Design Assistance Q+A
you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! our design assistance service is not your typical e-design service, it is a our way of providing a custom curated DIY design service for those that are not within our full service design areas. whats in each phase, how it compares to other e-designs, how it compares to our full service design, and if a project you have in mind would be a good fit for this service!
How does design assistance compare to other e-design services?
it’s a little more unique than your typical e-design, we like to think of it as more of a modified full service design experience. Unlike e-design your getting what you pay for, minimal cost for a minimal effort design, that closely resembles the copy paste designs we often see plastered all over pinterest and instagram. We wanted to create something that provided our further away clients the best custom curated design experience, despite the distance.
How does Design assistance compare to our full service design?
Both design services have three design phases. Both include our discover and design phases. The difference is… instead of having us create and manage the project, you are given a set of deliverables to execute the design, purchasing and installing, yourself! More on the phases below…
Phase I • discovery
After our introductory call, and we both decide neither of us is crazy and we want to collaborate, we schedule a walk through. Depending on your location we determine if this walk through is in person or virtual, always a plus to meet in person and see the space, but if you are further away we just ask that you send us pictures and measurements of the space (don’t worry we walk you through how to do this so we can gather all the info we need!). The walk through is mostly to cover how you function (or at least want to). If we meet in person, we take the measurements and pictures for you, whew! We follow up the walk through with an inspiration meeting to get a better idea of your style and what elements of our style you’re most attracted to. Sometimes its the blue hues, sometimes it’s the modern minimalist approach, sometimes it’s both! At this point, we already know that mid-century or crystal + gilded furniture is not your style, and thats great, because it’s not ours either! The inspiration meeting takes place virtually with a shared pinterest board to get to the nitty gritty of your personal style! All of this allows us to really pick your brain and know what you really want, and sometimes its not what you always think…
phase II • design
Similar to the discover phase, we begin the layout (function first, always) and then get into the style, such as furniture selections, finishes + details. Think of the design process like an ice cream cone. The functional layout (cup or cone), the style and product selections (whats your flavor) and lastly, the details (sprinkles, whip cream and a cherry on top), that extra touch of personalization, you know the one you don’t get from those large e-design companies!
phase II • DELIVERABLES
The deliverables include a design package that has all the items to visualize and execute the design yourself! We organize all of our thoughts and ideas throughout the design process into an comprehensive packet that includes our moodboard (inspo), to-scale layout, vision board of product imagery, material board of finish selections and any details, and lastly the purchasing schedule. This schedule has vendor, product name, size, finish, and any other details or tips you need to purchase and install the specified products!
Would design assistance be a good fit for you?
Is your project 30+ miles away from our boston office or cape office? Is the project one full room design (if its bits and pieces throughout your home, check out our consultation)? Is the room a furnished space (living, dining, bedroom, office) or finish selections for bathrooms + kitchens? If you said yes to all three of these questions, get in touch and we can get started with an introductory call! Still not sure? Reach out and let’s see how we can help!
COST
Unlike e-design services with a flat fee where you’re locked into very minimal flexibility we offer a flex flat fee. What’s that mean? Depending on the scale of the project we determine a flat fee estimate that includes our entire design assistance process, but if you get stuck or need to think about things or even make additional edits to the design we like to leave room to accommodate that. If you need the additional design time or edits to the design outside of our process, we bill that hourly, but either way the flat fee does not change throughout the project. 9/10 our clients don’t need the additional edits, but we always like to offer you, your space, and our designs the flexibility to customize or edit further if needed.