Savvy Building and Renovating

Does "Savvy Building & Remodeling" make sense to you?

By Hansen & Hill Interiors

Whether you are building a new home (custom or tract) or remodeling your current home, the endeavor can be challenging and daunting; and mistakes can be plentiful and costly. One of the secrets to having a successful experience (on-time, on-budget, finished project you love) is to put together a team of talented professionals to guide you through the process. Your team of experienced professionals may start with an interior designer, a builder, a contractor, or an architect. It doesn’t matter where you start as long as the professional has a collaborative attitude and understands the benefit of combining the talents and expertise of other qualified professionals early in the process.

So who are the professionals you should involve in your project and what value do they bring to the table? Although many architects, builders, contractors, and interior designers may have skills that overlap (e.g., creativity, design expertise, budget oversight, project management) each brings something different (e.g., their specific discipline) to the table, and sees the project from a different viewpoint. It is important to get input from all…in at least one session…together. Many of the relationships among team members are inter-dependent; decisions and input from one discipline are needed for another to complete their portion of the work. Involving the right team members will ensure your home is a comfortable, healthy, safe, and efficient living environment. A good architect, a good interior designer, and a good builder should not increase the cost, but will get you a better looking home, frequently eliminating unnecessary ornamentation, depending more on good lines and good design…and they can save you time and headaches in the long run.

When you are building a custom home or adding-on a room or two to your existing home, the architect’s input for maximizing space and traffic flow, as well as an attractive design, is invaluable and what they get paid for; but you determine what goes into the house according to your lifestyle and preferences…however, it may take a savvy interior designer to draw the latter out of you. The interior designer is often at these design sessions with the architect. Countless details for the interior finish-out have to be considered at this time and will affect how the rooms are designed and the plans are drawn.

The interior designer takes over where the architect leaves off, at the inside walls. The finishes, details, and materials are not usually included in the blue prints. Every component of the custom home’s interior must be selected by the homeowner in accordance with the production schedule to prevent costly construction delays. This can seem like an overwhelming task, so a big part of what the designer does is break this process down for clients, making it a step by step progression with each decision leading to the next. Designers pull it all together, making sure that the all the choices the client has made will work to create a cohesive interior scheme. They, also, create the special features that give clients’ homes a true custom look, such as intricate tile patterns, furniture-style cabinetry, and faux treatments. They have the skills to assemble samples, sketches, and mock-ups to help clients visualize how their choices are going to look, and the resources to research and locate any unique products a client wishes to use that might not be available from the usual suppliers. Working with a designer allows client’s access to products available To-The-Trade-Only that offer more cutting-edge design ideas, better technical information, and wider selections than the resources generally available to the public.

“As professional interior designers, we begin working with our clients in the planning stages along with their architect, builder and/or contractor, to facilitate the integration of our client’s life, style, ideas, wishes, needs, and budget into the design of their project. As a team, we use our individual talents, experience, and listening skills to develop the blueprints and specifications, render technical information and advice on the myriad of decisions that will need to be made, supervise the process, and create the vision of how the finished product will look and function.”

Submitted by Hansen + Hill | INTERIORS, Anita Hansen & Karen Hill

Anita Hansen and Karen Hill are interior designers who together formed their company Hansen + Hill | INTERIORS. They bring a wide range of knowledge to their business including building materials, textile composition, furniture construction, space planning practices, code considerations, and computer aided design (CAD) drawings. Extensively using technology, they help their clients visualize their projects before they are implemented. Their goal is to create interior environments that complement their client’s lifestyle and individual needs; integrating beauty and function, comfort and style. Their success is through using a collaborative team approach between the client and designer, and striving to make each project a journey to be enjoyed.

Anita and Karen were the designers for the Home Theater Room in the Landmark Builders 2009 Homearama house, which took 1st Place as "Best Use of Technology". They were on the 2006 & 2008 RPO Symphony Showhouse Designer Committee. This year, their Home Theater Room at the 2010 RPO Showhouse took 2nd Place as "Most Popular". Anita is a professional member of AIDP (Association of Interior Design Professionals), President of the Upstate NY AIDP Chapter, and on the National AIDP Board as chair of the Website Committee. Karen is an ASID Allied Member (American Society of Interior Designers). Anita recently completed the requirements as a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) through NAHB.