The Exploratory Phase- How We Set Your Project Budget

Recently, I sat with my mentor and a peer group, for a 3 day course on High End Remodels. I have been working with my mentor over several months and she has the loveliness to teach me everything she knows. She has taught me how to fine tune and perfect my design procedures and systems to tailor to high end remodels and furniture jobs with style, class, and expertise. She taught me the importance of setting a clients budget before any work begins and exactly how to do that. Gone are the days when I walk into a consultation and ask, “what’s your budget for this?” and leave without an answer that isn’t an exact number. Exact. No guessing. No throwing out an extremely unrealistic number (I promise you a few thousand isn’t going to get you the new living room you want). No more “I dunno”. Before any work begins, we have to agree on a number. How do we get to this number? Through the Exploratory Phase, of course.

What is an Exploratory Phase?

The Exploratory Phase is the due diligence research that I conduct to find out what every single thing on your wish list will cost as well as provided drawings, footprints, labor bids, and a detailed budget spreadsheet for you to keep. Beginning with an intensive design meeting called Programming we discuss every nitty gritty detail that you want. Ev. Er. y. Detail. It doesn’t matter if you have no idea what it costs to do it, that’s what we’re about to find out. Whether this is your second home in the Berkshires or you are limiting yourself to the dollar menu at Mickey D’s to make this happen, getting an understanding of what things cost is just the right thing to do. The cool thing is this is so much more revealing than a contractor bid (no offense you hard working fellas) because it is completely 100% tailored to you. I’m guessing a $100 allowance for a light fixture in your contractor bid isn’t going to give you the fancy chandelier you were hoping for in the new dining room. Let’s find out what that chandelier cost instead.

What Does the Exploratory Phase include?

The Exploratory Phase includes:

Programming- an intensive wish list meeting, photos, and measurements
Drawings, sketches, and footprints
Space planning
Price points itemized on an excel spreadsheet for all materials identified for the project (lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, flooring, countertops, etc.)
Meetings with contractors for labor bids
Budget documents- the spreadsheet in a deliverable for the client
Budget meeting- the brass tax of what you can do or need to change before you dig out the power drill

Upon reviewing the scope of your project at our first appointment, I will send you a proposal for the Exploratory Phase based on the time it will take for me to deliver all the answers to all your questions. Then it’s time to get to work on the research and schedule meetings with trades professionals like contractors, architects, plumbers, electricians. Once all the research has been completed and bids from trades have been submitted, a detailed deliverable is presented to the client at the Budget Meeting. Should you choose to proceed with me as your Designer, the Exploratory fee will be waived from your design fee. And if I’m not the designer for you, the deliverable is still yours to use however you need. Either way, you will have a clear understanding of what your project will cost and where changes should be made, if any. No need to worry about getting into a project and costs getting out of hand, you have all of your budget and plans ahead of time.

A (Personal) Review of the Exploratory Phase

It was convenient timing that during this 3 day course, I actually bought a house to redesign in a high end neighborhood. I went through each and every one of these steps as if I were doing this for a client and it was soo eye opening. Right out of the gate, my expensive taste was a bit too much when it came to lighting and certain things on my wish list went by the wayside. I decided, upon review of the final budget, that screening in the back porch just wasn’t going to pay off. It was remarkable to see all of the numbers for everything I wanted to do instead of trusting that it would all come together in the end without a budget predetermined. It was easy to see how mistakes get made when there is no set plan. This Exploratory Phase was so vital to my project and I know it will be for clients as well.

Q & A

“I just want new furniture, do I need to go through the exploratory phase?”

-Not necessarily. In most cases for furnishings only projects I can help you name your budget at the initial consultation. I have a process called Budget on the Fly that takes about 10 minutes to do to set your budget.

“What kinds of projects require an Exploratory Phase?”

-Projects that require outside trades such as contractors, tile installers, architects, wallpaper jobs, custom window treatments, etc. are all great candidates for an Exploratory Phase.

“What will the Exploratory Phase cost?”

-Well that depends…what all do you want to do? Are you having the kitchen cabinets painted or ripping them out? Box store cabinets or custom? Formica tops or an exotic marble slab?

See what I mean? No two projects are the same and everyone has a different set of wants/needs. Your Exploratory Fee will be sent to you in a proposal for you to either accept or decline. But if you do go through the process and you hire me as your designer, the fee is added in to the design fee as credit.

“What happens if the budget is higher than I expected?”

-Wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing to know before you start buying things and tearing walls down. This is what is so great about the Exploratory Phase. It’s all right in front of you on a spreadsheet. You see what your wants cost and you have the ability to make changes as needed before you’re in over your head.

Do you have more questions about the Exploratory Phase? Ask me!