Building? Here’s why an interior designer should be part of your project from the start
Space planning entails details such as circulation, mapping out the footprint and establishing which rooms go where in the structure.
“We are living in the information age, and many of us think we know after watching a few YouTube videos and downloading Pinterest pins, but we do not know.”
This statement by Interior Design Consultant, Wambui Kimutai, will resonate with you when you come to the end of this article.
What would you do if you contracted someone to build your house and the end result was nothing close to what you envisioned?
Would you be comfortable waking up in a house that reminds you of the mistakes you made during construction? Or perhaps you would call in an interior designer to rectify the errors. But designers are not magicians.
If the ceilings hang low and they make your space feel cramped, there is only so much a designer can do about it. If the windows are too tiny or the flooring is all wrong or there are too many unnecessary walls, you just have to live with them.
Interior Designers are the most overlooked experts when it comes to construction projects. They tend to come in at the end yet they should be engaged at the very beginning. To understand why, you have to understand what they bring to the table.
The heart of design
Wambui, Founder of Pich Limited and also the Industry Liaison Officer at the Interior Design Association of Kenya (IDAK), explains that the work of an interior designer starts with a project brief.
“An interior design brief is the meeting of minds between the client and the designer. If the brief is not proper, there is potential for misunderstanding, hence it should be as detailed as possible. The designer probes and uses a template to get details from the client. They ask technical questions to help bring out the client’s vision. From the brief they can advise the client on what’s best and whether their vision will work.”
Wambui Kimutai is an Interior Design Consultant.
Are you building a retirement home? Are you empty nesters or are you just starting a family? Do you often host family and friends? All these scenarios have a bearing on design. The guest room, for instance, which is normally on the ground floor, may become a master bedroom in future, therefore, a designer might advise them to make it as big and as comfortable as the master bedroom, if the house is multi-storied.
Once the brief and the advice are covered, the designer moves on to space planning, which is the organisation of a client’s needs in a space. Space planning entails details such as circulation, mapping out the footprint and establishing which rooms go where in the structure.
After space planning, there is a finished selection and technical specification. These have to be selected carefully to suit the specification of the client while taking into account functionality, safety and quality. This is where a designer brings out the language of the design through materials.
The language could be minimalist, or cultural, or if it’s a franchise, then the brand’s image has to be visible. The designer will specify details that are seen and unseen, such as hinges, joinery and sanitary ware.
“Material selection is the heart of interior design. For hospitality design, for instance, fabrics need to have a fire rating. There are also contact fabrics, meaning the fabric you use in your home is not the same as what you would use in a hotel lobby.”
Then there are countertop materials such as granites and quartz. For hospitality, you must get non-porous quartz otherwise you will have a lot of staining. If designing a house at the Coast, a designer will help you pick the right grade of stainless steel for your shower to avoid rusting.
After space planning, there is a finished selection and technical specification. These have to be selected carefully to suit the specification of the client while taking into account functionality, safety and quality.
Designing, stresses Wambui, is not just about aesthetics, there is also safety, health, durability, cleaning and maintenance, sustainability, environmental conservation, life cycle and location to consider. Ignoring seemingly minor details can be disastrous.
Consult first
Finally, an interior designer may submit construction drawings which will be used by the team and for the city council's approval. The designer could also work with an architect to capture the design and structural elements in drawings. Designers, just like architects and other contractors, also handle project management to ensure quality control.
Unfortunately, with all this expertise to offer, interior designers will either be brought on board when it is too late or when things have gone south in a project.
“Many people confuse interior designers with interior decorators, interior design is a science which supports the function of a space. I never specify anything without a technical data sheet. If someone comes into a room, slips and falls, then the liability is on the designer,” explains Wambui.
In the Kenyan context, Wambui points out that people building units for sale and those that are well-travelled are very open to working with designers while the rest struggle to understand a designer’s value. This, she argues, could be due to a lack of knowledge or thinking they know all they need to know after researching online. There is also fear of ending up with an inflated construction budget yet failing to get value for money.
