Why Should You Hire a Design-Renovate Firm?
As a design-renovate firm, our specialty is designing and renovating existing spaces. We love blending creativity, experience, and problem-solving skills to transform dated floor plans into beautiful homes designed for modern-day living.
At CKD Remodeling, we are a husband-wife duo that serves as your General Contractor and Interior Designer all under one roof. This gives us several huge advantages to hiring one or both of these positions individually.
Today, I’m sharing all the benefits of working with a design-renovation firm, but first, let me introduce the faces behind this team…
Who Designs & Who Renovates?
Steve Abbott, Contractor
Steve is our General Contractor and Kitchen Designer at CKD Remodeling. Several decades ago, he started his career as a cabinet fabricator and installer. As his client list grew and he received countless rave reviews, he took the step to become a full-fledged General Contractor with a passion for kitchen design. (It’s probably because he’s a fantastic cook!)
Sarah Abbott, Interior Designer
That’s me. I’m the Interior Designer at CKD, and this isn’t my first rodeo. Back in Atlanta, I used to run a full-service interior design firm and custom drapery workroom. When Steve and I decided to join forces, I knew that his construction experience and my design experience were the perfect match for clients looking to hire us to give them the complete remodeling experience. Which brings us to…
What’s the Advantage of Working with a Design-Renovate Firm?
1. Clear Leadership
There are two ways to approach hiring a designer and general contractor for your renovation. You could hire each professional individually and hope they work and promptly communicate. You may end up with competing visions, duplication of effort, and a greater possibility for human error (which can be expensive).
OR, you could hire a design-renovate firm that is the single source of leadership for creating and implementing the design and construction. A design-renovate firm works with our own well-vetted tradespeople and suppliers that support our vision and report directly to this one leader — who, of course, reports to you.
With CKD: We prefer Option 2 because your project, efficiency, budget, and personal time will benefit from working with a single leader. We maintain control over all aspects of the project, and the responsibility of the entire project falls on us.
2. Increased Efficiency
Any renovation project has the potential for mistakes and miscommunications that lead to extended timelines and greater costs. For example, if a designer orders cabinets that won’t be on-site to install for a few months, the contractor may have to significantly rearrange his schedule, which may (and will) cause a more significant delay.
With CKD: Because we’re both in-house, the designer and general contractor work together from Day 1. That means we are on the same page with planning, ordering materials, overseeing trades, and managing the timeline and installation. As a result, your renovation will move along with optimized efficiency.
3. Easy In-House Communication
Have you ever tried to get a group of friends together for dinner? It isn’t easy. You have to go back and forth until you can agree on a time and place…and it can be exhausting.
That’s how it is working with individual professionals. Unfortunately, sorting out details via text, emails, and phone calls with multiple people who have their own interests in mind isn’t an effective way to make decisions. Instead, it allows for a greater opportunity for miscommunication.
With CKD: Our small team works closely together, which makes communication quick and accurate, and our communication revolves around the best possible outcome for you — not for us. We also prevent unnecessary back and forth by anticipating and communicating about potential problems well in advance, such as evaluating load-bearing walls to develop floor plans.
4. Accurate & Realistic Estimates
Investing in a renovation is a big deal, and when you work with a contractor and interior designer separately, it’s hard to gauge your total investment accurately. Estimates can also fluctuate more as the project continues, and you may be left investing more than you had planned.
With CKD: Everything is done in-house, including the estimate for your entire project. We’ve spent years building trusted relationships with tradespeople and suppliers that provide us with accurate forecasts so that you can have peace of mind about your exact investment.
We aim to stick to the original estimate unless there are unforeseen problems with the structure, surprises behind the walls, or if you happen to change your mind halfway through construction.
5. Trust At Any Distance
If you’re a snowbird, you’re probably hesitant to leave your renovation in the hands of multiple people over the summer months. That would mean spending most of your time talking back and forth with various professionals, trying to get accurate progress updates. That doesn’t sound like a carefree summer to me.
With CKD: Everything is under one umbrella, so when you’re away, you can trust that we have the situation well in hand. You get consistent updates from us (without needing to remember to check in) and we’ll finalize as much of the work as possible (including furnishing!) before you’re ready to fly down and enjoy it. For example…
We recently completed the kitchen reno above in Milton, Florida for a client who lives up north. We did all the design work up front, shared our plans for approval, and ordered everything before our client left the area. Once work started, we communicated with her frequently via phone and sent her video updates as we hit milestones, like removing a wall. And it all turned out perfectly!
So, how about you? Are ready for a team that has our processes buttoned up, our people licensed and approved, and everything under one roof? If so, we’d be delighted to meet you. Book a complimentary discovery call with us, and let’s see if we're a good fit for your project.
Warmly,
Sarah & Steve