Stage 1 - Appraisal and brief

Stage 1 - Appraisal and Brief

For me, this is the most important stage, as you are establishing the framework of the entire project. It's when we get to know our clients and iron out the details of exactly what they want to achieve.

The Client

In order to gain a really solid understanding of a client and their needs, you need to ask lots of questions and listen carefully to build a picture of how they want to live.

It's at this stage you need to ascertain what you are working with. Do they have existing furniture they want to incorporate, or are they starting from scratch? Do they have a big art collection that will inform your colour palettes? Do your clients favour a more formal or informal style?

The Property

As well as learning about the client, getting to know the property is vital. How will the building sit within the landscape? How will your design work sit in tandem with the visual language of the property? Is the building listed, and will there be an architect involved in the project?

CAD Drawings and Measured Survey

Once we have met with the client and visited the property, the first step of any project is to get CAD drawings made up by a surveyor. They will undertake a measured survey in order to produce accurate drawings to scale with exact measurements. It's very useful to ask if they can also include an electrical plan detailing exactly where all the plug sockets and switches are.

Establishing the Best Flow and Use of Rooms

With your CAD drawings complete, you can begin to think about how to adapt and change the layout to better suit your clients. Think about the types of rooms they want and how they will use them. Where in the property should these be located for optimum access? What is the orientation of the light, and does this work with the usage of the rooms? How will these rooms connect to nature?

Taste Test

In order to establish the design direction, we present a series of images to the client to gauge their taste and visual preferences. This helps to narrow down lots of initial ideas into a vision that is more streamlined and focused.

The Blueprint

All the work you do at this stage becomes an invaluable blueprint to refer back to and helps to keep the whole team aligned from the very beginning. Including as many details as you can will enable you to create the best design that answers all of your clients' needs.

Define the Scope of Work

This stage also helps to inform the fee proposal. It's essential to define the responsibilities and ownership of work in order to cost up the job accurately.