How a Designer Furnishes Your Home from Start to Finish
The thought of furnishing a brand new space is exciting! Fresh new furniture, a functional layout that supports your family’s lifestyle, and let’s not forget about all the practical organization that will come along with additional storage. But once you realize the many options to choose from (and are looking for fresh ways to incorporate your existing well-loved pieces), furnishing your home can quickly become an overwhelming task.
Between work and life, free time is precious. You want to create something really special, but how? Not only can a designer bring your dreams to reality, but it’s our job to guide you along the way, removing the overwhelm while helping you to avoid expensive mistakes – like investing in the right items.
Last month we took you behind the scenes on our home renovation process, so this month I thought we’d take you through the specifics on adding those gorgeous and comfortable furnishings that create a comfortable and functional home that makes everyday life easier.
Why Furnish Multiple Rooms at Once?
If you don’t need to furnish your entire home, it’s still smart to do several rooms or a whole floor at once to achieve a cohesive design that flows effortlessly from room to room. Not only will this impact your results, but furnishing multiple rooms at a time can save your investment in the long run. Instead of doubling up on professional fees or paying shipping costs for multiple orders vs. in bulk, furnishing multiple rooms at once is practical for your time and your wallet.
If you’ve ever done a home renovation or refresh, you also know how disruptive it can be to your everyday life. Hellooo, coffee maker relocated to the mudroom… But while these inconveniences are worthwhile, furnishing multiple rooms at the same time (vs. piecemeal) often shortens the length of the overall project. You’ll go through our design process just once instead of several times. This means you’ll be able to start enjoying your new spaces even sooner!
So, what is this design process I keep mentioning? Let me show you behind the scenes…
A Quick Look into Our Design Process
When homeowners come to me, they’re completely overwhelmed by the design process (after attempting to do it themselves) or have no idea where to start. Our 5-step process not only brings you clarity but delivers the results of your dreams. Let’s take a look at how it works…
Step 1: Discover Your Unique Needs
At the start of each project, we’ll get to know you really well. First, we’ll take a look at your current furniture setup and complete a thorough interview to clearly understand your intentions and desires and pinpoint any problem areas in your space. During this part of the process, expect to answer many detailed questions about your goals, lifestyle, and style preferences. For example…
What do you love about your current layout?
What are your problem areas that could use some help?
What pieces do you absolutely have to keep, and what are you willing to replace?
Do you have any furniture you’d like refinished or recovered?
How do you intend to use the room?
How many people need a seat for everyday dining? What about holidays and hosting?
Do you have pets or small kiddos who will require durable materials?
What’s more important, storage cabinets or open wall space for displaying art?
And more…
It may sound like a lot, but your answers to these questions will provide us with the foundation we need to deliver the dream results you desire. Once your needs and wants are fully explored and identified, we'll allocate your investment towards your unique priorities for your space. Having a clear picture of your goals allows us to move on to the next step comfortably and confidently.
In our recent Platwood Remodel, we mixed our client’s favorite pieces with new ones for a fresh, updated look.
Step 2: Develop a Functional Layout
Knowing the what, how, and why for your space means we can begin planning a functional layout for your rooms. This is a necessary yet frequently overlooked step by DIYers.
For example, you may see a stunning and comfortable sofa in a showroom and bring it home only to realize you didn’t take the essentials (like the size and scale of your home) into consideration. Once it’s in your space, you notice it blocks part of a doorway, the arm height is too low next to the end table, and it’s completely disjointed with your current ottoman. Bummer.
As tempting as it may be to DIY your project, planning for furnishings is best left to the professionals – especially if you want it done right the first time. As designers, we create a detailed floor plan to serve as a roadmap. To do this, we measure each room and draft a furniture layout to ensure we’re selecting sizes that perfectly fit your space.
The result? A thoughtfully designed and comfortable home that will be loved by the entire family.
Step 3: Sourcing Furnishings to Fit Your Space
Now, let’s move on to the really exciting part and, let’s be honest, the moment we’ve all been waiting for – selecting furnishings.
This step of the process is completed with just as much care and thoughtfulness as the previous steps (and if you are completing a home renovation, sourcing furnishings takes place during Step 3 of our overall process). Most of the furniture we source for clients is custom, meaning we can change the fabrics, finishes, and sizes (or design from scratch) to meet our clients' specific, unique needs.
As you can imagine, customizing furniture takes time, and since a one-of-a-kind piece is constructed just for you, seeing it in person before ordering is unlikely. To give you peace of mind, we always encourage sitting in similar pieces to help you get a feel for the seat height, depth, and cushion type (ranges from firm to soft). That way, you’ll have the confidence that you’ll be comfortable in your gorgeous, custom furniture.
When sourcing furniture, we also like to use trade vendors that we’ve built relationships with over the years – ones we know and trust for service and consistent quality. Yet another advantage of working with a designer while furnishing your home is that these vendors will often only sell to members of the trade, not to the public. Through us, you will have direct access to these wonderful and thoroughly vetted professionals.
P.S. Be sure to check out one of my favorite trade partners and design showrooms, IMS, featured at the end of this post. If you’re at the beginning stages of furnishing your home, you’ll definitely want to look into them.
Step 4: Finalizing Selections and Placing Orders
Once you approve the furniture selections, it’s time to move forward with placing orders with our trusted vendors. This part of the process can be really time-consuming, but thankfully, it’s a designer’s job to handle alllll the monitoring at this point. We’re talkin’...
Placing the orders
Communicating specific measurements and finishes
Managing the progress of the order
Following up with the vendor to check the status
Keeping the timeline on track
Tracking the furniture once it ships
Resolving any issues that may arise and preventing problems before they have the chance to happen
Thoroughly inspecting EVERYTHING at our local warehouse before final delivery
Sound like a lot of work? It is. That’s why having a designer manage this step is worth its weight in gold…trust me!
Step 5: Delivery, Install, and The Final Reveal
Ahhh…we’ve made it to the final reveal! This is where the magic happens. Ideally, all furniture will be delivered at the same time, but realistically, long lead times due to the supply chain disruptions will cause some deliveries to be split. But that’s okay. We will keep the project moving along and allow you to enjoy your brand-new furniture as soon as possible.
Once everything arrives, we’ll refer to our layout design plan and work efficiently to arrange your furniture as you watch your gorgeous space come to life. Bliss!
Sit Back and Relax…
I don't know about you, but I can't think of many things better than curling up with a steaming cup of coffee in a comfortable, cozy new chair built juuust for me.
The process of choosing furnishings for your home may seem involved and long, but let's be honest...it should! In the end, you want high-quality pieces that not only complement the design of your space but enhance your lifestyle, giving you yet another reason to love your home.
If you're ready for a furniture refresh in your home, I'm here for you.Reach out to me, and let's chat about how we can work together to make your vision and goals for your space your reality.
