Remodeling is a big event, whether you are planning to update your kitchen or looking to expand your forever home, there are many design decisions you need to consider before starting your project. Home remodels or custom builds take time (and money) and can be overwhelming when you don’t have the right plan in place. That’s where GMT comes in.
With over 22 years in the remodeling industry, we know how to transform our customers' visions into creative and practical realities. We do this by combining our time-tested design practices with state-of-the-art technologies. To give you some insight into how GMT’s design process works, we interviewed Project Coordinator Carrie Travis.
Q: Can you walk me through the design process for a typical project?
A: Our first step is to understand what our client wants to accomplish with their new space. We ask about their design preferences, their lifestyle, and how they wish to utilize their homes.
We work with clients who want design services only or we work in what is called design/build. In design/build, we pull in one of our contractor partners at the very beginning of the process to get a sense of costs. The goal is to come to a fixed price remodeling agreement once the project moves to construction.
We have kitchen and bathroom questionnaires to determine their appliance and fixture preferences. Houzz.com is an incredible resource for us and the homeowners. They can create ideabooks for different spaces and we help them narrow down their choices. We also talk about what they are wanting to invest in the project. We can design anything anyone wants, but we want to be mindful of the budget.
We come out and measure the home and take a ton of photos, so we can enter the existing conditions into our Chief Architect software. When working on the new schematic design, we are considering all of the information gathered in these initial meetings. Our schematic design presentation is lots of fun. We project the design on our large conference room wall, or we have a virtual presentation where clients are able to see our screen on their computer. This is a working meeting where we can make changes as necessary.
Once the schematic design is complete and budgets are established, we move on to construction drawings which is what the project is built from and what is needed to pull all building permits. We have a structural engineer as a part of our team and our CDs are very detailed and easy to build from.
Q: What do you think are the most important considerations when designing a house?
A: If the project is an addition to the home, you want it to look like it’s always been a part of the house. When designing, we care deeply about the flow and function of the home. It’s vital to imagine how our clients will be using their new space. We love collaborating with our clients and contractors to be aware of budget parameters and it’s key to stay on top of them.
Q: How long does the design process typically take?
A: Typically, design takes 3-4 months from the beginning of the process to the end. Please feel free to call us with any questions!