Our Residential Seven Step Process
Our clients come from all walks of life but each one values quality, attention to detail, and extraordinary service. They share a common desire for a beautiful, custom-built home that truly reflects their lifestyle and passions.
As you start down the path to building or renovating your home, you may fear that the final outcome may not turn out as planned. You worry about costs spiraling out of control and missed move-in dates. Or that shoddy workmanship may lead to expensive problems cropping up a year or two down the road.
We’re here to eliminate those fears. Like all of our past clients, you can rely on Decca Design Inc. to safeguard your time, money, comfort, and pride of ownership.
The secret to the success of every project hinges on taking the time to get to know you and your family so we fully understand your needs and your vision.
Your commitment to being involved in the design process helps guarantee your home becomes your oasis, completely tailored to your unique tastes and preferences.
We evolve the individual components of a house into the realization of a home. A comfortable, luxurious environment that you’ll be proud to call your own. A timeless home where you can both entertain and raise your family.
Custom Design and Renovation Projects Are Challenging
The most common frustrations with design and building experiences are usually:
- Lack of Accountability
- Work not completed on time
- Cost overruns
- Unresponsive or poor customer service
- Broken agreements/promises
- Lackluster Results
- Generic or common design
- Limited selection of products and finishes
- No design flexibility
- Feeling Overwhelmed
- Too many decisions
- Too much time required
- Too many suppliers and contractors to manage
By the time you realize you’ve placed your project in the wrong hands, it’s often too late.
Your Solution is an Attentive, Detailed, Full-Service Team
After years in the design and construction industry, witnessing these frustrations first-hand, we knew there had to be a better way. That’s how Decca’s Exacting Project Control System was born.
Our Exacting Project Control System alleviates all of these concerns, minimizing your time and frustration while protecting your budget and enhancing your results.
When you work with us, you can expect to receive:
Step-by-Step Guidance
- We act as a “tour guide” for your home, walking you through each phase of the design, build and finish.
- Together, we work through each design decision in the same order that your home will be built or renovated.
- We share the accumulated knowledge from our extensive project experience to guide you on the best approach and solutions to exceed your expectations.
- Our meetings are focused and efficient, with samples of most items available in our office ready for your hands-on review.
- Select from only the highest quality materials that fit within your budget.
- Your finished designs are conveyed using detailed 3D modeling and visualization.
- We can continue as Project Manager to execute your plan with qualified contractors. (Who better to manage your project than the people who developed your plan from the beginning?)
- Armed with the detailed specifications for your project, you can receive reliable, firm tenders or quotes.
- Our Exacting Project Control System helps eliminate cost overruns, scheduling issues, and product delivery delays.
- We stay involved every step of the way to make sure you’re thrilled with the final results.
You’ve waited for the right time to build/renovate your home. Now choose just the right team to make your building experience positive, invigorating, and satisfying.
Discover exactly what to expect when you work with Decca Design. Here’s an overview of the typical experience from our first phone call to the day you move into your new home.
1. Initial Consultation and Expectations
You call us and we briefly talk about your needs and expectations. If we both agree to proceed to the next step, we schedule a time to sit down and talk about your project in detail.
There’s no charge for this introductory meeting. We want to learn about you and what’s behind your decision to start the design process.
You’ll share what you need from your space (or what is currently not working). Together, we explore how your dream space looks, feels, smells, sounds. We want to understand how your space impacts every aspect of your business.
And of course, we talk about your expectations, timeline and budget.
If we’re on the same page regarding budget and outcomes, we prepare a formal proposal outlining the phases for the project. Once you agree to the proposal, we’re off and running!
2. Site Survey
Our first project meeting is usually at your space (assuming you already have a location selected for your new space).
This is when we discover firsthand how you work so we can design a space uniquely suited to you.
- What is your work flow process
- How do your teams interact
- What is your client experience
- How do your spaces interact
- How do you convey your brand
We pay attention to those things you don’t even notice anymore. By asking lots of questions and looking for connections, we zero in on the features and custom touches that make your office not just functional but remarkable.
