What is Full-Service Interior Design & Is It Right for You?
When you see a Before & After on TV or the internet, it’s meant to look and feel amazing, and easy! You see a bland Before and an instant later, an incredible After. What don’t you see…?
All the work in the messy middle.
If I dissect what actually happens when creating a fully-fledged home design (with or without renovation), the work goes far beyond creating flat lays and flipping through fabric samples. It’s not an overnight refresh either… it includes detailed decisions, precise plans, endless phone calls, troubleshooting and problem-solving, and of course, the labor required to bring your relaxed, meaningful home to life.
This is what we do for our clients in Full-Service Interior Design. Today, I’m showing you behind the scenes so you can decide if it’s right for you. To start, we can break it up into three totally separate services, which we call phases:
- Conceptual Design
- “We’re the Store” + Consulting & Concierge
- Event Planning + Reveal Day
Phase 1: Conceptual Design
During the first phase of your project, we will meet with you and source every single material and furnishing that will compete your design. From tile to wallpaper, sofas to art, we select the perfect pieces to bring your dream space to life.
To illustrate our selections, we will use a combination of 3D modeling and renderings, floor plans and conceptual boards. At the tail end of this phase, we present the concept to you for approval.
Phase 2: “We’re the Store” + Consulting & Concierge
At the start of the second phase of a project, the design concept has been approved, so there is little to no additional design during this phase. We begin to procure most of your big items from the manufacturer.
We generally work through our Showroom to custom order furnishings (more on the “shop the showroom” experience here). For each item that will go in your home, we make the purchase (soo much paperwork– this is not ordering online!), track shipping, receive the pieces at our receiving warehouse, inspect the items, manage any damages, dispose of the packaging, protect and store the items, and make about a zillion phone calls along the way to keep the project on track.
This is a heavy administrative phase for us that saves many, many hours of your time — and saves you from stress, too. We make it all happen behind the scenes and serve as your concierge service, preparing for the big reveal.
If there are any renovations taking place in addition to furnishing the space, we will ensure the job gets done correctly. Through regularly visiting the job site and being the first call for your General Contractor, we manage the project for you from start to finish. Again, this is heavily administrative and consultative in nature. A lot happens during construction, and troubleshooting after demo is a real part of the job — and again, saves you time and stress!
Phase 3: Event Planning + Reveal Day
As we approach the exciting Reveal Day, we treat this as an event planning process. We check all the expediting boxes, making sure everything has arrived and is ready for delivery. We line up our trades — handymen, electricians, wallpaper installers, assistants etc. — to make sure we have everyone we need on the day (or days, if we’re designing a full home) of installation.
During this phase, we shop for all styling items that were not on the original design concept. While often overlooked, styling is sometimes the most transformative part of a project, the part that brings a space to life and makes the house feel like home.
We spend almost a full day shopping retail for all of the accessories, then sorting them, packaging them for safe delivery, then storing them in our warehouse in an organized fashion so we can be ready for the big day.
I know it sounds magical, but in reality, the installation before your big reveal is… chaos! Believe me, you don’t want to see it. (Inside Scoop: This is, by far, the most labor intensive part of the project. Equal in time to the first phase, if not more so!)
During installation, we ask our clients to turn the keys over to us, so they don’t have to see this messy part. Then we give them the heads up when it’s time for the big Reveal. We either welcome them home personally, or leave the house styled beautifully, waiting for their arrival.
Final Project Wrap-Up
Once the reveal is complete, our clients have a day to decide what they’d like to keep out of the accessories we supplied, and then we spend at least half a day sorting and returning everything we did not use.
There you have it — an overview of the Full-Service Interior Design process and all that it includes. I know this blog post was almost as quick as a 30-minute home transformation on TV, but it is not uncommon for a Full-Service Interior Design Project to include 80 hours of our time, or more, depending on scope. What you might see in a 30-minute show is the highlight reel, sped up for a made-for-TV moment. There is SO much that goes in to a project that feels turnkey for you, the client.
And if you ask me, the journey and experience of going through this process with us is just as meaningful as the final result. Even though we take the work off your hands, it gives you the chance to discuss your priorities as a family, discover what feels most meaningful to you, and dream up a final space where you can live, connect & make memories better than ever.
It’s an experience filled with peace and excitement, one that brings you together for deeper, more meaningful connection — during the process and every day after.
xoxo,
Shawna
Styleberry Creative Interiors specializes in fresh, relaxed design crafted in a meaningful way. With a team and process you can trust, we’ll help you create soul-soothing spaces that inspire you to unwind, connect, and finally… exhale.
Styleberry Creative Interiors is based in downtown San Antonio, Texas. We serve clients in the Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, greater San Antonio Metropolitan area and Nationwide with Full Service and Virtual Design.
