Are you looking for an interior design company to renovate, retrofit, or redecorate your commercial interior? If so, it’s important to know what you should expect from your interior designer. The design process can be long, complicated, and challenging, so a designer that sticks with you every step of the way can be a big asset.
Here’s what you should expect your designer to do and provide as you navigate the design process.
Expect to be heard
Your commercial interior design company will be applying their knowledge, skills, and experience to produce a design that meets your business’s needs, reflects your brand values, and appeals to your preferences and priorities. To do that, your designer should make time for a consultation with you to discuss what you need from the project, asking questions, taking notes, and showing that they understand what is most important to you. You should always feel like you are in control, even when your designer is discussing potential limitations or obstacles.
Around the time of this consultation, your designer will also acquaint themselves with your commercial space and conduct a site feasibility assessment, when they will take site measurements and note any practical assets and obstacles associated with the location that the design should account for.
Your designer should be transparent and forthcoming with you, letting you know upfront if something will or won’t work and whether your expectations are realistic.
Expect transparency
Not only should you always feel like you’re in control of your commercial interior design, but you should also feel like you’re up to speed with what your designer is planning. Expect your designer to present a detailed presentation of their concept plan, complete with meticulous specifications including electrical and plumbing layouts to prove they grasp the full level of detail your project requires and deserves.
They should be able and willing to explain and justify design decisions and potential challenges moving forward. Expect them to help you visualize how your team will use and navigate the space. A great designer will bring their interpretation of your ideas to life.
Expect a timeline
Alongside their concept proposal, your commercial interior designer should provide an outline of the workflow to show that their design is actionable. Once you approve of the design concept proposal, your designer should play an active role as the process continues, from consent plans to architectural plans and 3D rendering through to interior design and finally construction. Great designers draft their concepts with the construction process in mind, and you should understand not just what your final product will look like, but also how you’ll get there.
Timelines are particularly crucial in commercial spaces because businesses are at risk of shouldering significant expenses should a project run long. For example, productivity can be lost due to unfinished works. You’ll need to trust that your designer has anticipated and accounted for any potential setbacks in their timeline.
Expect compliance
Many interior designs for commercial spaces require council consents. All require regulatory compliance. Your designer should work with the project management and construction teams to oversee the completion of the project.
Because Silk Design & Build is a full turnkey fit-out company, our designers and builders work hand-in-hand under the same roof to ensure that all council consent lodgments and necessary reports are appropriately assembled and filed. These stages of the process are some of the most common causes of setbacks and surprise expenses, so ask questions early and often. An experienced designer can explain how their design will meet the parameters for any necessary consents.
When all is said and done, expect your design company to conduct a final inspection and submit all forms and producer statements required for a CCC (Code Compliance Certificate).
Expect direction
If your commercial interior design is a movie, your designer is both the writer and the director. Not only will they work with you to adapt your values and preferences into a design that will serve as a script for the project managers and builders, but they will also oversee the construction to ensure that every detail of their design is built correctly. You should expect your designer to be a constant presence from the start of your project through to completion.
One point of contact, from start to finish
At Silk Design & Build, you’ll never deal with the hassle of managing multiple contractors. That’s because we deliver every phase of your project from concept plans and design through to construction. Our reliable and experienced team know how to deliver streamlined processes and maintain budgets and timelines. Contact our team today to get started. With Silk, you’ll know what you can expect.
