Now that you have had an extended opportunity, thanks to COVID-19, to determine what you like and don’t like about your kitchen or bath, it is time to start the process of transforming that space with our virtual design services! We have been working furiously to develop processes and techniques to finish with folks currently in process. Yes, this includes starting the design process with new clients. After staring at their kitchen, bath, and rest of their home 24/7, they realize it’s time for a change. Beginning the design process now allows us to be ready to begin the remodel as soon as Shelter-in-Place is over. You get a jump start so when we are back to a “business as usual” everyone is ready to rock-and-roll. Below are the steps we have developed to get you started:

1 – Reach Out

Give us a call. Send us an email. Submit a Lifestyle Assessment Form. Any which way you prefer, we’d love to hear from you! Our first step is to then schedule an over-the-phone and/or virtual first meeting with you! This meeting is to help us better understand what the goals are for your kitchen/bath remodel and to tell you about our company. One of our owners – Mary Kathryn or Jennifer – will spend 30-60 minutes with you during this call.

2 – Design Agreement

If we collectively decide to move forward, we will enter into a Design Agreement and the real work will begin. This agreement outlines the type and amount of services we will provide – Remodel Design Services, Interior Design Services, and/or Purchasing Services – and outline the tangibles you will receive. We will then assign one of our NKBA certified designers to work with you… and off we go!

3 – Data Gathering

This step is the most important to our designer – it allows them to actually create the space! In lieu of us coming out to your home to measure ourselves, we offer the convenience and guidance for you to measure your space at home. Don’t be alarmed if you’ve never done this before – we help you through the entire process, and here is how:

Pictures

Once the design agreement is finalized, we will ask you to send us some pictures of the space you want to redesign. This may be a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, powder bath, wet bar – anything! The best way to do this is to take overall pictures from every corner of the room so we can get a full 360 view. Sometimes up-close pictures of certain spaces may be helpful if overall pictures have things “in the way” like an island, column, etc. If you have a Pinterest Board and/or Houzz Ideabook, we’d love to see those as well.

Meet Your Designer

Your designer will use our proprietary webinar software to talk to you in more depth about what your requirements are for the space. Say, for example, there is a window above your sink but you are open to expanding that window, we will talk with you about that. They might ask for more pictures of the space or rooms outside the space so they can really digest the layout. Again, if we are expanding a window, we will want you to confirm that there isn’t an exterior wall or HVAC unit that prevents us from doing so.

Measurements

At this point, your designer will send back rough drawings of the walls and obstacles in your space and ask you to fill in the measurements. Imagine it being like a fill-in-the-blank form. See the above example of our normal “in-the-field” rough sketches and the CAD software version. Questions along the way? We are always a quick phone call (or email) away to help you! Don’t be afraid to ask.

4 – Virtual Design Meeting

Once we have measurements, we’re ready to design and set up a meeting where you’ll be able to chat with us. You will be able to see floor plans, elevations, and renderings of your newly designed space! We walk through what it all means – where appliances are storage solutions are – and discuss any likes/dislikes. Remember, this is just a first draft! We are also able to share a rough guestimate of where we will sit from an investment standpoint based on the current design. This can also help us determine the best next steps.

5 – Refine the Design

After our first design meeting, we will refine the design and possibly have another virtual design meeting to go over any changes. Say you didn’t like the wall cabinets and want to revert to open shelving. Or instead of a 36″ cooktop and double ovens, we preferred the idea of a 48″ pro range. At this point, we’ll also start discussing materials that will be used in your design and ultimately the remodel.

6 – Material Selections

Yes, we can still do this during Shelter-in-Place! Many of our suppliers, such as tile vendors, have put processes in place for us to pick up materials outside their facility. We can then bring these to you and drop them on your doorstep. These materials might include cabinet doors, tile samples, counter samples, hardware samples, etc. We will use Clorox wipes to disinfect any products we leave at your door. During this process, once we start narrowing down materials, we can work on a colored rendering (bottom right image above) so that you can

7 – Finalization and Contract Review

We will have another virtual meeting and present you with a draft of the Construction Contract and work through any changes that may be needed. Now we are ready for Shelter-in-Place to end so we can confirm our measurements and mechanical assumptions on-site, modify the plans and contract, and be ready to order cabinets and plan for the demo!

Construction Phase

Once our virtual design process has commenced, we move on to the construction phase. You can learn a little more about how long this process takes for a kitchen and bathroom, and ask us any questions along the way. If you are doing a turnkey project with us, we stay with you throughout the entire construction – demo to final inspections.

Can’t wait to start on your next project with you!