What Makes A Professional Interior Design Firm Worth Your Investment - Part I

We always tell our clients that good interior design is an investment, not just in their home, but in their well-being and lifestyle.

Like anything that brings significant and positive changes into your life - things that will enhance your life, make you feel good, save you time, eliminate stress, interior design is worth investing in. And like any good thing that is high quality, it may cost you a bit upfront, but the long term benefits will far outweigh the upfront investment.

A Luxury Bathroom Is Meant To Be Enjoyed Daily. Photograph By Colleen Scott. Model - Veronica Solomon

Our commitment to our clients is very simple, although the deliverables are very detailed and thorough. We are committed to making our clients' lives easier. Our clients don't have to lift a finger when they hire us, because we have designed a process that will save them time, money and stress.

We bring years of experience, expertise, resources, creativity and a network of trades people and artisans to make sure every need is addressed. The design process should be fun for our clients. While things can go wrong because life isn't perfect, you want to work with a team that is solutions-driven, results-oriented with the tools to take care of it all so you don't have to

For the next few posts we will be focusing on some of the major benefits you get as a client by working with the Casa Vilora Interiors team. Today's post is all about how we handle the purchasing of the products for your home.

Living Room With Grasscloth Fireplace With Custom Wood Mantel. Photography By Colleen Scott

Recently we were hired by a wonderful client to fully design the main areas of her home. As we sat down at the initial consultation to discuss what she could expect during the design process and how we work, she began to explain that she's not sure how she will handle the shopping part with her busy schedule. You see, my client was under the impression that her role in the process was to accompany me on tons of shopping trips to pick out furniture for her space. That was already an overwhelming thought for her, for having to carve out time for that activity.

Imagine her excitement when I started to go over some of the benefits of working with us. As I explained the way we purchase products on her behalf, you could see the relief in her face. She knew that a turn-key concierge level service is what she needed.

So how do we handle purchasing products for our clients? Glad you asked

It all starts from the consultation. We assess your space to determine the project scope. We make careful note of existing pieces that could be used in the new design, but most importantly, we listen to your needs and wants, and we let the space "speak" to us.

We do realize that what clients express to us as wants and sometimes needs, may not be exactly what is right for them. What a client expresses to us can sometimes be limited to their experience, awareness and understanding of what is available to them, therefore we also look for what clients don't know that they want or need. That is why working with an experienced design firm like ours will be highly beneficial as you look to not just furnish your home, but create a haven for yourself. We introduce you to creative ideas and solutions that you would have never thought of in a million years. We don't just give our clients what they ask for; we open them up to so much more, and help them see the possibilities. After all, we want your home to be custom and unique to you, and not what is available on the mass market

Our clients come to us for our grand ideas and creative solutions, and we love working with clients who give us the freedom to express those ideas that we know is right for them.

A Built In Custom Upholstered Banquette For A Stair Wall. Photography By Colleen Scott

Once we have determined our clients' needs and know the style direction we want to go in, we get to work with the design plan.

The design plan starts with taking careful measurements of the space and all the furnishings that will remain in the space, the fixed elements that will affect the color palette, the focal points and the way the spaces will function. We create floor plans with furniture layout, elevations for key features and we begin to source the furnishings and creating digital presentation boards and 3D renderings in some cases.

It is very important for us to be able to communicate our ideas to our clients, and the more visuals we can bring to our presentation meeting the better. This allows our clients to be able to "see" the space before it is created. They have the opportunity to ask questions and even request revisions.

The presentation is a very important part of how we purchase products for your home. As we are showing our ideas and the pieces that we have selected for you, we help you understand why the selection is right for you, why it was chosen, how it supports the design overall, and how it will solve whatever challenges you are experiencing with the current space. Every piece has a purpose and they are thoughtfully chosen and curated to work together.