3. Envisioning the Concept
The first step in this process is learning what you like — and don’t like. Using magazine photos, Pinterest boards, or Houzz digital ideabooks, you share photos of what you like and we help identify the common elements in each photo to get a sense of your overall style preferences.
We also set the ground work for our initial concepts by identifying the site conditions and/or limitations, applicable regulations, and site measurements.
Armed with this info, we go to work on our initial hand-drawn sketches of your office. As these concepts are refined, they evolve into computerized conceptual drawings. 3D drawings are used to visualize the overall space and dimensions.
By the time you’re ready to apply for permits and tender bids, you’ll have all the required information in a full set of drawings, including:
- site plans
- floor plans
- elevations
- perspectives
- sections details
4. Planning Every Detail
Regular weekly meetings are key to our Exacting Project Control System. Each week we take 60-90 minutes to focus on a specific stage or area of the project. Over the course of eight to 10 weeks, we’ll guide you through up to 1,500 decisions, covering every facet of your interior design.
Decisions can include:
- Exterior Finishes
- Plumbing & Appliance Schedules
- Millwork
- Door and Trim Schedules
- Finishing Schedules
- Paint & Flooring
- Electrical and Lighting
We strive to do what is best for our clients. We never waste time driving from supplier to supplier — it’s one-stop shopping directly in our office.
You can also rely on our experience and know-how to debate the pros and cons of each decision, plus the cost implications. By working through each decision in order and in stages, we keep you from getting overwhelmed, frustrated or burnt out.
It’s your dream space so let us help you stay excited about your project every step of the way!
The Design Finishing Binder
Every decision is documented, in detail, in your design finishing binder. It includes all of the building and product specifications and interior finishes, right down to appliance installation guides. The design finishing binder is the key to preparing a detailed budget and ensuring the stress-free execution of your project.
We can also compile a colour board to help you visualize all of the finish components of your space and how they relate to each other.
Copies of the binder and colour board live on-site during the build so that every tradesperson can see the final design plan and has all of the information they need to build and install every aspect of your commercial space.
Learn more about how we complete your interior design for commercial office space.
5. Execution
Our job doesn’t end once the design and planning are completed. We remain an active participant in the construction phase to ensure accuracy, overcome obstacles as they arise, and assist in modifications or product substitutions, if necessary.
Even at the build stage there can be design challenges – but on-demand access to our accumulated knowledge of your overall vision makes this potential obstacle minor.
If you choose to tender bids for construction, your chosen builder or general contractor is free to call us at any time for clarification on the specifications in our Exacting Project Control System. We can also do regular site visits to assist with your project construction.
If you’d like us to be more actively involved, we can also act as your Project Manager.
Instead of accepting a flat fee bid from a general contractor, we use our Exacting Project Control System to solicit bids and assemble a team of carefully vetted, qualified tradespeople.
We make sure your exact materials and finishes are ordered well in advance so you don’t have to worry about out-of-stock or slow-to-ship product holding up construction.
And we do frequent site visits to make sure everything stays on schedule and on budget, and aligns to our (and your) high standards.
Learn more about how we project manage construction for commercial office space.
6. Furniture and Furnishings
We start working on your interior decorating and stylizing during the construction stage so that your office is ready to move in quickly once construction is complete.
After studying your tastes, preferences and overall style, we present an overall concept for your furniture and furnishings, including sketches, fabrics, and a colour board.
Armed with these reference tools, we source all of the furniture, window treatments, artwork, and accessories to bring your space to life.
We can coordinate logo, vinyl and signage designs.
We are here to be of service to you and help to complete your space to reflect your brand and enhance your client experience.
7. Celebrate
Our clients become like family so it’s never really goodbye. After the build is done and you’ve moved in, you’re free to phone us anytime if you have a question or concern.
Your design finishing binder transforms into your maintenance manual, complete with:
- Finish schedules for everything that went into your space (paint colours, appliance models, etc.)
- Copies of all contracts, correspondence and design decisions
- Photographs
Working with Decca Design Inc. is a life-changing experience. Our every interaction is warm, supportive, and helpful. We enable our clients to create a space that goes beyond their expectations.