Louisville Home Renovation: When to Bring in an Interior Designer

A floor plan developed by Kentucky Interior Designer Bethany Adams

When embarking on a significant home renovation in Louisville, Kentucky, one thing is immediately clear: you need to hire a contractor. What’s a little more murky to most homeowners is whether or not they need an interior designer, and when to hire one.

The short answer is that your first call should be to a designer, not a contractor. Here’s why: A contractor cannot accurately bid a project that hasn’t been designed!

You may have heard scary stories from friends and neighbors about how hard it is to lock in a great contractor. While they’re not wrong, rushing to get the contractor to commit to a timeline is a recipe for disaster. The contractor needs the design drawings and specifications schedules months before he ever lifts a hammer. A good contractor wants to price everything out accurately, and in advance of beginning the project to ensure that it goes smoothly, stays on budget, and is completed on time. Believe me when I say, you want this too. Beware of any contractor who happily slots you in for a project starting in a month, without any information. If you start a project with a contractor without a solid plan, you can rest assured that your money will fly out the window once things get going.

Enter Louisville interior designer Bethany Adams! In our studio, we carefully plan each and every step of your renovation, avoiding costly change orders and surprises. Based on a detailed client and home profile we’ll first develop concepts for your project. After you provide feedback, we then develop those concepts into a working plan and start specifying materials, finishes, and fixtures. Finally, we draft ready to build plans and elevations (these include floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, and finish plans at a minimum), and source and price every item that will be included in your project.

An Appliance Schedule

It is only THEN that we hand this information over to your contractor to bid. If you’re shopping around for a contractor, you can rest assured that everyone has the exact same information so you can compare apples to apples.

The best projects start with planning and end with execution, and that is exactly what we do at Bethany Adams Interiors.

Planning a renovation or whole-home transformation?

Start with a design partner who can guide you every step of the way.

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