How the first meeting at the studio works

How the first meeting works: the short answer

The first meeting with a designer is a conversation about the brief: where and how the family lives, the budget set aside, and the daily routines the layout needs to account for. Based on it, both sides decide whether to move ahead with an interior design project, and the designer gives an estimate of the timeline and scope of future work. The meeting commits neither side: work on the project begins only after a contract and an advance payment. It's the first step in the process, ahead of the technical brief and the technical documentation.

If the question is a focused one and a full project isn't needed yet, the studio offers a separate paid format for that: a design consultation. Below is how the two formats differ in practice.

The first meeting: getting acquainted before an interior design project

Before an interior design project begins, the designer gets acquainted with the brief and the property: discussing the budget, constraints, and how the family will live in the space after the renovation. This isn't a presentation of ready-made solutions, which come later, at the brief and layout stage, but a conversation that determines whether the interior design project format suits the specific task. The meeting doesn't always end in a signed contract: it comes at no extra cost, and the only part billed as a stand-alone service is the designer's visit to the property.

The conversation is structured in three stages. At first the studio listens more: asking about the property, what kind of house or development it is and what the floor area is, about the target start date, what the client likes and wants to change in the current interior, and whether the renovation is planned all at once or in stages. Then the studio presents itself and completed projects similar in scale and style to the client's brief. After that come open questions from both sides.

The meeting is held wherever it's easiest to talk through the specifics. Most often that's the studio itself: a meeting room, the office or a lounge area. If that doesn't work, a neutral venue is chosen instead: a rented conference room or a quiet café. A visit to the client's site is also possible. The meeting usually takes an hour to ninety minutes, sometimes up to two, depending on the property and how detailed the conversation gets. If both sides agree to move forward, the next step is the contract, the advance payment, and moving on to the brief.

A paid design consultation is a different format

If what's needed isn't the start of a project but an expert answer to a specific question, assessing an existing layout, checking a solution or getting a recommendation with no obligation to continue, the studio offers a separate service: a design consultation. It's billed by the hour at two levels, designer or Chief Designer, with multi-hour packages available. The outcome of the meeting is concrete recommendations on the stated question, delivered as a stand-alone paid product rather than part of the preparation for an interior design project.

What's discussed at the meeting

The first meeting keeps three topics in focus: the scale of the brief and the property; an estimate of the timeline for the whole interior design project, set out separately in the article “How long an interior design project takes: real timelines by stage”; and the scope of the future project, from the technical brief to the technical documentation, described in detail in the article “Interior design project: a full breakdown”. This is also where the designer asks how the family lives: who uses the space and how, what matters for storage and for hosting guests. All of it will form the basis of the technical brief if the project goes ahead.

What questions to ask the designer

The conversation becomes more concrete when a proposal is compared by scope rather than by the bottom-line figure. Here are questions worth keeping in mind at the meeting, or bringing along when comparing several studios:

• How many layout options are included in the project? The basic package usually includes one, the extended package several: the choice is there so the client can compare different ways of using the space rather than settle for the only solution offered.
• Is there photorealistic 3D visualisation, and how many angles are there per room? Some proposals use collages instead of visualisation: they're faster and cheaper, but show proportions and volume less clearly.
• Is technical documentation included, and to what extent? Just plans, or also wall elevations, junction details and building services sections: electrics, ventilation, plumbing. This is what the construction crew works from later.
• Are there schedules for purchasing materials and furniture? Beyond the specifications attached to the drawings, this is the document you actually take into the procurement stage.
• Are drawings for custom-made pieces developed? Built-in furniture, decorative surrounds, non-standard ceiling details, and how far the detailing goes.
• Is design supervision included in the proposal, and for how long? This is on-site monitoring of whether the renovation matches the project: a separate service that isn't always included in the price of an interior design project.

It's also worth clarifying what an interior design project doesn't include and would need to be ordered separately: construction and installation work is carried out by a contractor, the purchase and delivery of materials, furniture and equipment is furnishing and procurement, and monitoring whether the renovation matches the project on site is design supervision. Different studios bundle these three services into their proposals in different ways, so comparing a single figure usually shows nothing.

How to prepare for the meeting

It helps to put the brief into your own words in advance and to set a budget: the overall figure and, if it is already broken down, the figure by zone. Useful documents include an official measurement plan or any existing floor plans of the property. If preferences on style, fittings, colour and materials have already taken shape, it is worth bringing them along with references: this makes the conversation concrete and shortens the meeting.

What happens after the meeting

The first meeting commits neither side to anything: its outcome determines whether the conversation about an interior design project continues. If the format suits the brief, the next step is a contract and an advance payment, followed by the technical brief: the conversation turns into the start of the process. If the question is a focused one, or the decision needs time, both sides can instead move to a design consultation as a stand-alone product.

You can discuss your brief and arrange a meeting time through the “Design project enquiries” form. This is the first step towards getting to know the studio.