Our clients bring a variety of design projects to Carmel Design House. for the design team to manage. We have discovered that many of our clients are not familiar with the general process through which all design projects proceed, and so we offer these guidelines to help you better understand what will take place.

Typically, you can expect the Design Fees for an Interior Design project to run between 5% and 10% of the total cost of the installed project. An Interior Design project involving two or more rooms can take two or more months to proceed through the Design Phases before an order for furnishings is placed. Furnishings often can take six weeks or more to receive before they can be installed.

The award winning and published designers at Carmel Design House are educated, credentialed and experienced in developing a design focused on your individual needs. Our designers approach a project from the functional perspective of the interior of your home. Our staff of design professionals includes ASID designers as well as Certified Kitchen & Bath Remodelers and Certified Green Building Professionals. Your designer will determine your style, taste, and lifestyle needs, and offer you direction and choices tailored to your individual project. Our office has a comprehensive resource and sample library, plus established relationships with many other sources and suppliers. We think all of this offers our clients much more than other Design firms.

Phase 1: Initial Meeting With Prospective Clients

This meeting serves several purposes, and can take place in our office or in your home. It is at this meeting that you will meet the Carmel Design House team and learn about the range of services our firm is able to provide. You will be able to assess our background and experience and review portfolios of projects. We will discuss your project, your budget, and your ideas and expectations. It is very important that a rapport is established at this meeting, and that you are comfortable with the Spectrum team. By listening to you at this initial meeting, we are able to determine the “Scope of Services” for your project, which will be incorporated into the “Design Service Agreement”. This initial meeting is between one and two hours in length, and there is no charge to you.

Phase 2: The Design Service Agreement

The Design Service Agreement outlines the professional services and the terms and conditions that the Carmel Design House, design team will provide to develop the plan for your project and bring it to completion. The Design Service Agreement contains information about the location of the project, the areas involved, the specific design services we will perform, specification and purchasing agreements, supervision requirements, and compensation arrangements. This agreement will also outline reimbursements, out of pocket expenses, disclaimers, rights to photograph, and third party services. When the Design Service Agreement is signed by you and the Spectrum Design Principal, work can begin with the initial design studies in the “Programming Phase”.

Phase 3: Programming Phase

After the Design Agreement is signed, we will give you the surveys we have developed for you to fill out as “homework” We’ve developed these surveys to learn about your lifestyle, preferences, ideas, wish list, and details that you may have been thinking about for a long time while anticipating your project. Often there are items you may not have yet begun thinking about, and the survey question may start your thinking process in a new direction. We will also give you a binder of photographs from magazines and packs of Post-Its. We want you to go through the binder and make notes on the photos. When you return the surveys and binder to us, we are able to get a good preliminary picture of your lifestyle and preferences.

Also during this phase we will measure your home, photograph the existing space, and draft an “As Built” plan of the existing conditions. We will be meeting with you to further develop the preliminary budget and timelines for your project. It is in this Programming Phase that we determine exactly what will be designed. The Programming Phase generally takes a couple weeks, and then the “Schematic Design Phase” is now ready to begin.

Phase 4: Schematic Design Phase

Now that we have a preliminary idea about your tastes and preferences, accurate drawings of the existing space, we can begin to develop rough sketches and layout ideas for your project. This may involve suggested placement of furniture, cabinets, and appliances. We will try to give you a more than one option at this stage, and may combine elements from multiple ideas that you like to further refine the design. We will also be showing you ideas for color, materials and finishes for your project, and may suggest places for you to visit to aid in the process of narrowing your choices. During this phase we may have several meetings with you to get your feedback on our ideas, and to clarify the design concept. The Schematic Design Phase may take two to three weeks, and when we have your approval on the preliminary designs, drawings and concepts, we move to the “Design Development Phase” to further refine these ideas.

Phase 5: Design Development Phase

Now we’re really going! During this phase the design is expanded and detailed. We get more specific with the selections of materials, finishes, furnishings, and lighting design. You are shown more detailed drawings, material samples, and color boards to illustrate the design concept. During this phase we will be meeting with you often to be sure that your ideas and preferences are incorporated into the design. The length of this phase really depends upon the scope of the project. Some large Remodeling Projects may be in the Design Development Phase for a few months. When the design is finalized, with complete specifications, we move on to the “Contract Document Phase”.