What We Do
Baths & Master Suites
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We'll do as little or as much as you'd like.
For example, Mr. and Mrs. W. hired us to help them with the redesign of their kitchen which included enlarging the exiting kitchen by putting an addition onto the house. Mr. W. had a buddy in the building business who helped him frame the new addition out, put it under roof, and put all the windows and doors in. They asked us to take it from there. That was fine with us. We helped with the part that was the most difficult for them, the fine finishing work. Mrs. W. especially appreciated our ability to steer her toward making the right aesthetic decisions. As she said “I can’t pick out what I like. It makes my head spin. It’s just too overwhelming for me”!
On the other hand, Mr. and Mrs. T. wanted us to handle their entire master suite renovation from design, to demolition, to re-construction, and even accessorizing.
We will be in there with you either way you choose to go. We are flexible.
Q. Should I do the work myself, or should I hire a professional?
A. Here are the pros and cons of both:
On the other hand, Mr. and Mrs. T. wanted us to handle their entire master suite renovation from design, to demolition, to re-construction, and even accessorizing.
We will be in there with you either way you choose to go. We are flexible.
Q. Should I do the work myself, or should I hire a professional?
A. Here are the pros and cons of both:
| Do It Yourself PROS | Do It Yourself CONS |
| Save money: If it is a small enough job and you are good at the kind of work required to do the renovation—and if you have the time—then you could benefit from doing it yourself. |
Costly: The same job can cost you double (or perhaps even more) if you don’t have the experience or the right tools to do it. |
| Example: New appliances | Time: It could take you a very long time to finish the project, since as in most cases work must be done in evenings and on weekends. |
| Hire A Professional PROS | Hire A Professional CONS |
| Save money: The right professional can get the job done more efficiently and can troubleshoot potential pitfalls that most home owners commonly encounter when attempting to do a project themselves. This can save you a lot of unnecessary expenses. |
Costly: A professional does charge for his/her expertise—and this can add costs to the project. But in the remodeling business, the old adage most definitely applies: You get what you pay for. So don’t cut corners. Hire a professional you know you can trust. |
| Save time: The right professional can get the job done more quickly, which means less disruption in your life. |
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| Save aggravation: The right professional can save you a lot of headaches by doing a seamless job and getting it done efficiently. |
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If you’re just doing a simple repaint and you know what colors you want, then you don’t need a professional.
Recently I was sitting in one of our Complimentary Design Consultations with a woman named Vivian, and as we talked I realized that she knew exactly what she wanted, and the job was small enough, so she did it herself. I love Complimentary Design Consultations, folks. Even when they don’t give me a new client, I still feel like I’m doing my own little bit to give back.
If you’re just doing a simple repaint and you know what colors you want, then you don’t need a professional.
Recently I was sitting in one of our Complimentary Design Consultations with a woman named Vivian, and as we talked I realized that she knew exactly what she wanted, and the job was small enough, so she did it herself. I love Complimentary Design Consultations, folks. Even when they don’t give me a new client, I still feel like I’m doing my own little bit to give back.
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Some things to keep in mind if you choose to tackle your project by yourself:
Some things to keep in mind if you choose to tackle your project by yourself:
- Make sure you understand the nature of the task you’re about to embark on. Whether it’s laying tile, or even something simple, like painting. “I wish I had just hired a professional to do the painting of my bedroom. Because of my frugalness I did it myself, and now I have streaks all over my walls. Every time I look at them I get angry with myself!” —Melissa V., Dillsburg, PA.
- Make sure that you have, or can get hold of, the proper tools to do the job. The free classes at Lowe’s or Home Depot are a great free resource I always recommend for do-it-yourselfers. But be warned: I’ve heard they sometimes oversimplify things.
- Make sure you have the time and the energy to complete the job, so that it won’t haunt you by sitting there unfinished for months or years.
Okay, so now that you have identified your problem area(s) and decided whether you are going to do it yourself or hire a professional, the next step is to come up with your wish list. This is a list of all the things you’d like your newly renovated space to have and how you would like it to function—in other words, how you’d like to use it.
