Who’s on my Home Design Team?
I recently sent a proposal for a new home design to a new client: Their reply to me was, “Wow. It is a little scary to see how much goes into all the details.” They were not wrong. It can be extremely intimidating to begin the process of building a home. There are so many people involved to get things right and keep a project moving. When working with The Pavilion Company, we are your main point contact for the duration of the project. What that means for you, as the homeowner, is that you don’t need to talk to the 50+ different specialty trades all by yourself. In reality, you could go the duration of your entire home project with really only needing to talk to around 2-5 people on a regular basis. Start with us, we will handle the rest. The chart below shows some of the key players that will come together to build your custom home or complete your remodel project.
It is so important to have your entire team together from the very early phases of a project, especially when looking to build a new home. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page in regards to project complexity, budget, and overall vision from the very beginning of planning, design, and eventually construction. Here is the breakdown of the key players shown above and their involvement as a part of your team.
The Dreamer (the client, aka YOU!) – There is no project without you. To embark on the journey of building a home or doing a significant remodel project to your home is a big commitment of both time, money, and emotion. All your team members rely on you to have the initial dream, then it’s up to us, the professionals, to facilitate that dream alongside of YOU!
The Pavilion Company – As the General Contractor and Builder, we are your quarterback. We will act as the leader for your project and be with you for the entire journey of both design and construction. You may need a recommendation for an architect or already have one in mind. We want to be a part of that selection and know who they are as soon as possible. Especially in new construction, there will be a design-pricing-design-pricing loop that will occur several times throughout the evolution of your project. Since we will be building the project, we need to keep up-to-date with the design, revisions, and pricing exercises in order to make sure goals from both aesthetic direction and construction costs are aligned from the early schematic phases of design. Before design even begins, it is not uncommon for the architect and builder to coordinate on the initial feasibility study of a property. Whether you are building a home from scratch or thinking of a whole-home remodel, a certain level of feasibility study is required.
Once design begins, The Pavilion Company will be an active participant in multiple rounds of pricing all the building systems, foundation elements, and interior finishes while also determining the preliminary scheduling of the overall project timeline. We will be with you from the day you decide to do a project to the day we hand you the keys to your completed home.
Architect – Your architect is a critical team member for your home project. Even if you are not building a home from ground-up, it is very likely that even in a substantial remodel project, you will need an architect on your team. They will not only be a key player in providing the aesthetic direction of your home, but they will also handle the required documentation for city communication and obtaining any applicable building permits. They will also coordinate directly with any specialty trades such as land surveyors, geo-techs, structural engineers, civil engineers, etc. as they pertain to your project. The Pavilion Company will be working parallel to the architect and to each major design element or trade needed so that pricing, design, and overall constructability is aligned every step of the way. You should expect to have both your builder and your architect to work closely together to fulfill your project.
Interior Designer – Your interior designer is another critical team member for your home project. So not confuse this role with “interior decorator”. The interior designers at The Pavilion Company are technically trained and contribute to all aspects of the overall aesthetic vision for the project. They will participate in most meetings involved in overall design of the home with their primary focus being the interior experience of every area of the project. The interior designer will design and document the interior space planning, materials & finishes for every room, lighting/ceiling plans, lighting and plumbing fixtures, and anything else pertaining to interior spaces. That said, it is not uncommon for interior designers to collaborate on exterior features as well since design needs to corroborate a seamless vision of both interior and exterior design. We have created a Collaborative Design Agreement that is reviewed at the onset of a project, so that both Architect and Interior Designer are working together on the overall vision of your home, without having unnecessary overlap. You should expect to have your builder, architect, and interior designer to work closely together. In addition to typical design-build companies, the interior designers at The Pavilion Company are highly focused on the significant lifestyle upgrade that is your project. We will also select, design, and procure any soft furnishings or related lifestyle elements (think plates, accessories, etc) that contribute to a truly completed home. The Pavilion Company considers a project completed when the space is truly ready to use – sheets on the bed, furniture in the living room, dishes in the cabinets, & soap in the shower. Our best projects are the ones where we’ve touched both the foundation and the final pillow.
So when do you connect with who? See the suggested timeline below on when to get in touch.