At the end of our presentations, our clients are able to see how their vision combines with our vision to bring them the best of the best. This is why we ask clients to allow us to present our "Plan A". Our Plan A means that we design the ideal space for clients without feeling restricted. While we would never ignore the budget that we have established together, we may sometimes come in over that budget at presentation. This is because as we develop the design from just a concept to sourcing the actual items, we find beautiful treasures that we know will enhance the space. For example, we may have planned to paint the dining room, but as we are planning and developing the dining room concept, we may come across an amazing wallpaper that we know will be a wow factor, or it may call for some custom millwork to make it truly stand out. We want the freedom to show our client that wow factor wallpaper or millwork design, because those are the things that take a room for ok to fabulous!

Custom Millwork On Bathroom Walls Painted In Dark Gray. Photographed By Colleen Scott

You can see that the presentation is a part of the value we bring and why hiring a professional design firm like ours is a great investment. Our clients never have to run all over town from showroom to showroom, being bombarded with tons of options and made to decide on something that day. That is not what you hire a designer for, so you are left to make the decisions without seeing the big picture.

Our presentations mean that we curate your ideal design and present the entire, comprehensive design plan to you in the comfort of your home. Each element is explained to you and shows how they will solve the challenges you have now and then you approve, or ask for any revisions you see fit. That is an amazing benefit and value to you - especially if you are busy

Once everything is approved and paid for, we take care of all the ordering, fabrication, production and installation of all these elements.

Let me tell you, there are tons of tiny details that go into every single design - especially the very layered designs that we are known for. Ordering and managing all the products is a major investment of time on our part. It requires creating purchase orders for every item - some items requiring multiple purchase orders, submit to vendors and making sure all details are captured correctly, weekly tracking of every item, meetings with support team to discuss design of individual pieces, visits to workrooms and fabricators to check on progress, arranging freight and shipping, and constant contact with our receiver.

All furniture pieces are sent to our receiver. They arrive on large 53' freight trucks and must be sent to a commercial space with a loading dock. Most vendors will not deliver to a residence, and even if they did, we would never opt for that, simply because there are several deliveries for each design project. Imagine having to stay home and wait for deliveries - especially when they give you a 4 hour window. That would be enough to drive anyone insane.

Not only that, items do sometimes arrive with freight damage, and a good receiver will catch that right away. A part of the service they provide for us is that they unbox all the products they receive for us and check for hidden damage. They notify us immediately if there is and we file claims, or if a very minor issue, we have a skilled artisan who does minor repairs for us. Our receiver also assembles anything that requires assembly and store in a climate controlled area.

A Living Room With Custom Drapery. Photographed By Colleen Scott

Installation day is really when our clients get to see all the behind the scenes hard work and attention to detail that it took to get their home from BEFORE to a fabulous AFTER. No detail is overlooked.

Our receiver pulls all the items for the client that we are installing for, loads up a truck and skillfully arranges them in the exact spot we indicate to them in the client's home. They haul away all the boxes and packaging and will even move pieces within the home

It truly is a wow moment to see all of this unfold. Imagine getting to enjoy the home of your dream without doing all the heavy lifting. Often times consumers don't know or understand what truly goes into good design. Their only point of reference is what they see on TV, and clearly TV just cannot depict what actually happens in a 30 minute program. Good design takes time and it requires a reasonable investment. And while there are several levels of pricing out there on the open market, as well as options to do it yourself, it is very important that you take the time to count the costs. Is saving a few hundred dollars on a product on the internet worth the time you will need to make sure it is done right? How will you make sure it is done right?

I am very proud of all of the clients we work with for seeing the value in hiring us. We are not the least expensive design firm out there, but you can be assured that you will get high value from your investment with us. Even our DIY clients who come to us for just a design plan that they will implement themselves, or just some design guidance understand the value they will get from making an investment in their own home and ultimately their well-being.

Look out for future posts where we will dive deeper into other aspects of the design process that are high value and worth your financial investment. Of course you can reach out anytime with questions or to get started with your next design project

Wishing You Beauty And Inspiration,

Veronica