5 Questions to Ask Before Your First Design Meeting

Residential designers, or home designers, can help you draw floor plans and help you build the house of your dreams. Where interior designers decide on colors and furniture that go inside the rooms, home designers decide things like where to put walls, how big rooms should be, and where to put plumbing and light fixtures.

Early in the process of a new build or remodel project, you should talk to a home designer. They will help guide you through the entire process and provide you with design options that will best fit your needs, all while making sure everything is up to code. Here are five questions you should ask yourself before meeting with your home designer for the first time.

What Kind of Life Do I Live?

Houses are more than walls and rooms. A home’s layout will impact your living habits and can make life much easier or much harder based on its design. Create a schedule for your typical week. Where do you go? What rooms do you use? How do you use them? How much time do you spend in each room?

In doing this, you'll probably come up with a list of things you like and don't like about your current living space. Maybe you think your kitchen is too small, but you like how close your stairs are to the entryway. Keep these things in mind when you first talk to your house designer.

What Style of House Do I Want?

You may already have specific style names in mind like contemporary, new modern, farmhouse, or you may just have an abstract idea of houses you've seen that you like. Look into different styles of house and decide what kind of things you want in your home.

Think about the size of your house. Bigger is not always better, so take a minute to think about how much house you really need and what features are the most important to you and your family. Look at pictures, and search online to get a good idea of what you want. This will make your first design meeting more productive. There are lots of great websites where you can search, organize, and share ideas like Houzz.com and Pinterest.com to name a couple.

What Is My Schedule?

Building takes time, and depending on how large the project is you may not be able to stay in the home while under construction. Even if you may not have exact numbers yet, ballpark a timeframe. Is there a specific date you need to move in? If you have to move in later, is there somewhere you could stay?

Your home designer will have more specific timelines for you, but you should have a general idea in mind. Be willing to be flexible, it will help your meeting if you have done your research beforehand.

What Is the Property Like?

Get as much information as you can about your property before hand. It's best if you can obtain survey drawings and a set of plans if possible. A call to your City or County is also helpful in finding out what kind of restrictions apply to your property and they may even have some of these plans on file if you don’t have them.

Undoubtedly, your designer will want to visit the site before starting on the design. However, this does not mean you should skip this bit of research. The more you know about the property, the less surprises you’ll have during the process and reasonable expectations..

What Is My Budget?

Lastly, decide on a budget for your build project. New houses & renovations cost money, and expenses can quickly pile up if you don't have a specific number in mind. Your budget will influence your answers to all of the above questions, and the design itself.

If you aren't sure or don't know the standard costs of construction, that's okay. Your designer will guide you and give you the information you need. However, this does not mean you should not have a clear budget in mind, even if it changes later.

At Hastings Construction Inc. we know the importance of good planning & design which is why we handle everything in house. Our Designer will work with you to help identify areas that can be optimized and provide you with design options that will best fit your needs. With over 25 years of experience, our licensed contractors can help you with everything from modern renovations to new home constructions. We specialize in both residential and commercial design and are committed to providing you with the perfect solution for your home.