Building a custom home is a dream come true for many people. But it is actually much more overwhelming than you might think. The choices that once seemed fun can become daunting as they pile up on top of each other. People begin to wonder if they’re making the right choices; how will they know their choices will look good together, are they getting the best value for the products they are choosing, and so on. When presented with so many options, it’s common for people to feel stuck, unable to make the decisions they once dreamed of making.
Meet Ann
When we met Ann, she had already been talking with another designer about creating a custom home. Ann had always enjoyed watching design shows and had a good eye for design. But while she considered herself to be somewhat of an amateur designer, things didn’t quite turn out like she thought when she went to design her own house. After being sent by her designer to a plumbing store, she was overwhelmed by all of the decisions. From faucets to toilets and sinks, Ann didn’t even know where to start. As she sat with a stack of brochures, she realized the process had quickly turned from something that should have been enjoyable to an incredible burden.
Ann visited our office and told us about her awful experience. She was so glad to discover with our process, she would still get to make all of her own decisions but our licensed Interior Designer, working alongside our Architects, would narrow down the choices to the relevant ones and walk her through the process. All of her selections would also be put together by room and shown to her in color renderings. This would ensure she got exactly what she wanted, which was a cohesive look with just the right scale and balance so that all her friends and family would be just as impressed with her home as she was. It was a relief to Ann that the burden of going to various stores and being tasked with picking out everything would be eliminated. She would have a team of professionals doing the heavy lifting so that she could just enjoy the process.
Helping Our Customers Choose
Customers like Ann don’t enjoy going to any stores, but some customers, like Lynn, want to go only to the granite and tile store. So our program is tailored and customized for each client to let them decide how much or how little they want to go to stores and “shop” for the products in their home. After her Lifestyle Analysis interview with our design team, Lynn felt confident that our designers understood her style, but she still wanted to check out all the tile and granite options herself. After a couple of trips, she felt good that the samples our team pulled for her were the best choices for her home. She also enjoyed seeing all the possibilities in a manageable setting with our experts sitting right alongside explaining each option. Our team even produced custom tile patterns that weren’t available for Lynn to see at the store.
According to Ann, she really was impressed with how we knew which questions to ask during our Lifestyle Analysis and how we incorporated her answers into her design, and the secondary options we presented her. While we were so glad to be able to provide this satisfying experience to Ann, we also told her this is all just a part of our process and how, after almost 30 years, the process has really evolved into what it is today.
Helping clients, like Ann and Lynn, is the best part of our job. We love being able to provide a fun process of creating the home just the way our clients envisioned it.
