Since purchasing our apartment, I have worked with numerous contractors to achieve the look I wanted and along the way I picked up a few tips and tricks.
I wish I could say we totally DIYed our home, but we didn’t. If we did, it would have taken far too long and I knew I needed specialists for some of the things I wanted to do. And after having been a graphic designer and brand stylist for many years, I knew there were best practices for engaging a service provider – regardless of industry.
01. Find inspiration images.
As a brand stylist, I knew what a difference inspiration photos made to completing a project successfully, on time and to scope. Sure, you might not know all the technical details, and it’s not your job to know that stuff – but you can give your contractors the best possible chance of getting it right by showing them.
Pinterest is probably my favourite place to find inspiration and reference images. Some times I pull them into mood board, but really, just a collection of images with descriptions of what element you like or don’t like is enough.
By showing these photos, I was able to communicate the feeling and vibe I wanted to create for my kitchen and also narrowed the choices down really quickly. Like I knew I wanted a profile on the doors, gold hardware and a white ceramic sink along with white bench tops and marble tile backsplash.
02. Don’t assume they know what you want.
Even with these images illustrating what you’re looking for, still do not assume that the contractor knows what you want. It’s true they likely would have a pretty good sense of what you’re after by looking at your inspo shots but they might interpret it differently than you intend. Always double check that the choices they are making aligns with what you’re looking for.
For instance, from these images, it would be fair to assume I like the marble bench tops. And I do. I really do. However when I actually saw the option in person (and it was the option my builder thought I would like most) I didn’t really like it – it was almost a browny/green grey rather than a white grey and it totally didn’t work. Even though he totally understands my vision, still this detail however subtle would have ruined it for me if I didn’t check!
03. Ask them to explain it back to you.
A great way to check that your contractors do really know what you want is to ask them to explain it back to you so you can check that the words they are saying matches what you were communicating.
When people explain things in their own words is when you can really see if they understand what they are saying.
A great example of this was when the cabinet maker for the kitchen came onsite to show me the layout plans before they start cutting and building the cabinets. I spotted a small problem (we were 3 drawers and 1 cupboard short). I explained what we were missing, pointing at the paper and the cabinet maker said “yes, yes, that’s there” but I could see it wasn’t. So instead of just pointing at the paper again and repeating myself or worse, assuming I must be wrong, my cabinet maker and I went into the space and I asked him to physically show me where the cupboards would be.
It was then that he realised the drawing was wrong and missing something that I was asking for. It was an easy fix at that point and once he said it back to me, he too could see that there was something missing.
04. Speak up.
Once things are underway, regular feedback is a must. There’s no point getting to the end of a project and then offering feedback. It’s always better to speak up, ask questions and make sure the project is on track – exactly how you want it.
I learnt a massive lesson with this when we were making over our lounge/living room. We were adding wainscotting to the walls and beautiful new skirting boards and there was the powerpoint in one of the corners of the room. I could see that it would be positioned in the middle of a wainscotting rail and my joinery carpenter must have seen this too because all of a sudden the power point was removed and plastered over.
I saw this happening. I saw the whole in the wall. And I said nothing.
I get the rationale for removing it and honestly it looks about a thousand times better without that interrupting the wainscotting piece, however I ended up without a power point and the annoying situation where I need to run power cords to that corner to power my internet gear. I blame myself 100% because I didn’t speak up.
What could have been quickly fixed at time ended up being a year of cords across the floor, a mess of cords and power board in the corner and engaging another electrician to fix the issue.
Always speak up.
Have you got more tips for engaging contractors for your home renovation? I would love to hear your thoughts!
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