Remodeling, Building? Have an Interior Designer Look at Construction Plans First. Tips For Thinking Ahead, Avoid Costly Mistakes and Aggravation

by Lee Mink, ASID

Before you sign off on the construction plans, it might be smart to invest a few dollars more to have an interior designer look them over first.

“Committing to costly construction should be done only when you have a 20/20 view of what the ultimate furnishings and decor is to be,” advises Lee Mink, ASID, and head of Lee Mink & Associates in Pasadena, California, “It’s a wise, money-saving move to enlist the advice of an interior designer beforehand to see if the blueprints jive with the furnishings you have in mind, either those you have or plan to buy.  Such advance planning avoids expensive change orders and delays, let alone the aggravations and delays.

To start, have a furniture plan created. That will determine how furniture will interact with electric, heating and plumbing locations.

A sharp-eyed decorator’s review, especially one accustomed to reading plans, can detect errors that will become all too apparent either during construction or after the workman have left, leaving the homeowner with an awkward traffic flow, misplaced windows and inadequate outlets. Pre-construction   planning is the time to go to the next stage of thinking about all the decor pieces before budgets are set for construction.  You don’t want to have to live with mistakes.

Although a designer’s reviews on specific insights are valuable, we suggest these general steps to take in planning the ultimate use of the new spaces:

• Plan furniture arrangements to establish the location and approximate size of each piece that would make for comfortable, inviting rooms. “These have consequences for the placement of lighting fixtures, outlets, windows, pianos, televisions, computers, stereos, miles of bookshelves, and heirloom pieces.”
• Check number and location of outlets for electrical/telephone/Internet connection outlets, even wireless routers. Enough well placed wiring avoids misplaced, awkward and insufficient placement. Any recessed lighting should be planned to work with furniture arrangement and traffic flow.
• Consider flooring to make sure hard surfaces and carpeting work with the decor plans.
• Inventory existing furniture and beds to see what is useable in the new spaces and room arrangements, with an eye kept as to which pieces would be fine if refinished and/or recovered. Sometimes an item that you have always used in one room could make a perfect transition to another room and another use. An outside, fresh pair of eyes helps in this exercise as we tend to see things as they have always been and not what they could be.
• Pick color schemes to establish your theme.
• Choose and order fabrics for drapery, chair, sofa and etc.  Often a desired, (even critical) pattern is discontinued long before it’s ordered and there are no similar or replacement fabrics available. “It happens all the time, resulting in disappointment and wrecked plans. Starting those orders, if any, would be 60 to 90 days before estimated completion of remodel is recommended.”

Now you are ready to look at those plans with a clear vision, knowing that you have the flexibility to substitute a lower price tile here to be able to afford a higher price marble over there or that a window is not going to be exactly where you'd like to place your TV. Actually buying furniture and fabrics is not what it’s about at the planning stage rather, it is making sure the blueprints, the budget, and the decor all work together to achieve a satisfying result that will be a joy to live in for years to come.

------------------ 

Lee Mink, ASID, heads Lee Mink & Associates Interiors, Pasadena, California, which provides residential and commercial design, space planning, and custom designed furnishings services. She can be reached at (626) 796-3900 or email: lee@leeminkinteriors.com

Return to Articles