Phase 04 of the Design Process

So far we have covered the the Initial Consultation + Proposal of Work, the Design Vision, and Design Development. It's time for Phase 04 of our design process - the construction phase and furniture orders! This phase usually takes the longest to complete, as custom furniture orders can take up to 4-6 months, and construction can span 6-12 months (or longer!) depending on the scope of work.

Once the design plan from Phase 03 is approved, our team goes to work refining the details that make up your custom Specification Book and Construction drawings. We provide this for the construction team, so they have all the information they need to move forward with our plan. The drawing below is an example of just one detail that is included in your Specification Book, but every detail must be included with instructions and drawings to ensure that our design vision is built correctly. It helps the entire process go much more smoothly when all the information is provided in one place.

Collaboration with the contractor continues with weekly site visits to ensure the design is being carried out as expected. One milestone we always want to be on site for is the electrical walk through right before drywall is installed. It's much less work for our team and the construction team to be there to go over lighting placement and lighting heights before drywall is installed to avoid having to cut new holes and patch others. We also like to be on site more frequently once finish work starts... This includes tile work, flooring install, shelving details, plumbing install, and other very detailed work right near the end of the construction process.

During this phase, while your contractor is busy building the house, we are also in the process of purchasing and procuring all furniture pieces, light fixtures, rugs, and accessories. Once orders are placed, we track the shipments and work with our receiver as items are shipped. Keeping in mind that our receiver works with many other designers and clients, being as organized as possible gives them the best chance for success! We provide them with a list of manufacturers, purchase order numbers, and images of each item to cross-reference with each item that comes through their doors, and then each item is unpacked and inspected for damage.

Using a receiver has been the best decision because our clients don't have to schedule time off from work to take deliveries throughout this process, and their furniture is safely stored should there be any delays in construction. All of the behind-the-scenes administrative tasks that happen during this phase prevent so many headaches for our clients. Our local receiver is amazing, and I don't know how we could do what we do without them. Trust me... just the amount of cardboard that still piles up in my garage from the few orders I do have ship to me is crazy (and makes my husband crazy!!).

Stay tuned in two weeks for our last installment in this series to discuss the installation process!