“If a client doesn’t get the value from a trusted advisor, they feel cheated. A designer worth their salt will give you a lot of value and save you money in the long run because they help you make critical decisions. And do not feel pressured to start building immediately after consulting if cost is an issue. Talk to a designer first and take your time to build.”
Clashing ideas
When it comes to commercial real estate projects, interior designers are commonly engaged, especially now that commercial spaces have become design savvy. However, designers are still not being called in early enough.
Fatema Keshavjee, an Interior Architect and Designer with over 24 years of experience in designing commercial spaces, comments, “More often than not, by the time I join a project, an architect is already on board, and drawings have been done.
Sometimes the shelling or the core structure is also done. When I go into those kinds of projects, I take the time to study what the architect has put together, look at the site, understand where the sun rises and where it sets, the quality of lighting and make recommendations for changes.”
Material selection is the heart of interior design. For hospitality design, for instance, fabrics need to have a fire rating. There are also contact fabrics, meaning the fabric you use in your home is not the same as what you would use in a hotel lobby.
Unfortunately, trying to create magic in a space that is already constructed presents unique challenges, and there are peculiar structural issues that designers like her have to confront.
“I find that generally in Kenya, structures tend to be done with disregard to the interior spaces. Less is more when it comes to design and structure, but many people don’t consider the liveability of a space. Some architects focus on the outward appearance and forget to marry the artistic outward structure with the insides. You don’t need to have crazy angles to be different, but if there is an interior designer consulting from the beginning, it would be easy.”
Sometimes when she walks into a project, Fatema will notice simple mistakes that might stand in the way of magical design. She will wonder why the window was not bigger or whether many beams were necessary or if a particular wall should be there in the first place. Some of these additions can lead to unnecessary extra costs.
Besides, when an interior designer is introduced to a project much later, there could easily be a clash of ideas when they suggest changes.
“I’ve been doing this for 24 years and I’ve earned my respect and my place in the industry, but in many instances, designers are not listened to by other experts. In instances where the architect is the lead consultant, they can be adamant when taking ideas. But no interior designer wants to work on a project that doesn’t bring the magic. Project owners need to understand that some architects may be good at design but are not necessarily experts in interiors.”
But with exposure, Fatema says, things are changing as people begin to understand what different experts bring to the table. When these experts work together and each is accorded their space, they create magic.
Well-travelled clientele
Now, more than ever, anyone investing in commercial real estate needs to engage a designer from the very beginning. The pandemic changed commercial spaces and these changes have been ongoing. Retail, hospitality and office spaces are still experiencing aggressive changes.
Fatema likes to call the new concept of workspaces bleasure (business and pleasure). The lines between work and pleasure are now blurred and standard norms are out of the way.
“In the office space, there is demand for more open and flexible spaces that increase interaction and visibility. Restaurants are also opening up and kitchens are now visible. There is a lot more zoning in hotels as people demand diversity in décor. Even lawyer’s offices are now open as opposed to the traditional closed and secretive spaces they were,” says Fatema.
People are also demanding biophilic spaces that inject positivity into their working environment. And these changes are not about to stop. Recently, we had a discussion on niche-centric spaces, which are a growing trend.
To ensure longevity and profitability in a commercial space, investors need to build flexible spaces that can be reconfigured to adapt to sudden changes.
“Well-thought-out spaces can be flexible and adaptable, but this has to be brief from the beginning for the designer to make sure it is designed this way. Partitions have to be flexible enough to be reconfigured and the client should have an idea of what the space will look like after it is reconfigured. Of course, there is a limit to what can be changed or added in the future. If a space was built with walls blocking the wind or it has smaller windows or there is no shading from the sun- these things can barely be changed.”
Obviously, failing to engage a designer at the right time could cost you more money and you risk building an obsolete space. As Fatema cautions, people are travelling more and they are seeing amazing spaces.
When they get back into the country, they demand the same standards and you risk losing out on this informed and exposed clientele when you don’t consult accordingly. Allow your experts, especially the designer and the architect, to work together from the very beginning.
