Interior Design Mistakes

Residential

Interior Design Mistakes

5 Common interior design mistakes that could be costing you and what we advise you to do instead.

These are mistakes we see time and time again, that may seem irrelevant at the time but are costing you more than you think... in money and stress.



Not ordering samples

Order samples for anything and everything. Looking at images online can be misleading. Colours and textures can vary so much from screen to screen even with realistic images. Colours and textures also vary so much from room to room. We cannot emphasise this enough to test the samples in the rooms they will be installed, and if it is vertically on the wall holding it up it can change everything.

Better to know the switch socket sample you loved online is a dud, than when twenty-six sockets arrive, and they can’t be returned without paying a restocking fee and then scrambling to find an alternative that can arrive before your electrician does next week. The tiles you loved online suddenly look nothing like the image. Or the paint colour you loved on the tiny swatch card looks different once the decorator painted it on the walls in the room as you didn’t think the green fields outside would bounce a different daylight in the room. We have all been there.

Having samples on hand means you can see all your finishes together, so you know exactly what’s going where and that everything works before anyone starts on site. This is why we produce sample boards or packs for all clients, so you fall in love with what you have chosen.

Not planning everything beforehand 

Adding in spotlights or moving a doorway or wall is easy on flooring doing this in real life is not so easy.  

Planning, identifying problems and making changes in the early stages avoids unnecessary cost and stress. Of course, unexpected things can crop up, but at least this won’t be adding to the million and one things that you have had to decide on.



Being vague with contractors (i.e. not agreeing on a scope, detail, and spec upfront)

It’s a classic, contractor quote for straight planks of engineered timber flooring, you would like a parquet floor that needs glueing down in a herringbone pattern…cue the extra £££ on your invoice because “oh, we didn’t quote for that”.

Contractors will generally quote for basic items. Being organised, having specifications and technical drawings avoids those extra charges down the line and gives them an indication of the level of finish you want. That's where we come in..

Not challenging the scope of works

Some contractors will try and take the easier route so they can move on to the next job…or try and put you off an idea because it’s not “how it’s usually done” Trust us, we still get builders saying this to us, even when we have drawings or case studies of it been done.

If they do something you’re not happy with and want you to change it later down the line, they will no doubt add it to the invoice. They can be stuck in their ways, and take a rinse-and-repeat view, having a tiny selection of tiles, flooring, or light fittings for you to choose from which may not fit your vision and style of home. Which leads to a standard home as the end result. And do we really want a standard home?

Lack of communication. 

It takes effort to build the relationship, but open communication with trades is the secret to a successfully designed and executed project. Getting it off the mood boards, phone screenshots and into reality is much easier this way!

Being upfront about what you expect means there are no grey areas for your builder to make up the design as he goes. Continuous communication means there are no shockers on site when the electrician “made a call” on lighting placement that then needs changing as the kitchen wall units that are yet to be installed sit directly in the way of the lights.