Kenza Design

Step 1 : Tell us about your project via email or telephone
Step 2: Introductory Conversation
In this step, we develop a clear direction and scope for your project, your needs and vision. Great interior design is not done in a vacuum. It is done in a context. You, your dwelling, and how you live are the context. How many people live at home? Do you have children? Do you have pets? When you entertain is it usually family and friends or professional peers? Are you readers? Where do you like to sit when you read etc?
Step 3: Consultation
We’ll meet and greet in the comfort of your home, to establish the needed chemistry between the designer and client. During this meeting we will also discuss budget, payment, and timeline.
We take a site survey including measurements of your space noting electrical outlets, mantles, door swings, storage and so on. We walk a grid of your space while taking photos from every angle.
We determine the 'non-negotiables' and better understand the context – the architectural style and detail of the house, the flow of the space, the natural light, the interior style in other parts of the house. We’ll note the pieces you already have – forgotten, perhaps – that can be re-finished or re-purposed.
Of course the conversation will continue. Our questions will be more specific. You’ll help us to learn more about how you live and what is important to you and your family.
At this stage the client will sign a project agreement and pay design fee in full to enable us to go away and start the exciting design process.
The photos, measurements, and information we gathered prepare us for the next step.

Step 4: Design development
In this step, we will create a scaled plan-view of your space – a drawing of your room as if looking down from above. We focus first on the practical considerations like size, proportion, and function. We determine the optimal objects for and layout of the room.
We’ll meet again to review these preliminary plans. It is important to understand that the Plan View is a proposal. At this stage, we can easily experiment with furniture placement just by moving the pieces around.
This exercise ensures that we design a space that truly supports how you live – a dining room that is cosy for five and welcoming for the whole gang, or a living room where you can sit comfortably with a book while the kids stretch out on the sofa for a movie. It is the designer’s job to suggest alternative ways to achieve an aesthetic objective within the limitations of a project, whether it’s space, timeline, or budget. Good design is as much calculation as inspiration. Understanding what won't work is as important as knowing what will.

Step 5: Presentation/Proposal
In this step we develop a cohesive palette of colours, materials, textures, build and finish details. We choose paint and stain colours, fabrics, rugs, and lamps. We source or custom design furniture that suits both the context of your space and the look you want to create - turned or tapered table legs, smooth or hand-planed wood, crisp white or multi-layered antiqued painted finish, iron, ceramic, wood, or glass lamps? Knowing now how the space will be used and by whom, we can choose wisely to suit your needs – perhaps a heavier rug to stay in place when the dog won't, or sofa fabric milled to withstand spilled milk and wayward markers.
We will assemble all of the samples, photos, and drawings into a presentation that will allow you to ‘picture’ the room as it will appear when completed.

Step 6: Final Presentation
The Final Presentation is your plan – the result of the effort and hard work that began when you first told us about the room or home that you'd been dreaming about. This is your definitive guide to realizing that dream.
Every item in this presentation will be cross-referenced to a detailed description: the size, the wood or fabric, the finish, the knobs, the quantity, and the cost. Where necessary we will provide samples of the wood and the finish, fabric samples for upholstery and drapes, paint samples, and photographs. Such details must be expected and not overlooked. We do not want any surprises!
We’ve dotted our i’s and crossed our t’s, and are now ready for final step.

Step7 : Delivery and Installation
This is our final step, and certainly the most exciting! While you were waiting for the big day, we were planning, ordering and confirming, measuring, sewing, building, and finishing the various pieces designed just for you.
Everything you are expecting, as outlined in your final presentation, will be delivered and setup on the same day, after the completion of any preliminary site work – maybe new flooring, fresh paint, new window treatment, etc. Our senior designer will arrive with our installation crew to lay the rugs, place the furniture, hang the artwork, style the bookcases, set up the lamps – even to screwing in the light bulbs – and attend to all the finishing touches.
With the final presentation in hand you will be equipped to verify that every item delivered is exactly as ordered – no surprises!

We have witnessed many faces gradually change from a somewhat anxious concern, to a smile, to a big grin. As your room comes together, you'll see that our diligence up until this step has really paid off – your home looks and feels even better than you had imagined.