What to expect at our first meeting
by Devan Miller
POV: You’ve filled out our form on our website, and we have an appointment scheduled to come out and see your home; you have read our blog post on “What to Brainstorm Around Before our First Meeting,” but you’re left wondering “what does that first meeting entail?” Well, today is your lucky day; let me tell you what to expect.
The Purpose/Goal
The first thing that we want to explain is the purpose and/or goal of this meeting. If the location allows, we like to come out to your home during this first meeting. Sometimes, depending on where you live, we will have our first meeting over the phone. In either instance, we are aiming for the same end result – to listen to how you describe your wants and needs and to absorb any and all emotion in your voice when communicating your frustrations. The more we know about what isn’t working for you, the better we can suggest how we can help.
Our First Meeting
There are times when we walk into the house, and the homeowner says, “where do you want to start?” And to that, we say “walk us through your space and your vision”.
From the get-go we like to hear your thoughts and your feelings, uninterrupted by an outsider’s point of view so that we can start to envision the changes that you are wanting to make.
Once you have explained what you are wanting, there will likely be a list of follow-up questions, such as:
- Do you need more storage, or do you feel you have enough?
- Do you need more countertop space, or is what you have adequate?
- Does your kitchen typically have one or two cooks at a time?
- Do you know what materials you are thinking of for the area? (flooring, tile, metal finishes, etc..)
- How many people do you want to sit with on an everyday basis? Do you host holidays? If yes, how many do you need to seat at that point?
These questions change with each person, their vision, and what information we feel is helpful to gather. This will allow us to offer our design recommendations in alignment with the end goal in mind.
**NOTE: you are allowed not to know the answer to these questions!
Once we hear your vision for post-remodel, we will discuss the next steps for us that comes with two options.
Option ONE | Ballpark Estimate
Option one is a ballpark estimate. This is where we will take all of the information from the initial meeting and put together a purely educated estimate. This will come with a range of what the project is anticipated to cost.
Option TWO | The CP Estimate
Option two is a CP Estimate. The CP option is a comprehensive proposal that will provide you with a full set of construction drawings that we can revise until we end with a design you love.
We will use this drawing to have an on-site meeting with the necessary sub-contractors. The subs will come and look at the existing space and provide bids to us to make your home function better for you. This drawing phase does cost money as it takes our time but it will provide us with the most accurate estimate for you. This estimate will still include a range, but it will be narrowed as we will have refined the scope of work. One thing that we do that sets us apart is that we include a budget amount for every item including materials and finishes. Even though we haven’t selected your countertops yet, we will have a mid-range stone budgeted in the estimate. You will receive a proposal packet, and we will walk you through the provided information.
Measurements and Photos
While you think about which option you want us to proceed with, we will take some time to get detailed measurements and photos. Gathering this information is just as important as hearing your thoughts. This will allow us to have measurements we need to provide an informed estimate.
After measurements, we will reconvene and talk through the options again. If you have not decided, that is okay. You can always let us know via phone call or email. But the sooner we know which direction you would like for us to go, the quicker we can get you an estimate.
Getting the Project Started
This is where we part ways for now. We will go back to the office, load everything into our system, and get started. The timeframe for you to receive the ballpark estimate or the first version of the drawing will all depend on our workload at that time. We will give you an estimated time that we think it will be until we get it to you, but during this time we always welcome questions or other ideas. If we leave and a question we asked got the gears moving, let us know what your thoughts are! At the end of the day, our goal is to change the way you live! What better way to do that than to ensure we know and hear your wants and needs.
Feel free to PIN this graphic to reference later or to share with friends!
