and select expensive materials and fixtures that are unfit for each other.

Purchasing & Handling Materials

Imagine having to call or email the supplier or better yet having to visit in person a supplier to order dozens & dozens of materials and fixtures necessary for your project, anything from kitchen door handles to bathtubs, faucets, mirrors, light fixtures, tile, etc. Not only will you need to order the right amount, type & make but also have it delivered at the right time. Imagine something not arriving on time, in one piece or the wrong quantity? You will need a full time job to sort this out! Here’s why you should let the designer handle the materials.

Adequacy of Lighting

There is so much more to lighting than choosing a nice fixture. Adequate lighting can make or break a room.

It can be a tough balance between over and under lighting a room.

A designer will ensure the lighting choices will be warm, welcoming, and adequate for the space, minimizing dark corners and over-lit areas.

Coordination of the Project – Avoiding Scheduling Nightmares and Stress

Coordinating all those involved in a renovation project is time consuming and stressful. A project that is not organized and coordinated properly will not just be confusing and stressful, but it will also add more costs and delays.

A Designer has experience in coordinating all those involved in completing a renovation project. This includes the contractors, suppliers, and other professionals. Even with the best of intentions, there are so many ways a project can fall off the rails. A designer with knowledge and experience will know how best to avoid and minimize these issues, keeping your project on time and on budget.