WE’D LOVE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
Please get in touch with us to discover more about why Slifer Designs is unique. In the meantime, here are answers to some of the more common questions we often are asked.
Why should I hire Slifer Designs?
You benefit from hiring a professional interior designer who can take care of everything for you. With our turnkey services, we offer you time to enjoy your home. In addition, by hiring Slifer Designs you are guaranteed creativity, versatility, integrity, punctuality, and happiness. Guaranteed.
Who will be my contact?
Your primary contact will be one of our interior designers, all of whom have at least five years design experience and some of whom have more than 20 years. Each designer has a team that includes design associates and production assistants. This ensures that if the interior designer is out of the office when you call, you will always be able to talk with someone who knows your project’s status.
How involved do I have to be?
Typically, we start the process with an in-person meeting at our design studio, where you can see our retail showroom and extensive resource library. After the initial meeting, you decide how much time you can and want to devote to the process. Some clients are more involved than others. If you don’t have the time or the inclination – and many of our clients don’t – we keep you informed of all the design decisions we make. If you have the time and want to stay involved, we will include you in the decision-making processes; for example, we’ll email you fabric swatches or fax you dining room chair designs. Our policy is that we will work with you as much – or as little – as you prefer. We are also available to meet with you at your home to see the project and conduct a walk-through.
How will we communicate throughout the process?
Phone, email, fax, express mail, overnight mail, in person… We’ll do whatever it takes to let you know how the job is progressing.
How do you charge for a residential interior design job?
We have several pricing models. We can charge Slifer Designs retail pricing with no design fee or hourly charges, or we can charge designer net pricing with an additional design fee. To start working on your project, we require a signed contract and a retainer. We prepare a detailed budget proposal for your approval; a deposit on the approved budget proposal is required before we begin ordering for your home.
What if remodeling is involved? Or, what if it is new construction and we need to choose fixed finishes and need interior drawings created?
For minor remodeling, the designer charges an hourly fee. For new construction, or an involved project that requires additional technical expertise, our interior architecture department prepares a separate proposal that can be priced a variety of ways including hours, a fixed fee, or a not-to-exceed fee.
Do you offer “green design”?
We have a Green Team made up of designers and employees who are passionate about environmental sustainability, both in interior architecture and residential design. Green design touches all aspects of design, from selecting fabrics, carpeting, and furniture made from renewable resources to selecting low-VOC finishes and healthy building materials. At Slifer Designs, we enjoy partnering with architects and builders who are also experts in green design. Over the years we have developed a database of vendors and companies that offer sustainable products.
I heard you have an architecture department. Does this mean you can design the whole house, including exteriors?
The Slifer Designs interior architecture department focuses on interiors. We are experts at space planning, kitchen and bathroom designs, fixed finish selections, and construction documents. We enjoy working with your architect and making sure the overall floor plan will work with our proposed furniture layout, which is why it is important to assemble your design team at the beginning of the process, in case minor adjustments need to be made.
Tell me how the large size of your firm benefits me.
Slifer Designs’ size benefits you in a number of ways:
• We have an extensive resource library that lets you touch or see every imaginable fabric, hardware, fixture, and trim piece.
• Our 20,000-square-foot warehouse affords us space to store items until they can be installed, which streamlines project logistics.
• Because our large design staff works in teams, there’s always someone available for you to speak with regarding your job.
• Our retail stores offer beautifully arranged vignettes to give you design ideas.
• Our finance department works hand-in-hand with your design team to keep the job on track.
We’re a large firm for a reason. We continue to make our clients happy, and they refer friends and family – and come back to us with their next project.
What if I don’t know what look or style I want?
This is not uncommon. Our designers are highly trained to assess your needs and desires right from the first meeting. We’ll ask you lots of questions about how you use your home and how you like to live in it. You’ll spend a lot of time with us looking at photos in our portfolio and walking through our showroom, a process that reveals your likes and dislikes. We also suggest that you look through national and regional magazines like House and Garden, Elle Décor, Traditional Home, Veranda, Architectural Digest, Western Interiors and Design, Estates West, Mountain Living, Colorado Homes and Lifestyles and LUXE.
For more information, please contact us.
