As your dream house starts to come to fruition, indeed, you’re feeling giddy about your ambitions and ideas. And you must assemble a team that channels all that gusto into a design that best represents you. These designers and builders should make the journey heaps easier for you.

If you’ve cleared all preliminary considerations from the first part, you’re due for the next bit of this series – hiring professionals and creating the design. 

What is the value of getting designers? Architects are trained explicitly in designing spaces tailored to its user and the site’s context. Simply put, they can make you pragmatic and deliberate designs. This way, you’ll get the bang for your buck and avoid errors that might cost you along the way or in the long run. They also have other important responsibilities, from dealing with complex procedures to acquiring needed permits.

In many instances, the interior design comes into the picture once the structure is finished. However, hiring interior designers in the early design stages merits a more cohesive and streamlined output. For instance, an architect’s room dimensions may adjust to the interior designer’s ideal furniture layout. Determining the interior finishes will also save you time and possible cost in the process. 

We in Hurray Design subscribe to this idea. The harmonious synergy between architects and interior designers will guarantee our clients the optimal design from the inside out. More importantly, this collaboration must also flourish between you and the designers. After all, you are the end-user. So before designers come up with plans, they need to get to know you better. Discuss what you generally envision, the scope, and your budget. 

Then, you can ease into the details. Define what you and the other people who’ll share the same roof need and how you relate to each other. This will be reflected through the type of spaces, how much area to allocate for each, their adjacency, and the overall circulation flow. For example, the design can incorporate an office space if you work from home. When the designer has collated enough data, they can present a preliminary sketch or a schematic design. This will illustrate the house’s general form and how the spaces will function.  

Once the schematic design is approved, the designers will proceed to the design development. In this phase, you’ll be dipping into the aesthetic aspect of the house. You’ll be selecting materials, interior finishes, and products such as windows, doors, and fixtures. This is where your personality can shine through, especially if you’re already keen on how to present your house visually.

However, if you have no idea about what you like, there are many sources of inspiration. You can browse through architecture publications or find visual pegs online. You can also go around neighborhoods and take pictures of houses that appeal to you. Be sure to ask permission, though! 

A tip: don’t succumb to a style just because it’s on-trend. Go for a kind of aesthetic you resonate with. To help you, we have nine diverse Hurray Themes you can pick from. We can show you our entire portfolio in this link and discuss your house’s design!

After the back and forth between you and your designers, they’ll now produce construction drawings and technical specifications. These documents will be needed in the next step – finding yourself a builder. 

If you’re bidding on several contractors, it might be tempting to choose the lowest offer. However, a cost estimate significantly lower than yours might result in subpar construction quality. Instead, look at previous projects they have accomplished if they meet the standards you envision. Be critical in getting the right contractor since they will handle the materials and labor required for your house. 

Once you’ve locked in a contractor and got the needed permits, construction may finally now kick-off. What should you look out for during this process, you ask? We’ll answer that in the final segment, join our newsletter so you’re first to know!