…. A complete guide using my Interior Definer™ method.
Starting your journey to design your dream home is an adventure filled with excitement and creativity, especially when it comes to finding the right interior designer. Imagine integrating your personal style, goals, and the essence of comfort into your home’s design. This guide, enhanced with my Interior Definer™ method, invites you on a rewarding journey to connect with an interior designer who clicks with your vision. As we delve into how to choose an interior designer, let’s explore the skills of interior designers and discover how the unique approach my Interior Definer™ method can guide your way, making your home a reflection of your most valued dreams.
Understanding the role of an Interior Designer for your home
An interior designer’s role is multi-faceted, but begins with providing accurate and professional advice for the development and execution of interior design services. An interior designer can provide initial design concepts and space planning proposals, product and material specifications, as well as coordinate with intersecting trades to manage a project from concept to completion. This can include duties like:
- Providing advice on the interior layout of your home and proposing reconfigurations.
- Generating 2D or 3D interior design plans, drawings, mood boards and project visualisations.
- Curating a considered selection of Furniture, Fixtures and Fittings (FF&E) required for implementation and procurement.
- Supplying projected timelines and product schedules to coordinate trades, purchase orders and deliveries.
- Being the point of contact for construction contractors on site, as well as consulting with engineers, architects and trade specialists.
The main goal is to improve the effectiveness, accessibility, functionality and aesthetic appeal of an environment in a way that ensures the safe and optimal occupation and use of the interior space. An interior designer will consider the intended function of a space to curate an environment that is fit for purpose, as well as understand how an interior design scheme can positively impact the end-user. A successful design project will also address sustainability and minimise its environmental impact.
With differing laws for product use and specification across residential and contract sectors, an interior designer must be aware and comply with all related health & safety codes, building regulations, and installation requirements.
Definition of Interior Definer™
Noun/ “de.fin.er”/
definer (plural definers)
- Agent noun of define; one who defines; a person who writes a definition or definitions.
To specify distinctly.
I’m an Interior Designer and Colour Selection Specialist and I’m also an Interior Definer™.
You see, to me, Interior Designer and Interior Definer™ go hand-in-hand. I don’t believe I can be an expert Interior Designer without having the ability to define or give meaning to my clients brief.
The home that my client wants to build will become one of their greatest assets and let’s face it, they want to get it right the first time, because they’ve worked so hard to get to the point where they’re finally able to build their dream home.
If you’re ready to start researching for the Interior Designer that’s going to take you from staring at a blank page to feeling organised and in good hands, then this is what I know for sure; people who have decided they’re going down the path of designing a home with the guidance of an Interior Designer must feel reassured that their ideas, lifestyle, needs and wants are clearly understood.
You know, that understanding of “we’re on the same page”? It’s the reassurance that you’ve selected the right person to work with for several weeks to several months, from the pre-build stage, during the construction of your new home and sometimes even after the builder has handed over the keys to you.
So, I hear you asking, how do I know if I have chosen the most perfect Interior Designer to work with?
Apart from seeing the Interior Designer’s portfolio and having a friend or relative refer them to you, you need to sit down and have a chat.
Yes, a chat! I want to take you on my journey of getting to know my clients and I hope that my Interior Definer™ method helps you to understand how to connect and work with the most perfect Interior Designer, for you.
The Interior Designer/Interior Definer™ that “gets you” and can work their magic on your dream home!
I know for certain that all potential clients begin by mentally collating the items that would fit under two lists.
The lists are “what I like” and “what I don’t like”. This much, any potential client knows for sure. But what most people don’t realise is that subconciously, they have actually collated so much more than this.
As an Interior Definer™ I have two stages of questioning:
Stage One: I ask a series of questions to give definition to the floor plan.
Stage Two: I ask another specific set of questions to determine the external and internal materials, finishes and colours to specify.
I understand that life’s responsibilities can take up too much of one’s headspace and that’s where the Interior Definer™ in me kicks in to ask the right questions and place your answers under the following five lists, which start to provide a far more detailed collection of words and sentences to understand precisely what your needs and wants are, what’s negotiable and what’s not.
THE FIVE (IMPORTANT) LISTS:
01: “Must Have” list
02: “Wish” list
03: “I Have No Idea What or How To Choose It” list
04: “Definitely Don’t Like” list
05: “I’m Not Sure If I Can Afford It” list.
