WORKING WITH NLD: PROCESS OVERVIEW
Process. What exactly is Process and why is it so important? It is important for so many reasons. We will be giving you an overview of the process we use here at NLD, to accomplish a beautiful designed and well functioning space, a happy client, and a work culture that promotes collaboration and creativity.
In this overview, we will give you a peek at the steps we use to give you a sense of how it would feel working with the Northern Light Design team. We appreciate your time and interest in working with us, and we want you to have a great experience! If you have worked with a designer or firm before, you may be familiar, yet every firm has their own system. If you are unfamiliar with the process, and just want to know a little more, this post is for you!
By the time we meet in person, we will have spoken over the phone, in a complimentary consultation, so we can get familiar with your project. You will probably already have filled out our Interior Design Inquiry. In our initial meeting on the job site, we will be taking photos and asking a million questions to get to know how you live. The more information we have upfront, the better it will be for the whole process. Communication is key! We come to the table with a lot of design ideas and vision, but we need your input to make the space your own.
Once back in the office, we review all our notes and images. We develop the Scope of Work, and review your budget. Working closely with you at this stage, will ensure you get all that you are asking for. We have found that collaboration is key in this stage. We may give you a little homework, so we can better zero in on your likes and dislikes. With your input we tweak the Scope of Work as necessary, and forward you our Retainer Request. When the Retainer is received, we enter into the design development phase.
Design Development might just be our favorite phase of the job! This is where the fun starts, the creative juices start to flow, the vision comes to life, and we design your home. We draw up floor plans in CAD and develop furniture layouts. We coordinate all presentation boards, complete with fabric samples, paint colors, images and any hard finishes (tile, stone, etc) . Then we schedule a date where we can meet. Preferably all decision making people involved with the project will be present, so we are all on the same page. This is an open discussion meeting, and we encourage input and discussion. We will bring our vision, and design knowledge, but we know it's your home!
With our Scope of Work in hand, and the approved designs and selections, the Northern Light Design team goes to work in the field ordering and tracking all that has been specified. We insure availability and tweak if needed. If custom items are specified we coordinate with our prefered trades. We collect quotes, and schedule meetings to visit the site as needed.
NLD will work closely with your GC (and architect) on the project. We will coordinate with our trades, and do several site visits as needed. Whenever the inevitable tweak is needed, or issues arise, we will review and keep you informed as we go.
Your project is in full swing at this time, and pending the Scope of Work we have agreed to, the Northern Light Design team will be managing all the logistics.
Any FF & E items will be tracked. Working with our receiver, we will ensure that everything goes smoothly, items are inspected, accounted for, and any issues are resolved on the spot. There are times when things do not go as planned and that's where our experience will be of great value to you! We will handle damages, exchanges etc. Communication between NLD and you, will be ongoing, and you will be kept up to date, and informed.
Almost at the finish line!
NLD coordinates the final furniture deliveries and will be present to ensure proper placement. This is an exciting day (or days) and a lot happens in a short period of time, so we can bring the full project to life. We typically schedule this day far in advance, and coordinate art installers and last minute touch ups, if needed. Most accessories are planned for, but often we make a few lists of additional items needed for the space at this time.
Last minute accessory shopping is handled at this time, and often runs simultaneously with stage 7, as we finalize your project.
The Northern Light Design team typically spends an entire day styling your space, before we reveal it to you. We bring in fresh flowers, light the candles, fluff the bedding, and make sure we deliver a home you can be proud of and happy to be living in! With your permission we photograph your home for our portfolio.
You have made it this far and we appreciate your time. If you would like to set up a consultation with us, you can do that by an easy click, here, we can't wait to meet you! If you would like more in depth information, please follow along, as we will be sharing more of our process, broken down further, in future blog posts.
Tasha
