OUR DESIGN PROCESS
CONCEPT
Building or remodeling your dream home is an exciting, often once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Once we've determined that your project is a good fit for HW, we will put you in the queue to begin the design package. For the next several months (or years depending on the size of your project) we will be getting to know each other very well.
We will guide you through each step of the selection and construction process in an organized and timely fashion.
Our goal is to make this entire process pleasant and enjoyable for our clients from start to finish.
THE START
Before we begin diving into your design, there are some important decisions to be made.
We have extensive knowledge and experience to help guide you, but some things - such as appliances and flooring will largely depend on personal preference and the way you live in your home.
Early visits to showrooms may be necessary to make those selections. These items are also long lead time items that will need to be ordered early in the process as well to help dictate the design.
After we have nailed down some important early selections we will drive the design. We will begin to start laying out your kitchen and main living areas to begin to hone in on the details of the cabinetry elevations and mood boarding the overall vibe of the space.
At this point, this is when the design plan begins to take shape and there will be lots of collaboration with the client on both function and design. Any of the inspirational pictures you want to share are helpful and appreciative.
We will make selections and mood board ideas for hard material selections for each space in the house. Hard materials refer to all flooring, tile, plumbing, fixtures, that we will put into each space.
After client approval of mood boards we begin working closely with our vendors to build, complete schedules of materials, do all cabinetry elevations, build the plumbing proposal etc.
This is when the majority of our work is done in CAD and the design plan will be honed and tweaks will be most definitely made during this process.
MAKING MOVES
We will now take our completed selection binder and bid it through several of our pre-vetted builders.
If you haven't already selected a contractor we will now take our selection binder and bid it through several of our pre-vetted builders.
Truthfully, this is where having a completed design binder is your most valuable resource.
Having every material pre-selected eliminates the need for allowances and allows each builder to bid apples to apples as well as knowing what kind of speciality applications they will need in the budget.
CLIENT SITE VISIT + PRE-START ORIENTATION
Once a builder has been selected and a permit has been submitted the site will be staked out and we will soon schedule our first site visit with your builder.
The purpose of this meeting is to review the entire design package, familiarize ourselves with the construction schedule and further advise you as to what you can expect at each stage of construction.
QUALITY INSPECTIONS
During the construction, you can expect that HW will make at least one-two visits per week to check on the status of construction, quality checks, and review the schedule with the project manager as well as answer any questions they will have.
We also have walk-throughs with the subcontractors for HVAC, tile, plumbing electrical, and AM to make sure that all the pre-wiring and preparations are per HW design plan. We are also available to the sub-contractors at any time via phone and for additional site visits upon request.
We also manage your project for timeliness and budget. Any change orders will be made with us so we can value engineer and determine if the change is necessary.
FURNITURE LAYOUTS + FLOOR PLANS
Once your home begins to take shape we will begin work on the floor plans and furniture selections.
Using the furnishings budget the client provided and any inspiration shared we will create layouts, mood boards, and proposals for the house in its entirety. We also order samples at this time.
CLIENT FURNISHING MEETINGS + STATUS REVIEWS
Along the way, we will have client update meetings via phone, onsite, or in our office to keep the client abreast of all progress and changes as necessary. We will also be scheduling our furniture presentation meeting shortly after construction has commenced.
Once we have our furniture binder complete, we will schedule another meeting with the client to review the selections. At this meeting, we will have floor plans and all fabric and wood samples for the client to review.
Hopefully, by the end of this meeting, we have adequate feedback to finish building and pricing your furniture package. As soon as the deposit is received, we will begin ordering all the furniture and schedules will be available to the client.
WHERE DOES MY STUFF GO?
All of our orders are sent to Top Notch Delivery, which is to-the-trade-only shipping and receiving warehouse. They are invaluable to us as they receive and inspect all items as they arrive. They also dispose of the packaging and store all items until they are ready for delivery.
They are licensed and insured white-glove delivery and we could not do what we do without them. You should expect that Top Notch Bills will be approximately 6-8% of the overall budgeted allowance for furnishings and keep that in mind when giving us a furnishing budget.
There will be many weeks when it appears that not much is happening at your home. All the mechanical intricacies of your home will not be visible to the eye but we assure you that there is still lots of progress being made even when you can see it.
As always, we will be doing our twice-weekly site visits and update the client on any scheduling changes that arise.
Once tile work finishes it isn't long before we finish installing cabinetry and begin the finish work of your home. These last few months and when HW will be spending the most amount of time onsite doing quality control. As countertops, plumbing fixtures, and decorative lighting are installed there will be lots of questions on templates, heights etc.
We will be on-site more frequently. We consider ourselves quality control and will be the liaison between the client and the builder for any areas we collectively deem unsatisfactory. This final phase of the build will probably seem interminable, but this is the time great care needs as each of the details in your home is unique and expensive and need to be treated as such.
Once all inspections have passed and a certificate of occupancy has been granted for your residence we will schedule the installation of all your home furnishings, window treatments, and accessories.
Depending on the size of your home we will need a minimum of five days for installation. If at all possible we prefer that the client stay away during this time so we can do one big reveal at the end. Try to have patience- this is the fun part!
Beautiful and functional spaces are no accident. It takes careful planning and project oversight all along the way.
It is our goal to finish every project to our high standard of excellence and in the signature turnkey HW fashion.
We are so grateful to you for putting your faith in us and allowing us to collaborate with you on this exciting journey.