You know you need to make interior selections for your home… your builder is asking for them… but where do you start? Or maybe you’ve already made several design selections, but there are another two dozen that you didn’t realise you needed… and they all have to look good together.

Whether you’ve started your build project or are considering one in the future, there’s something you should know — there are HEAPS of decisions involved. No, not five to six… hundreds.

This fortnight, I want to share a bit more about our Design Organiser, who it’s for, and how it will help you make smarter interior selections for your forever home. If you prefer to soak up this information via video, I made this little overview for you. If you’re a reader (like me), keep reading…

Who is the Design Organiser Good For?

First, let’s get straight to who the Design Organiser is good for, so if it’s not for you, you can get off of this webpage and on with your life. 😉

All of our services are for women who are frustrated, tired, and potentially even embarrassed about their homes. Through our advice, complimentary resources, or hands-on assistance, we help you arrive at a forever home where you’ll love to live and feel proud to entertain friends and family.

Our Design Organiser shares this mission. But more specifically, it helps those of us (yes, I use this Design Organiser, too!) who are renovating, building, or extending a home. Does this sound like your situation?

• You are working with a builder
• You are trying to do the design and selections of your home yourself
• You may have some design help, such as a design consultation through your builder, but help is limited

If that sounds like you, let’s continue. (If you’re thinking, “Nadine, I just need help decorating!” — don’t panic. We have lots of resources available to you here and here.)

Revamping the kitchen layout? Installing flooring, benchtops, and tiles? Those are interiors selections that need to be made!

What Does the Design Organiser Include?

The Design Organiser is a 64-page printable PDF filled with sheets, charts, and valuable information for helping you make design decisions for every room of your home.

Most people think that there are just 5 or 6 decisions to make in a design project, but I know what’s ahead of you… there are hundreds of decisions to make. 

The Design Organiser gives you the structure to make these decisions, without leaving out anything important — for you or for your builder. For example, here’s one of our sheets for making Tile Selections:

Preview of our Design Organiser

Here, you can see various different tiling pattern choices that you might not know about otherwise. You can list the name of the shop at the top (especially helpful if you’re comparing options). You also have several options for different tile selections based on their role in your space… plus room to write all of the interior selections’ details, even commonly overlooked details like grout.

Overall, the Design Organiser prompts you on ALL of the selections you will need to make, so that there aren’t any surprises or impromptu (and potentially regrettable) decisions to make.

Don’t forget to select the hardware on joinery!

How does the Design Organiser Help You Make Smart Interior Selections?

1. More accurate quotes

If a builder is quoting your project and gives you “allowances”, this means that you have a certain amount of your investment allocated to specific aspects of your project. However, you should know that these allowances are often pretty low. They may cover the tile you just fell in love with; they may not.

The best way to get accurate quotes (and make sure your investment is resulting in the forever home you really want) is to consider your selections in advance.

The Design Organiser prompts you on these decisions, so you can consider them ahead of time, sleep on your choices, and make informed decisions with confidence. THEN, your builder can give you quotes that accurately reflect what would love to have in your home.

2. Smarter & more holistic decision-making

In addition to having time to process your decisions, the Design Organiser also allows you to compare options and pricing. When you’re at the shops, you’ll have a list of things to check and ask, such as the grout example I shared with you above.

You could even print the tile page 3 times for the 3 shops you’re intending to visit. When you’re home again, you can easily compare cost, style, or choose the best combination of tile selections for your space.

Some of the Design Organiser pages have simplified the process even further, such as the Appliances Selection page. I’ve listed the standardised size of appliances, so you can just circle the option you’re looking for and hand it to your builder later. Easy.

Having everything organised into one place also allows you to better make interior selections that feel more holistic and cohesive. You can quickly glance at all of the elements you’ve selected, instead of trying to remember which white you had selected from the thousands of options.

Making selections in advance also ensures that you have the proper electrical where needed… such as lighting up those pendants you fell in love with.

3. Clearer communication with your team

If you have hundreds of design selections to make, your builder has hundreds of design selections to remember! The more organised and well-documented your selections, the better communication will be all around.

This can help prevent future errors (that waste time and money), can decrease unnecessary back-and-forth communication, and can help you feel more confident about getting the forever home you’ve envisioned.

4. Heaps of money saved on design fees

All of these interior selections? They would take several days, even weeks, for professional designers to pull together… and their time and expertise is not cheap. (Rightfully so, as it’s a lot of work!) So if you don’t want to hire a designer, using the Design Organiser will help you make selections you love while saving you heaps and heaps of money on design fees.

Where Can You Get My Design Organiser?

At the moment, my Design Organiser is only available through Journey Home. It is currently formatted as a digital download template in which you can directly edit on your computer/iPad, or print all pages and add them to a binder, and reprint any pages you might need to compare shops or materials.

You can find my Design Organiser here.

I truly hope that this overview has helped you get a better idea of what your home project will include, especially if you’ll be working with a builder. If you have any questions, please feel welcome to book a 15-minute chat with me.

Or, download our helpful and complimentary guide 10 Steps to Selecting Materials for Your New Build or Renovation.

You deserve to be knowledgeable and confident as you design your home, but above all, you deserve to reach the forever home you’ve been dreaming about!

Yours,
Nadine