ANNALINE
INTERIOR DESIGN
Initial Consultation
Site Investigation
At Annaline Interior Design our first step is to meet with you to ask questions and find out about your design/build/remodel and space needs. We will also take the time to introduce ourselves and let you know how our expertise can best serve you.
This first step in acquiring interior design services is called an “initial consultation”. A proper client-designer relationship should not take place without this step, whatever one should choose to call it. An initial consultation is basically what the name implies---a first meeting between the client and the interior designer. It is usually at the client’s property, and extends for a period of between 90 to 180 minutes.
Discussion on various topics such as the client's job, family, pets, and regular recreational activities helps enormously with getting to understand the client’s personality and lifestyle, which in turn helps with creating a space that is perfect for them. A great design is one that harmonizes with the client’s inner self, and enhances their lifestyle.
Next, site investigation, involves a more detailed discussion of the space being designed, built and/or remodeled. We will assess your current space and discuss what changes and additions are being considered. At this point, initial measurements will be made and colors and materials preferences will be discussed. We will also conduct informal interviews with those who will be using the space to enable us to help create an environment that best suit your needs.
This first meeting is very important as we are there to listen to your ideas and desires for your project. We need a lot of information from you; verbal descriptions of your likes and dislikes. We also would like you to provide us (if possible) with images that express your style and vision of what you would like your space to look & feel like; magazine pictures, web-sites, photographs, sketches etc. The more thorough you can be the better we will be able to provide a design contract that best suits your project.
Then, the basic parameters of your project, your budget, the general timing and our design fee will be agreed upon.
Initial Consultation Fee:
Our fee for a first consultation is $150 (meeting with a client at the site up to 3 hours long).
In the case of Annaline Interior Design, this initial consultation fee is a highly necessary part of the process and our clients don’t mind. We have found that doing so allow us to relax in the first appointment, roll our sleeves up right away and discuss detailed ways to address what our clients want to achieve. We have also found our full schedule does not allow us to buzz around Chicago, Illinois offering complimentary interior design consultations.
Sadly, some clients take advantage of designers that choose not to charge for the initial consultation. They ask for opinions on colors and room layout, and once receiving what they need, proceed to not hire that designer. The charging of a fee for an initial consultation is necessary for the services provided, time spent, and insurance for the designer should the client decide not to move forward.
The initial consultation is not just an opportunity to sell future services, but it is a critical part of the overall success of a project. There is one exception. You will see many ads promoting “free initial design consultation” in home improvement publications and online. In these instances, the “designer” is a salesperson whose goal is to sell a room's worth of product--- not to offer best and free design advice. Spending a complimentary hour with one of these sales reps usually does not provide any significant information, other than rough price estimates. It is a method of converting a client’s inquiry into a sale.