FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • We require a holding fee at the start of design and one at the start of pre-design. This fee will apply to the project overall (see project minimums from the fee schedule). The holding fee is applied to the final project invoice. Hourly services are invoiced on approximately the 1st and 15th of each month.

    Please note that phases to expect your fee to be applied will be additionally noted in your agreement as well as on your invoices.

  • We track our time on your project through the use of time-tracking software. We clock in when we begin work on your project and clock out when we’re done. This means we’re able to limit our impact on your pocketbook by billing by the minute (rather than by quarter hour or similar).

  • We prefer check but also accept ACH, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Venmo, and Apple Pay. Fees related to payment will be included and, because of that, we ask that you alert us if you’d like to pay with anything other than check.

  • We value and respect the time and privacy of our clients and will not provide contact information. Instead, we ask our clients to review us on Google so potential partners can get a glimpse regarding others’ experiences - good or bad!

  • We prefer in-person meetings and email communication. Design projects can be complicated and we even sometimes reverse decisions multiple times. Having a “paper trail” helps us preserve your preferences and avoid miscommunications.

  • This is a complex question since it can vary between projects. The extent of design deliverables will be documented in your agreement. However, we typically provide “leave-behinds” from our design meetings which may include plans, sketches, product ideas, etc. While these are not typically a required deliverable, we provide them to allow you additional time to consider design decisions outside our meeting time.

  • Purchases for your project can be made either before or after our involvement. We ask that the shopping stop during design, however. Many materials and products include quirks or details that create a previously unforeseen conflict which we always want to avoid since they typically come with the need for additional time and money to integrate.

  • After years of providing concept-only projects and being the people-pleasers we are, we’ve found that concept-only projects rarely go well. Because of that, we’ve discontinued that service. We’re always open to discussing how we can make your design project more affordable but also want to be sure our work can translate into something functional and beautiful for you. Design does not stop after the early phases. We design from the beginning to the end because it’s simply impossible to sketch an initial concept that can be built without further development.

  • As you can probably guess, it depends on the project. A kitchen or bathroom typically takes between 6-10 weeks while an interior renovation (non-structural) might take 18-24 weeks to design. More significant projects like additions or new construction can be dependent on permitting timelines and can take between 24 and 52 weeks. Of course, these are broad timelines and we discuss the specifics in much more detail with you.

  • Maybe. This is dependent on the project type and, importantly, whether permits are required. If we’re permitting a project, many of the details required for construction are required for permit - meaning we need to wait for the permit to be in hand before construction begins. That said, we tend to prioritize permit-required drawings once a design direction is established and the permit submittal typically doesn’t have to wait until all the contract drawings and specifications are complete.