Let the expert do finishing touches in your home

An interior designer should be brought on board as soon as the home concept plans are in place.

When you need someone to actualise the full potential of space in an elegant and practical manner, whether in a residential or commercial building, an interior designer is the person to look for.

Although interior design is not limited to any one field of construction, it covers a vast array of disciplines from homes, hospitality, commercial, retail, medical, furniture, fabrics industries to car and aeronautical interiors.

After contractors are done with the shell of your building, it’s the interior designer who will put everything else together and make it take the form and shape that you desire.

“In homes, interior design looks at design of the interior of your home which incorporates the physical form and design of the space, planning of the space, integration of lighting, plumbing and other design aspects,” says Manmit Jabbal, managing director Ikon Designs.

The designer also gets involved in creating themes, brand, bathrooms, kitchen design, door design, staircases, mood lighting down to the selection of pieces of art and paintings.

VERY SPECIALISED FIELDS

All these are very specialised fields and require years of training and experience to become an expert in any one of them and therefore most interior designers pick one or two disciplines they enjoy most and specialize in that.

Based on the level of expertise demanded for any particular project, the depth of understanding to find an elegant solution to the brief given by the client requires the input of a person trained and experienced in that field.

If possible, one should take up the services of an interior designer as soon as the concept plans are in place.

Mr Jabbal says that the later a designer is brought in, the more difficult it is to make substantial modifications to the structure and form of the final look of your home.

“If a designer is brought in at the end, they may be limited to simply making cosmetic decoration such as paint work, fabrics, furniture but not the interior architecture should you want to knock down few walls to open up the spaces and make them feel more airy,” says Jabbal.

There are literally dozens of things that are important to consider when designing the interiors of offices or residential homes.

Understanding the client’s requirements as much as possible in order to present them clearly on sketch and bring their ideas to reality is important.

One important aspect of interior design is to create a point of focus in the space which enhances the user’s experience of the space and which fits in with the overall theme which best projects the personality of the client or in the case of offices, its brand values.

An interior designer ensures all practical aspects of ergonomics are incorporated into the space such as the heights and dimensions of furniture, and space for circulation and his services should not be confused with those of an interior decorator who deals mainly with the soft furnishings.

They also ensure all health and safety features are considered and proper management of electrical cables, mechanical piping, and practicality of maintenance are well installed.

This article first appeared in the Business Daily