Stages of Design: Project Preparation

Undergoing a renovation is an exciting milestone, but can feel extremely overwhelming. At Wise Design, we understand! To help our clients understand what it is like working with us, we created a blog series dedicated to exploring each phase of the design process and why each one is so important.

Successful design begins with a strong foundation. During the first stage of your project, the Project Preparation Phase, we take time to understand how you live and what you love. We also take a detailed survey of your space (or site), by gathering photos and measurements so we can accurately capture the site conditions your new design will be built upon. Even though you are excited to get going or if your contractor has availability in a month or if you dream of having it all ready for the holidays, it is so important to not rush your project. A renovation is a long term investment and your home deserves the care and attention necessary for a well-thought out, detailed design.

After a client signs on with us, our first step is to send a questionnaire for you to fill out. Questions ranging from, "do you have family with special needs?" to "what colors/patterns are you drawn to?" are all key to us understanding your personal aesthetic as well as what will function best for you and your family.

Photo by Meagan Larsen

We also ask for a Pinterest board, Houzz board, or photos of spaces that clients are drawn to or find a pleasing style. This step cannot be skipped! New inquiries will often say to us, "I love your style!" and our response is always, "Not ours! That's our clients' style!" Our job is to unite what appeals to you, what you need and how you live into a design for a complete space. We combine principles of design (rhythm, contrast, proportion, balance, pattern, etc.) with the aesthetic and functionality desired by our clients.

Sometimes we hear a response of, "but I don't have style." Our answer is to gently respond with, yes you do! You absolutely have style. Go take a look in your wardrobe. What colors appeal to you? Where do you feel most relaxed or inspired: is it your local neighborhood coffee shop with lots of art on the walls or is it walking along the beach first thing in the early morning? Your responses can tell us a lot about what appeals to you: vibrancy vs serenity, cool vs warm, etc. There isn't a wrong answer but it's critical you take the time to evaluate and communicate your aesthetics with us. Ultimately this is a home for you and we want you to be happy with the long term investment of transforming your space.

Photo by Meagan Larsen

Another question that requires a little extra attention is budget vs quality and what is more important to you. As much as we'd all love to respond with, "both!" (because, of course, both!), there may be times in your project where you need to wait for a high quality material or product to come back in stock or maybe going with something a little less expensive/potentially lower quality is better for moving the project along. Reflecting on your priorities is an exercise we'd recommend all partners in the design process to discuss together.

Once we have inspiration images and a completed questionnaire, we will set up a kick off meeting to talk through timeline and review your answers together. We will look at your inspiration images that you've assembled and talk through why each one appeals (or conversely, doesn't appeal) to you. We also want to know any material considerations as we begin your project. For example, you fell in love with a beautiful patterned tile on your last trip to Mexico and would love to see it somewhere in your home. Please share with us so it can be considered in your design. Same with any existing furniture pieces, lighting, collections, hobbies, etc.

Photo by Seppi Reda

The last portion of the Project Preparation stage is visiting your site and taking measurements of your space. If your project is a new build, we would like to visit your site so we can get a feel for the surrounding context.. All measurements are drafted into floorplans, referred to as "As-builts". After As-Built conditions are drafted, the Project Preparation Phase is complete! Then the real fun begins! Up Next: Schematic Design.