1. Write down five things you’d like your newly renovated space to be like:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. How would you like to use the space?
3. What things would you like in the space?
4. How would you like the space to look (colors, textures, etc.)?
1. Write down five things you’d like your newly renovated space to be like:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. How would you like to use the space?
3. What things would you like in the space?
4. How would you like the space to look (colors, textures, etc.)?
Q. If I decide to hire a professional, whom do I call?
A. There are several kinds of build-out professionals who can help you plan and execute a renovation project. For simplicity’s sake, we will focus on three: Architects, Decorators, and Interior Designers/Space Planners. Here are the main differences between them:
1. Architects:
They understand load-bearing walls and how to handle altering them, but they are primarily trained to focus on the exterior—which means that we see many homes with beautifully balanced facades at the expense of the function and layout of the rooms on the inside.
Example: Have you ever seen a dining room that has two windows, but one of them is crammed into the left corner of the room? It looks awful on the inside and makes it hard to arrange furniture in the room—but hey, the outside looks great, right?
2. Decorators:
They do a great job beautifying interior spaces, but are limited in their knowledge of space flow and function. They don’t have the training and skills to “knock down walls.” They lack the knowledge of how to handle load-bearing walls, or walls in general, so they can’t instruct a contractor to execute a renovation; which could substantially improve a space.
3. Interior Designers/Space Planners:
They combine the best aspects of both of these other trades. They understand how to work with load-bearing walls and how to beautify a space at the same time. This is why most people find that an interior design/space planning expert is the right professional to help with most of the problem areas in their homes.
Things to look for (and things to avoid) when hiring a professional:
Financing Your Project
For just design work (a field survey, design conception, drawing up a floor plan, etc.) most designers ask for a retainer for the full amount of time it will take to produce an initial floor plan.
For managing a renovation, most designers, including Interior Dimensions, require a payment schedule that looks something like this:
- Avoid hiring a professional who does not provide you with a consultation that is tailored to your particular job. There are many out there who say they do complimentary consultations, but actually do blanket generic consults.
- Avoid unclear expectations. For example: “I’ve had three designers here already. Before each one came, they all assured me I would have a clear idea of their vision for my basement by the time they left our first meeting. Well, I still have no clue what they had in mind and they wanted to charge me a design retainer of $2,000!” —Kelly J., Lewisberry, PA. Even if you can’t know exactly what the designer’s vision is, at least know what you will get in return for your design retainer
- Avoid anyone who verbally quotes you a price but will not commit to putting it in writing. “We got two very low-ball prices and neither source would commit to them in writing. This did not give us the assurance we needed to move forward with the project with either of these contractors” —Stacie and Bob W., Lancaster, PA. Insist on getting a detailed written estimate for the cost of your project before you sign on with a contractor. Nobody likes unpleasant surprises.
- Avoid not knowing your costs up-front. Here’s an insider’s secret: a lot of cabinetry establishments will tell you that they don’t charge for design, but will often hide the design costs in your project. Look for a design professional who is up-front about the cost for his/her design services. Chances are you’ll get much higher quality design and better service all around.
Financing Your Project
For just design work (a field survey, design conception, drawing up a floor plan, etc.) most designers ask for a retainer for the full amount of time it will take to produce an initial floor plan.
For managing a renovation, most designers, including Interior Dimensions, require a payment schedule that looks something like this:
- 50% due at signing of agreement to provide construction work
- 40% due when the majority of custom items arrives
- 10% due upon completion of the project
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Q. You’re just the designer, right? Don’t I need a contractor?
A. No! Interior Dimensions is a full-service design/build firm. We can help you through the entire process, from soup to nuts. Many people don’t know this, but it is actually ideal for the firm that created the design for you to be the contractor who provides the build-out of the design. Think about it…who could be more in touch with even the smallest (and often very important) details of your project than the people who created the design? In fact, this single point plays such a critical role in ensuring that what gets built matches—not just resembles—the designer’s vision that many qualified design firms will not provide the design UNLESS they also do the build-out of the design. |
To get started with your planning, call us for your personal, low-key, no-hassle Complimentary Design Consultation (CDC) today at: (717) 526-7866.
