Where do I start? - Interior Designer, Draftsman, Architect or Builder?

This is a great question, starting the process is often the hardest part. Every project varies depending on its scale, so let’s break it down into 2 categories:

1 / New Build - If you are building a new home, I would recommend engaging an Architect or Draftsman to get the ball rolling with the shape & the footprint of the home. They are also responsible for obtaining council approval & any other formalities a new build might require. Once you are happy with the plans, but before council submission, I would recommend getting us to have a look over them from an interior point of view. We often see things in a different light with a key focus on how a user would experience the home both physically & visually. This is usually completed on an hourly rate so you don’t have to worry about committing to a full design fee just yet. I think it’s an important step to give you peace of mind that nothing will be missed.

2 / Renovation - If you are renovating an existing home, I would always hire the Interior Designer first. Alongside joinery design, lighting & material selections, we are able to help you with spatial planning & make improvements to the existing layout (this is our bread & butter). While if your renovation requires an extension or any structural changes we have a draftsman we work with to bring this to life for you.

Once you have the architecture and/or the interior design packages, I would then reach out to a builder for the tendering process. This is the easiest way for a builder to quote works & by far the most accurate as all the selections & design decisions have been made prior. We can also offer assistance throughout the tendering process as well.

Can you break down the ‘The Humbl. Offering’?

Of course! I know sometimes we use annoying ‘industry’ language.

- Spatial Planning involves us reconfiguring or designing your floor plan/layout.

- Lighting & Electrical planning involves us creating what we call an RCP (reflected ceiling plan). This is where we locate all types of lighting throughout, including light switch locations & nominating if they are a two-way switch, on a dimmer and how they are wired together (lighting circuits). We also select the lights & switches along with recommending the right lighting levels for each space. We think about how you are going to move through & use the space. Lighting is so important to get right and hiring a professional to create a lighting plan for you is so valuable! An electrical plan is much the same but instead we are locating all of your electrical items, this includes GPO’s (power-points), data, HDMI & TV points and so on. Every electrical item is placed with purpose.

-  Bespoke joinery design: joinery refers to cabinetry, so your kitchen cabinets for example are referred to as ‘joinery’. As an Interior Designer, we create bespoke joinery that is custom built and designed to your own personal needs & requirements, making each piece of joinery truly functional and aesthetically beautiful & unique.     

- Selection of materials, fixtures & equipment involves us selecting and scheduling anything required to build your project. Materials might include tiles, stone, paint colours, joinery finish, carpet etc. Fixtures refer to lights, door handles, joinery handles, sink, basin, power points etc and equipment might include, oven, cooktop, zip tap, rangehood, microwave, BBQ and so on.

- Internal & external paint selections: this one is pretty straight-forward, involving the selection of paint colours for each space and/or we can provide external paint recommendations as well. A house exterior is much more detailed and is so important to get right.

- Selection of furniture, soft furnishings, artwork & accessories: this is the decoration side of our business where we select furniture and decorative pieces (the list goes on really, we could select your cutlery if you wanted!). Along with this, we provide a pricing schedule and typically we would manage the ordering and delivery process for you too.

What is Humbl. Studios’ signature design aesthetic?

The great thing about Humbl. Studio is that we don’t project our own personal taste onto you. It’s your home, your dream and we are here to support & elevate it beyond your imagination. The finesse of harnessing what is going on in your mind and turning it into a beautiful & cohesive space that feels like you, is what we do best!

Can you tell me a little about your fee structure?

We tailor our fees relative to requirements of each different project. We typically work on a fixed fee but sometimes certain projects are more suited to an hourly rate agreement. Our fixed fees are broken down into 2-3 separate payments - depending on project size. Payment 1 - Upon sign-on, Payment 2 - Upon sign-off of schematic phase Payment 3 - Prior to documentation package being released. Our fees start from around $1500 and if an element of the fee is not completely suitable, we work with you to customise a suitable solution.

What will an Interior Designer give me that I can’t do myself?

I have written a piece outlining all the reasons why you should hire an Interior Designer here . But I will give you a snapshot - Hiring a designer provides you with trade access & trade pricing, helps you prevent costly mistakes, adds value to your home, helps to support a budget, help you to define your style, provides clever & unique ideas & importantly, saves you time, money & sanity! I think that is reason enough.

Why choose Humbl. Studio & what makes you different?

We pride ourselves on being a down-to-earth & ‘Humbl’ little studio, with the belief that design should be an accessible service to more people than just the ‘well to do’. We aren’t designers who complicate the process for the builders or trades - we prefer to build relationships & work together in order to create the best possible outcome for our client. We lean on a builder & joiner throughout the design phase to ensure that what we design & create for you is actually buildable. That is what we pride ourselves on.