Q. What’s the difference between a decorator and an interior designer?
A. Interior designers are professionals qualified by education (a 4 or 5 year accredited Bachelor degree) and are trained in both commercial and residential design, universal (ADA) design, conceptual design, space planning, contract documentation, construction documents, specification and selection of materials, electrical and lighting design, and construction administration. An interior designer is qualified to work on small to very large projects, and from residential, to retail, all the way to the interior of airports, schools and hospitals. Interior designers typically need to have a strong aesthetic sensibility to be able to create environments that are both pleasing and functional, however, while interior designers also decorate spaces, decorators only select furnishings, accessories and finishes and are not qualified to remodel, change the configuration of walls, supervise construction or provide drawings for building and permitting. In short, if you have a commercial space, a brand new residential construction or a major remodel, you will need an interior designer. If you have to decide between a wood floor and a ceramic floor, or you need to re-decorate your living room, or or even your whole house, but don’t have to move any walls, then you will need a decorator.
Q. How much will my project cost?
A. Your project cost varies according to its size, scope, type of project, finish materials, contractor chosen, cost of building materials (eg. lumber, steel etc.) at the time of purchase.
The cost of a project is roughly the sum of:
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•Design and consultant fees (designers, engineers, lighting consultants etc.). This will vary according to size and complexity.
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•Permit fees (if required)
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•Construction cost (must submit drawings to contractors to get accurate bids)
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•Finish materials (cost of flooring material, kitchen cabinets, bathroom fixtures, railings etc.)
As designers we can only project the cost of our fees plus strategize on the design complexity and finish materials so we can keep the cost within your budget. Labor and construction costs are however beyond our control.
Q. How much is your fee?
A. Our consultation fee for 2007 is $80/hour. However, on most projects we estimate the amount of work involved and we give a lump-sum figure which will be paid in installments along the duration of the project.
Q. How long will it take to build my project?
A. A typical ground-up home construction can take anywhere between 8 to 18 months. Complete remodels (both commercial and residential) can sometimes take as much time as ground-up construction because the condition of the structure may be so damaged or in need of retrofitting that a lot of remedial work would have to be done prior to beginning the actual ‘remodeling’ work. Partial remodels and additions take less time, however the duration of any type of construction work ultimately depends on the contractor and his/her sub-contractors’ scheduling.
Q. Are you licensed architects?
A. No, we are not architects. We are interior architectural designers with over 15 years of experience in design and architecture firms. When submitting our drawings for building permitting and approval, we have the plans stamped by our structural engineer.
Q. Do you have contractors you work with?
A. When asked, we provide our clients a list of contractors we have worked with in the past. We typically suggest to get bids from at least three contractors. The final decision on which contractor to hire rests with the clients.