I don’t have five separate pages titled with each list. I casually ask a series of questions in conversation. Most of the time, my client’s description of their needs and wants is quite broad, so this is when I start to ask lots of questions to expose every layer of my client’s thoughts to distil the words that form the sentences which describe exactly what they want to achieve and why.
The “why” is where I want to get to. My client’s “why” is where all the important information is. All the good stuff! It’s during this conversation that I get to give definition to what this new build or renovated home will truly mean to them. How they want it to look, how they want to live in it and just as important, how they want it to feel.
It’s at this point of the conversation that I am intently listening. Listening for key phrases, key words and key sentences. The words that I’m waiting to hear aren’t technical at all. I want to hear the words coming from their heart; what this new home will really mean to them.
I write down single words, phrases or sentences that I hear during this conversation.
Examples of the words and phrases I hear:
“comfortable”
“luxury living”
“elegant home”
“sophisticated”
“beautiful”
“big but cosy”
“modern kitchen design”
“peaceful bedroom”
Other times it’s sentences like these that I hear:
“When we celebrate birthdays, we usually have 20-25 people over at one time and that’s six times a year!”
“I want the kids and their friends to be able to hang around the pool and eat pizzas fresh out of the pizza oven under the Alfresco”
“I need external access to a toilet and shower. I don’t want anyone walking through the house, straight out of the pool!”
“I want a fireplace in the Alfresco so that we can entertain all year round”
“I want to include a Lounge and it needs to be special, maybe a little more formal so that I can have a wine with my girlfriends and no kids are allowed”
“I want a special drawer in the Dressing Room to display my watches”
“I want my home office to have insulated walls for when I’m recording or going live”
“I need space for two dishwashers in the Butler’s Pantry and two washing machines in the Laundry”
“I need a space designed for the dog’s bed in the Laundry”
“I need this home to be our haven. The place we come home to and feel relaxed and happy to be home.”
“I can’t stand clutter. I need everything behind a cupboard door!”
“I need the colours to set the mood. The colours should be warm and relaxing.”
“Our children are teenagers and I want them to have their space to watch TV and socialise with their friends”
“I want a beautiful kitchen, but it needs to be functional too.”
“I want a Dressing Room with a place to display my expensive handbags and shoes. I want to see them every day to remind me why I continue to work hard”
“My parents live with us, so we want them to have their own space”
To put this all into perspective, I hear these phrases and sentences and many more during the very first meeting with my client.
This meeting is aptly titled “Discovery Session”. And how privileged am I to be able to sit with people that I barely know and two hours later, feel like I have known them for years? I sit and listen to – and discover – the most amazing backstories.
I hear about their current lifestyle and future expectations of how they want to live in their new home.
Now, you may already have a set of plans drawn up and need me to review them in order to assess the spatial planning of the interior, the external and internal aesthetics and pay close attention to detail.
Or you may request that I collaborate with your Architect or Draughtsperson before any preliminary drawings have started, and this is the most ideal union.
You see, when I collaborate with your design team, I’m able to provide information on the materials that I will select and the floor plan will be designed based on the format of the materials selected.
This is also definitely the most cost-effective way of designing because it’s at this point of the design stage that the format (or manufactured size) of each material is considered so that there is less wastage and less cutting.
Ultimately, this is the ideal situation for you, because there is money to be saved; with your budget being taken into account by all members of the design team.
You most likely already know what your overall budget is, although what I’ve found is that you may not have any idea of what the breakdown of your budget is.
What percentage of your budget will you be allocating for the external finishes and what percentage will be allocated for the internal finishes.
Have you considered which rooms should have a greater percentage of the budget and which rooms should have a lesser percentage?
The issue of over-capitalising and resale value should also be considered whilst budget is being discussed.
So, there you have it…(IMO), an Interior Designer must also be an Interior Definer ™ in order to go layers deep and truly understand what you desire your new home to look and feel like.
Once your Interior Designer has genuinely understood all these important elements, that’s when you’ll know you’ve connected.
The right Interior Designer for you will “get you” and will want you to achieve the best result within your budget.
Wondering if we’re a good fit for working together?
Discover Your Home-Building Personality Type.
Take the FREE quiz to find out which of the Four Tendencies fit your personality, and what that means for your home-building process!
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