What to EXPECT each time you meet an ID 💁🏻‍♀️

Are you overwhelmed at the thought of meeting so many IDs and not knowing what to expect? With so many IDs and so many companies out there, how can you maximise your chances at making a good choice? Also, what should you do to get the most out of your ID meetings?

Heres a rough guide on what you can expect at each stage of your discussion and what are some things you can think about before and during the discussion. Disclaimer: everyone’s reno journey is different and this timeline is just based on my personal experience from talking to a few IDs.

✨💁🏻‍♀️Pro tip: Before each ID meeting, talk to your partner about what both of you want to achieve from the meeting and what are some things yall roughly agree on so that yall can “sing the same tune” or bring back the conversation if it starts to derail from your initially agreed upon objectives.

⭐️ 1st meeting - The Vibe Check

- The first meeting is like a first date. The vibe check is a 2 way street. You are trying to sus out the ID and the ID IS ALSO trying to sus you out. While the ID wants to make a good impression to score the sale, they also don’t want a particularly difficult customer. So be careful not to portray yourself in the wrong light or you may end up being overcharged in ur quotation (which is the cost of their mental health of having to deal with you).

- As mentioned in my prev post, try to be clear about what you are looking for in an ID. Are you looking for someone strong in design? Someone with lots of technical expertise? Someone with very good project management? Someone who has top notch customer service? Ideally we want someone who is good at everything, but that’s not always possible. So just pick 1-2 areas that matters most to you and evaluate if the ID demonstrates these strengths.

- One thing I look out for in an ID is their ability to identify and predict potential problems and propose good solutions (ie. Solutions that are budget friendly / reasonable / creative). Another thing I value is their ability to communicate their ideas clearly and coherently because I feel that this will minimise possibilities of miscommunication down the line.

- After the meeting, discuss with your partner if you feel comfortable proceeding to next stage of discussions with this ID. If not, then make sure to tell the ID early so they won’t be spending time and effort designing and doing up a quote for you. Perks of a 2nd meeting is that u will likely get an estimated quote from them. But cons is that it gets harder to reject them after you have met them more times. Or maybe my husband and I are just softies and we suck at rejecting people HAHAHAH

⭐️ 2nd meeting - Needs & Wants

- In this meeting, yall will be refreshing the ideas raised in the first discussion. At this point, you probably would have changed ur mind on certain details you have mentioned in the first meeting. Yall will evaluate and discuss various possible layouts and learn more about what can and cannot be done.

- Before this meeting, you should ideally have an idea of what you want in each part of your house - entryway, living / dining, kitchen, service yard, bathrooms, bedrooms. You can also use a moodboard for discussion, either prepared by you or ur ID. Where relevant, you should also share your lifestyle with your ID so he/she can propose designs that are more suited to your needs.

- You should ask ur ID about the pros and cons of your ideas, whether they have any practicality concerns etc. also take this opportunity to ask questions and learn more about various materials used in carpentry, countertop materials, flooring etc.

⭐️ 3rd - 4th meeting - Narrow down the DETAILS

- by this point u probably would have scrolled Pinterest IG TikTok and seen countless sample houses. You may have more layout changes and change ur mind about more things. Some

of ur changes may be drastic, but that’s fine, nothing to be ashamed of! Remember that It’s ok to not be able to make up your mind, it’s a high stakes project after all! Improving on past iterations is a natural part of the design process.

- Hopefully, your ID has done up some kind of 3D drawing for you to visualise what your house will look like. You can then give comments on the 3D, and try out more configurations until u are happy with the final design. Trust me, some ideas sound alot better in your own head. When the ID actually draws it out on 3D then u realise the idea is just absurd hahahahaha that has happened to me a few times lol but my ID was patient enough to entertain all my random ideas, patiently redrawing and redrawing on her 3D app even tho it was alr like 10pm 😅

- So during this meeting I narrowed down exactly what I want my carpentry to look like, the curves, the niches, how many casement, how many drawers, every single thing. Also if you have some specific appliances in mind, go get the dimensions so that carpentry can be planned around them. The more specific you are the better!

- Run through the quotation and point out any missing works or items. Ask as many questions as u want and make sure the quote is as itemised as possible. Make sure to look at your friends’ quotations or ur own quotes from other IDs to make sure nothing is missed out. We don’t want too many VOs that will cost us a 💣🔥 down the line.

⭐️ 5th - 6th meeting - Finalise the works and designs as much as possible; negotiate and sign if you are satisfied 😊

- Decide what items you may want to cut out of the quotation to save moneyyy or there are any additional works that you haven’t discussed yet.

- Ask for electrical pricing list, they may say “wait till we check it on site”, but honestly their pricing list won’t differ too much, just ask them for it so you can get a feel of their charges and allocate the cost of electrical works into ur budget. If their pricing is too high, consider outsourcing electrical works to external contractors.

- Try to negotiate for a 3-5% goodwill discount! Don’t go overboard with the nego as u don’t want to spoil the working relationship and the IDs may end up secretly compromising the quality of ur finishings in order to cut cost. You may also try ur luck at negotiating individual items that u think are too pricey and beyond ur budget. Alternatively u can also try asking for some freebies, no harm asking!!

- *optional but if u feel up for it, u can ask ur ID to bring u to an almost completed site to have a look at the final home and check out their workmanship. Personally I haven’t done this but I know of friends who have managed to do this.

✨Final thoughts: Everyone’s renovation and ID discussion journey is different and the above info is just based on my personal experiences. There’s no right or wrong way to go about this. Feel free to use this as a guide to make the best of ur reno discussions! Good luck!

#renovation #btorenovation #interiordesign #tips #advice #renovationtips #renovationjourney