When meeting bathroom remodel clients there is the elephant in the room which is “How much is this going to cost?” And the answer is dependent on remodel requirements, materials, and type of contractor or subcontractor that will help implement the design. The cost for an interior designer is a fraction of the entire process and can save on costly mistakes on materials and estimating.
To set the right expectation, I begin the process by building trust and show examples of our work and references at our first meeting. This is done via showroom free consultation on occasion zoom is available for out of state clients. The duration of the consult is 20 to 30 minutes for a smaller project and more in depth can be up to 50 minutes. At the end of the meeting the elephant in the room question is answered and a new level of understanding and how the process of remodeling a owners bath, guest bath or pool bath is clear.
Sometimes, a question I get is do you do small jobs. The answer is yes. Half baths are a perfect example of this as it is often neglected in design from new construction builder homes. I have been able to achieve this with new mirror, wallpaper, lighting and trim to name a few details to add the wow factor to a half bath. There is a design fee for the time and allocations of materials, design and spec sheets all dependant on the amount of work and the fee is discussed at the consult.
If you are hiring a contractor without selecting materials first followed by appliances and plumbing fixtures then I have to say the process is already backwards if you are wanting to have a well budgeted and executed project. A suggestion for do it your self home owners is to take a stroll to see materials available and start from there. An interior designer or decorator will be able to order samples and present options at what we call a “work session” which saves a lot of running around. Examples of industry samples are countertops in quartz, wall paint memo samples, back splash, floor and more. It is much better in a professionals opinion to see how all the materials correlate, see a budget estimate of the labor and then begin the process of hiring a contractor based on experience, license, insurance and availability of when you’ll have all the above selected.
Larger undertakings such as an owners’ suite or master bathroom and kitchens take more time and have more possibilities. Over the years, we have had the privilege of working on luxury bathrooms in the six figure range and some bathroom makeovers under $25,000. It all goes back to the first main paragraph in this blog: materials, type of labor via contractor or subcontractor. An interior designer can help save time, organize the project with selection of materials and access to materials that you would not find in a regular box store. I’ve attached a few examples of a custom bathroom remodel in Central Florida in the Heathrow, Longwood, Lake Mary area.
As you can see the client is celebrating having done this in a year through covid and several delays but a totally custom bathroom for a timeless clean look the owners will enjoy for years to come. This bath featured all marble, laser cut marble behind tub, custom cabinetry, new dazzling light fixtures and more. The timelines at year end 2022 are much better than we’ve seen the past two years. Let’s face it the market has increased the value of Orlando homes and the interiors need to reflect it in order to compete with new home sales in the future. I hope you’ll consider hiring Florida Living Quarters for your next bathroom remodel project to make it fun, painless and bring out the designer version of your style and updated bathroom. It is life changing in a positive way. Cheers!
