Plan Your Interior Before the Build

Building your own home or adding to an existing one is a major undertaking and can be stressful as well as hugely rewarding. Whilst architects and builders specialise in construction, they don’t tend to deal much with colour, fabric and furnishings – the final 10% that actually make up 90% of the overall impression for most people.Where to put your sockets, what kind of lighting you will want in each room, what kitchen units, flooring, tiles or splashbacks you will want are all decisions best made before you go anywhere near commissioning a builder as they will be an integral part of your brief. The majority of problems on site stem from a rolling brief which becomes confusing for both parties and hugely stressful for all.

Sourcing, measuring up and ordering products also has its own headaches, with valuable time being wasted on looking for products in an unknown area or specifying the wrong fabric for curtains or at price that makes them unaffordable. A little bit of experience can save a lot of money, and if the client wants to purchase curtains or furnishings through Balance Design’s network of trade accounts then the hours charged sourcing and specifying are taken off the purchase price to make this service economical to use.

Once approaching the build, it may be helpful to have an agent working alongside you to sanity check what tradesmen are proposing or to check quality on installations and fittings. Likewise to flag up the need for an order of works and payment schedule from your tradespeople so as you are not left vulnerable on site.

Sourcing, specifying, measuring up and project management are charged at an hourly rate of £60 including VAT

Image 1 of 10