The talent of the designer in blending colour and light with form and function is of paramount importance to every home renovation.  A well placed window that takes full advantage of morning sunlight costs no more than a window that misses the sun entirely. While you could have enjoyed mornings in your breakfast room, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, poor design denies you the chance.

 For some projects, a good drafting service should be more than enough. For others, it’s an interior designer, an architect, an architectural technologist or maybe a renovation contractor. There’s no right or wrong answer... as long as the professional you pick can show proof of success with exactly the kind of project you have in mind.

Failing to recognize the importance of design, some homeowners hire an "inexpensive" designer to help keep costs down. The thinking goes something like this: "I have no idea what this is all going to end up costing me and I don’t want to spend too much up front on design to find out!" 

In fact, less cost up front may end up costing more down the road because, all things being equal, it costs no more to build good design then it does to build poor design. Yes, it’s true that over-design can cost money unnecessarily, but over-design isn’t good design... nor is it design that’s been prepared to a budget.

The thing to remember is that good design is the basis on which quality is built. It looks good, feels good and wears well over time... whereas poor design means results that prove to be less inviting than they looked on paper. And no amount of expensive finish can make up for the difference.

It's often been said that "any architect can produce wonderful things with an unlimited budget".  

So, if you're in the process of interviewing architects or designers for your project don't be afraid to ask the following 3 questions:

1. What assurance do I have that the drawings and specification that you've prepared for my project will be within my budget?     

2. What happens if the contractor estimates for the work that you design are beyond my budget for this project? 

3. Will your plans and specification be complete and detailed in such a way that I do not have to worry about cost increases once the project gets underway?