Surprise reveal for a villa in Craigieburn.

I want to take you through this wonderful journey I got to experience earlier this year with the nicest family ever!! So many people see Interior Design as a luxury or expense that they cannot afford. Which goes to show that there is not enough focus or emphasis put on the true benefits of hiring an interior designer. Not only can a designer save you time, stress and frustration they can also save you money on furniture and materials through their industry trade discounts. This blog will take you through all the benefits my clients faced by hiring an Interior Designer.

Saving Time – this is my full time job, not yours.

My gorgeous client (let’s call her “Alisha” for purpose of this blog, I would like to protect her privacy) and her growing family, built their first home in Craigieburn. After such an exhausting and tedious journey, it was overwhelming for her to think about furnishing her new home. At the time Alisha was pregnant with twin girls and would soon be a mum to three, under three! When I first met Alisha, both she and her husband had a full time job. They were planning to move into their new home within a couple of months but they had absolutely no time to plan this mammoth of a project.

This is where I came in and took all the stress they were facing, off their hands. I planned everything for them from furniture to decor, to homeware and even their bedding. It was a complete “turnkey” package where they simply needed to arrive with their suitcase and start living out their dream. The best part about this project was that my clients agreed to this becoming a surprise reveal! Of course, they were aware of the furniture selections (as these are big decisions), but they had no idea how I was going to style it, and bring it all to life. That would become a big surprise on reveal day.

Spatial planning – no room for error!

Approx Time : 2 Days

Before meeting with my client, I requested a floor plan and quick brief so that I could prepare notes before our first consultation. When I came to her home, I spent time getting to know her, her family and her needs. I took plenty of photo’s and video’s and did a full site measure so that I could spatially plan her rooms to scale. Planning your home in advance of buying furniture is a crucial factor in making sure you get it right the first time. It allows you to understand the flow of each space and visualise what furniture you may require. Without this, you might as well pick your furniture with your eyes closed!

I don’t just measure the spaces though, I measure all access points too, to make sure your furniture will fit inside your front door or up a lift if it’s in an apartment. Hiring an Interior Designer to do these things for you, will prevent you from making expensive design mistakes! Trust me, it can be a costly process to buy the wrong furniture for your home, plus the headache of logistically planning it to go back to the shop!!

Design planning – bringing your vision to life

Approx Time : 3 Days

Once the floorplan was complete, I got to work on the mood board. This is when I start thinking about all the things we discussed during our initial consultation such as colour preferences, wall finishes, rug textures etc. A moodboard is the most important document in the entire proposal as it sets the tone for how a room will come together. For Alisha’s proposal, she was shown the exact furniture, with a rough idea for the styling items. The styling was left to the imagination so that she could have that “ta-daa” moment once she walked through the front door of her styled home for the first time.

Project Procurement – time to shop!

Approx : 4-5 days.

Once I had my clients tick of approval on the furniture, I could start shopping for everything to secure stock and plan ahead for delivery. This step actually takes the most time! With years of experience and research under my belt, I know which suppliers to go to for what and I know which items we need to splurge on for quality. For example, I might decide to spend 10% of your budget on your sofa, but I can pull back on the armchairs and ottomans which get less use. I’m pretty sure that I have shopped at every well known retail store in Melbourne by now, and have a good relationship with wholesale stores, so I know which supplier I need to go to, to satisfy your brief. You can trust in me to do the research on all suppliers and quality check their products for you.

Once all the furniture was purchased, I prepared a styling sheet and checklist for myself. A styling sheet is a guide for me to stay focused on the concept once I go shopping for the decor! Otherwise, I get very distracted by all the pretty shiny things!! I enjoy this part because I get to see how everything is going to come together with all of the little “knick-knacks” I find. But it is also the most exhausting part as I aim to get the shopping done in one full day! For this project, I filled three carloads with styling items!

Project Execution – Bringing it all together!

Approx : 2 days.

Now for the fun part!! Keep in mind that Alisha, handed over her house keys, along with her spare keys, so that she and her eager hubby couldn’t sneak a peak! For this particular project, everything was managed for the client so that they didn’t have to lift a finger. All of the furniture and styling items were brought to their home in one day, with a full assembly team on hand to get everything built.

Once the chaos of furnishing the house was complete, I could get cracking on styling, which is my favourite part of the project. Art was hung up, cushions chopped, beds made and decor scattered around. The styling is the most important part of a project. It’s like the icing on a cake or jewellery to an outfit. It’s the family photo’s and collectables that truly make your house your home.

The Design – Ta-Daa!

As requested by Alisha, I kept the design clutter-free, simple, modern and quite neutral. She wanted her small home to feel open and bright, so I went for a lot of tall, slim-legged furniture, leaving lots of airy space underneath. Clever furniture choices were made to maximise the rooms such as an extendable dining table, bench seating that tucks under the dining table when not used, compact ottomans acting as extra seating and storage beds.

Cool grey, soft white, oak wood and pops of greenery complete the overall colour palette. The small pops of colour come from artwork, decor and accessories, which are easily changed seasonally.

We decided to use a bench seat rather than just dining chairs to open up the space and provide visual interest. The use of an extendable dining table, meant that they could host lunch or dinner parties without compromising on space.

The Reveal – Surprise!!!!

Opening the front door to Alisha and her family was certainly a pinch-me moment! It was overwhelming to see how happy they were when they entered their brand new, fully furnished and decorated home for the first time! This couldn’t have happened to a more deserving family, and I love seeing their little Instagram updates regularly! They loved everything and were most grateful for the amount of time, energy and stress they saved by hiring a professional!

If you would like to experience a full turnkey experience just like they do on TV, then get in touch. Leave this workload to a professional.