100/10 would choose our ID all over again

185

Mid-Century Modern
HDB (Resale)
~900 sqft
3 br
Couple Living

Hi there!! Happy Sunday!! We are back with another post on how we decided on our Interior Designer (ID). We did consider the differences between going with an ID, or an ID-Contractor, or a Contractor. 3 of which have very different price point, with the ID being the most expensive. We eventually went with the ID because 1) we wanted to have someone help us with their inputs and opinions if our choices were the right ones in terms of functionality and design 2) with our busy schedules, we needed someone to help us manage the schedule of how things were being planned to be installed and done 3) the price point of some of the quotations given to us were not that huge So we decided to go with the ID that did my friend's house and I know she was really happy with the outcome - Lemonfridge Studio. B's primary consideration for them was the price + the ability to communicate easily with them on what we wanted and we could just click.
We met with about 15-20 IDs, ID-Contractors and Contractors. I had most of the first meetings with the IDs/ID-Contractors on my own, and mostly via zoom because it was just me giving them our direction of where we wanted to go towards in terms of design, and also let them know our budget. B & I came up with our own vision board of want we wanted, and I was just presenting those ideas to them. They took our original floor plan and got back to us in about 1-2 weeks. Thereafter, we had our 2nd meeting. This was where they presented to me what they had come up with for possible ideas and any potential layout changes. They also gave us a draft quotation so we could see the price points of each thing that they would do for us. Contractors would not have done the above as they would just follow our direction and perform the tasks accordingly. ID-Contractors were a hit-and-miss for us, and most of them were also just following our directions and giving us a quote on what we wanted. But, they would not advice us on practicality, functionality and design layouts.
Our IDs worked with us accordingly with the timeline we gave them, and handed the keys over after 3.5 months of renovations. We really liked how our ID came up with draft quotations with individual itemised things that they would do. That also gave us the option of going back to do our own research and compare the prices if we were to engaged an external vendor. In the end, we reduced the cost from our ID to engage external vendors for our windows & grilles (ZGH Aluminium), glass doors (SG Glass Experts), and main door/gate and bedroom doors (Door Lab). We had a very good experience with ZGH Aluminium and SG Glass Experts, but not so with Door Lab. Definitely a hit-and-miss for some of these external vendors and we had to chase them for works to be completed. If you prefer a fuss-free experience, choosing to go with the ID's chosen vendors would be the best so that the ID can be the one to chase them to get the job done rather than do it yourself.
Having an ID also meant that they would plan how our carpentry would be like and give us a draft of how it would look like, as compared to drawing the sketch on our own with our amateur art skills. Our IDs also gave us timely updates on what works were being completed, what we needed to do (and they worked very closely with our timeline to arrange for our appliances to be delivered and prepare the carpentry according to each of the appliances' measurements). This saved us time from making a trip down to our home after work because our ID would just send us pictures of their progress.
Overall, we highly recommend choosing an ID for the most fuss-free experience and it gave us more time to handle other aspects of our life like work, family and prepare for our wedding without having to worry about our home renovations. 100/10 would recommend choosing an ID if we had to do it all over again, and would still choose our ID because they really accommodated to everything we requested, our timeline, and even touchups were handled very well to make sure everything was in order for us. We wanted to have blum fixtures in our kitchen and bedroom carpentry, and also add more drawers than initially agreed on, and they did not charge us extra for them. Our family and friends who have visited us for our housewarming parties have also commented how they're very impressed with the workmanship of the carpentry as compared to other carpentry that they have back home or that they have seen in other homes. Hehe we're super in love with our home!! Till our next post! Byeee