Do you provide a free initial design consultation?
We provide an initial 15 minute phone consultation free of charge to discuss your requirements and outline any initial thoughts you have on design styles that you would like to achieve.
Why should I choose you?
Sometimes clients want someone to organise their space better, or want an outsider to help focus their ideas, or have someone else do all the hard work in getting their house in order that will save them time and work.
You might need a trained designer to point you in the direction of lovely homewares, furniture and décor that are also practical for your needs, without spending a fortune. Often clients don’t even really know what they want, they know something’s wrong with the way they are living, but are unsure exactly what.
We can help you understand comfort, what’s working and isn’t working, explain the flow between rooms, and devise creative ideas that enhance your quality of life. We can help you to come up with creative ideas to upcycle, repurpose or reuse things you already have in your home. We love that by doing this you can not only save money but also avoid wastage on pieces that can be given a new lease of life.
We can help you if you are unsure where to start, would like a second opinion, don’t have indispensable amounts of money or just simply don't have the time to make your home beautiful. We are thorough, we will treat your space as if it were our own and will make sure no stone is unturned in your quest to create a beautiful home that you are proud of.
When will I know the costs for what I want to do?
A fee proposal for our services will be sent to you within 24 hours of the initial phone consultation.
The costs for specific trades you need to get some of the work done will be subject to a separate quote from those tradespeople.
Which interior design styles can you cater for?
Our personal style is mostly contemporary with industrial and Scandinavian influences. We love working with wood, brick and metal and love textures and pops of colour and pattern. Even though that is our own personal style we can cater to an array of different design styles, from traditional to art deco to minimalistic. Please take a look at our recent interior design works, along with before and after pictures, so you can get a sense of our style and if it is consistent with what you are looking for.
How much involvement/input do you welcome from your clients in the design process, choice of materials, textures, colours, objects etc?
You can have as much or as little input as you would like here. We would very much welcome your input and if you already have some ideas and examples of things you have already spotted that you like that is great!
What’s your interior design process?
1. Initial design consultation - 15 minute phone consultation.
2. Fee proposal preparation - To be sent to you within 24 hours of the initial consultation.
3. Onboarding questionnaire and Kick off meeting - This can be done either in person if local or via zoom. Here we will need measurements and we will ask you to show us the space (via pictures if remote) in its current form. We will also go more in-depth with your requirements.
4. Space planning and concept development - The next step would be for us to take this information away and design the space for you.
5. Follow up meeting - To discuss the proposed design/designs and for you to ask any questions you have.
6. Project completion - We will provide you with a handover folder with all of the above information for your records.
For Larger jobs in South London we offer an additional service (for an additional cost):
7. Purchasing and styling on site - This includes purchasing and managing deliveries if required and on-site furnishing, decorating and styling.
8. Project completion - Once all of the work has been completed we will provide you with a handover folder with all of the above information for your records.
How do you charge?
The space planning and concept development phase will be charged at a flat fee per room. The purchasing and styling phase (on site) will be charged at a per hourly rate, which is rounded up and charged in 15 minute increments to save you paying for a full hour if not used (if for example we have only worked 25 mins on your project, you will be charged for 30 mins work, so half the hourly rate).
What do I get for my money in the space planning and concept development phase?
We offer three different design packages depending on how much detail you would like. Some clients like to see the ideas presented in a 3D format to really visualise the space, but there are more economical options if you do not feel like you really need this much level of detail. Please take a look at the services tab to see the deisgn packages we offer.
How do I receive the suggestions for furniture and décor?
A finish schedule will be produced and provided to you with suggestions for furniture and décor that will be used for the redesign of the room/s agreed. This is sent across in excel/pdf format and will include details such as the name of room and the specific item, the finish, colour, supplier, product code, detail (size, shape etc), images if available, price and URL (if online). If you choose the Design Classic or Premium options you will also be presented with a number of options around an ideal price point.
How long does it take for you to prepare the design proposal/s?
After we have had the kick off meeting, on average it takes approximately one - two weeks to prepare our design proposals (subject to the size of the job).
What services are included in the purchasing and styling phase?
For Larger jobs in South London we offer purchasing and styling on site in your property. The specific services in this phase are:
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Ordering and managing deliveries of suggested furniture and décor.
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On site styling of the property once any trades have completed their work (if required) and the furniture and décor have arrived.
We will provide you with regular updates on the running total of project costs for this phase so you are kept well informed throughout.
What are the options for purchasing the furniture and décor?
It all depends on how you would like to manage this. For example do you want to do your own purchasing, do you want us to purchase some items for you or do you want us to purchase everything for you? We unfortunately can’t provide credit on the items you would like to purchase so there are a few options for this.
Option 1: you purchase all items and manage deliveries yourself.
Option 2: you transfer the money to That Refurb Life bank account and we purchase items for you and manage deliveries. We will provide you with a receipt for the monies paid and will also keep you updated with a detailed spend tracker highlighting the costs paid and dates any furniture and décor was ordered.
Option 3: there are pre-paid debit cards which you can get which allow you to add money to a card which you then provide to us to be able to do all of the purchasing and managing all of the deliveries for you. The advantage of this is that you can log in anytime online to see all transactions as and when items are purchased. The following is a good article to read about prepaid cards https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-cards/
What is discussed at the Kick-off meeting?
At the initial kick-off meeting if in person we will take measurements of all the spaces and take pictures of everything (if you are comfortable with us taking pictures). If this is being done remotely via zoom we will ask you to provide us with the measurements and pictures.
We will discuss the specific styles that you like, we would identify which pieces of furniture, accessories, artworks etc you have already that you would like to keep so we can incorporate these into our proposals. For inspiration we always find Pinterest is a good place to look, but if you have also seen pictures online or in magazines or books that you like that would be great to discuss. It is also important to highlight colours and styles you dislike too so we can avoid them.
We will go over your intended function/s of each room (like for example if you will be working in the living/dining space), what the current functional issues you would like to address are (if there are any), storage requirements and the potential options for layouts.
We will also identify your must haves and your ideal wish list. Another important thing to talk about is the atmosphere of the space/s, how do you want the spaces to feel, are the rooms too dark, does it feel too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer etc.
Do you provide an furniture upcycling service?
Yes this is something we can provide for jobs in South London. We have upcycled many pieces in the past and love being able to reuse and repurpose things not only to save money but to also avoid wastage on pieces that can be given a new lease of life. This service will be charged as a separate cost, and depends on the requirements of the job.
Can you provide your services online or remotely?
For the space planning and concept development phase we can provide online/remote services, with all design consultations done via phone or video calls (zoom preferred).
What are you doing to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
The majority of our work is done remotely meaning physical contraction of Covid-19 is reduced. For those customers local to us, in South London, we can provide in person meetings at your home. If attending in person we will adhere to social distancing guidelines and wear a face mask at all times for your safety.