Working with an Interior Designer – the next steps

In our previous article from the series “Working with an Interior Designer”, we touched upon the first stages of this creative process and that means the Site Survey and the Client Brief (read the first article for more details). Today we are moving on to the next steps of the design process and this includes the Concept Board, the Sample Board, and Technical Drawings.

The Concept Board

Once the Designer has the measurements of the space and your requirements, preferences, budget, likes & dislikes, it the time for the Interior Designer to start researching. 

The right inspiration can be provided by the previous projects created by the Designer itself, by his/her mentors, and by the endless examples shared by numerous creatives in the online world. When we refer to the online examples, we have to choose carefully, because you know the saying: “Not everything that flies can be eaten”. 

The Interior Designer chooses the best ideas that can fit your space and combine them with the information collected in the Client Brief.

The result comes in the form of a Concept Board which is going to be presented to you, the Client. This board is a general concept related to the style, atmosphere, colors, and look of your space. It is often called a Mood Board because it is related to the general feel of how your space is going to look like.

Client feedback – Final Concept Board

The Concept Board will be presented to you and at this point, the Designer and you, the Client, discuss it and come to an agreement related to the style, the color palette, and general aspects of the future design. Based on the new feedback, the Designer will update the Concept Board and the design process develops further toward testing materials, techniques, and processes.

The Sample Board

The Design Development works now on two aspects. One is related to researching / testing / selecting the type of materials, fabrics, paints, etc. which will be used to create a splendid interior in your space. The Designer select the best ones in terms of quality, durability, functionality, and budget and they have to come to an agreement with the updated Concept Board. All the chosen materials, fabrics, and paint will come as samples into the so-called “Sample Board”. The Client will be now able to touch & feel the samples, see the exact color, and give again feedback to the Designer if there is a necessity for a change or if there is a green line to proceed further.

Technical drawings – floor plan, elevations, rendered drawings

More or less at the same time, the Designer creates the Technical Drawings. This category includes floor plans, elevations, eventually maquettes, scaled models, and additional drawings that can help the Designer test ideas and presents these ideas to you, the Client.

The technical drawings are very helpful especially when there is a team of professionals putting the design in place and they need to understand exactly what the Designer meant. For example, the Interior Designer is creating for you the design for a bespoke kitchen, and the creation & montage of the furniture itself is performed by a company specialized in furniture.

The Technical Drawings and the Sample Board are presented together to the Client for feedback and final refinements of the design.

As you may have noticed until now, the design process is something quite laborious, maybe not extremely complicated, but for sure time-consuming and it involves a lot of thoughtful considerations with multiple facets.

We have covered until this point steps like the Site Survey, the Client Brief, the Concept Board, the Sample Board, and the Technical Drawings. These are important stages to go through in order to obtain a home design where you feel represented, stylish, and at the same time comfortable, nurtured, and relaxed. The design process is not really stopping here and we will cover the next aspects in a future article.

We are wondering about your experiences working with an Interior Designer. What expectations did you have and how have they been / not been fulfilled by your collaboration? Please comment below and let’s discuss together this topic.

Warm regards,

Madra