Behind the Design: BELLA VISTA ESTATE

We’re so excited to announce that our Bella Vista Project’s Design Book is complete! The project is now fully designed with exact measurements and drawings carefully illustrated, and ready to officially begin the remodeling process.

We sat down with our Junior Designer, Marti Diehl, to get some insight on what we can look forward to as this remodel progresses!

THE BEFORE

The client wanted to create a different feeling in their home. They have lived in this home for several years already and done some minor remodeling but had never got it to a point where they felt like it really made them feel comfortable and cozy. They also wanted to change or move some spaces to better meet their needs as a family.

THE DESIGN

I loved the process we went through to construct a better floor plan in the mudroom, pantry, kitchen, and dining nook spaces. There was a lot of room to work within this home, so we proposed some unique and purposeful spaces that are very custom to their needs as a busy family. For example, there are two pantries in the kitchen: one for the kids and one just for the mom. She’s so excited to have a very pretty space in the kitchen that her kids won’t even have to enter because it’s just for her.

WE CAN’T WAIT FOR…

I’m excited about the transformations that will happen in their new kitchen and great room space, as well as the primary bathroom! The kitchen is going to be reoriented to face their newly redone backyard (which is gorgeous). The primary bath will have a total upgrade with a much more open concept, a door to a private patio, a beautiful freestanding bathtub, and even a hidden makeup counter that was very important for our client to have in her space.

Be sure to check back in for the Bella Vista Project’s progress! We’re so excited to watch this project transform and present our clients with their luxury custom home! At Alisha Taylor Interiors, our clients and their satisfaction are our top priority, and we make sure to understand your ideal design vision to bring your dream home to life. We take pride in listening to your wants & needs and pay attention to every little detail to deliver the best results.

What to Expect at Your First Kickoff Meeting with Alisha Taylor Interiors

Congratulations, you’re ready to design with us! Right off the bat, we love getting together for a Kickoff Meeting to determine your expectations, design desires, lifestyle & priorities. This is also the time where we educate you on our procedures and processes, and the expectations of our journey together!

Before jumping into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to be 100% honest with your interior designer about your needs & desires during this process. This is a VERY personal project of yours, and we want you to love the final result and the experience.

Come Prepared

Lifestyle & Day-to-Day Preferences

Look into what your current lifestyle entails. What do you find yourself doing from day to day, weekly, or even on vacation? Do you have a routine? Do you host and entertain guests at your home? Understanding your lifestyle will allow us to formulate solutions, layout & materials that will best fit your home and the way that you live. We’ll ask you lots of questions about this but if you have thought this through before our kickoff meeting the conversation seems to flow smoothly and we can get at the right info more efficiently.

Describe Your Dream Home

Come to your Kickoff Meeting with your design priorities in mind. We like to ask this right off the bat, so we can make sure your priorities are our focus before designing your home. Perhaps your design priority is to have a personal and cozy feel, or maybe a luxurious sense with custom-made pieces. Or let’s say you prefer to entertain your guests, or your space to be functionally driven instead. It’s important to describe what you would like your home to look AND feel like. We use this information to decide on a creative direction based on your priorities and the vision you seek for your custom dream home.

Inspiration Photos

Although we design custom homes and develop very personalized designs for each client, we still request inspiration photos that you are drawn to. This helps us make sure what you’re verbally describing matches what you visually are attracted to. These inspiration photos can be as broad or as detailed as you like, such as an entire kitchen concept or a specific cabinet handle. These photos can also represent the color palette you are most drawn to. A few great resources for inspiration photos are on Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz, and our website. Collect as many as you can, we’ll take whatever you have whether it’s 5 or 500. Having these inspiration photos available at your Kickoff Meeting will get our team started on brainstorming and architecturally visualizing your dream home.

The Kickoff Meeting is nothing to be stressed about! This meeting is just about getting to know you and the expectations of your custom home. Think of it as sitting down with friends having a fun conversation. We guide the entire meeting so there’s no stress on you. These meetings are fun! We get excited for each and every one of our clients because it’s such a personal and exciting experience, and we love making your dreams a reality!

Our interior design projects are individualized to create a true sense of place, reflecting the desires, personality, and style of the clients that put their home in our hands. Are you ready to see if your project is a good fit for the Alisha Taylor design team? Contact us here!

Our Podcast Interview with AFT Construction

I had the privilege to sit down with Brad Leavitt, with A Finer Touch Construction, to discuss the behind-the-scenes of designing a New Build Project and creating a Dream Team on the AFT Construction Podcast!

Listen in as I give my thoughts on educating and setting expectations with our clients. I explain why embracing the role of an interior designer as a facilitator is more important today than at any other time due to changes in the industry brought on by the turbulent circumstances of the last year and a half. Brad and I unpack the reality that “there’s nothing more expensive than a cheap bid.”

We discuss that our biggest challenge right now is simply educating a client on what to expect from the new build process. The market is absolutely bananas, and prices are always changing. The ideal client understands that there’s no set number when it comes to building their custom home. They understand that they are hiring the right team, not a number or a bid.

We really try to be upfront, honest, and transparent with our clients, whether it’s how we design or how we charge, and what the industry looks like. We design custom luxury homes every day, and the client doesn’t. So, when they’re coming to us looking for that right builder or keep talking about bids, we’re not afraid to pump the brakes on that conversation, educate them about trust and reputation in the industry, and how important it is to choose the right builder, not just the cheapest one.

In this podcast, we dive into much more about our processes and systems, our personal aesthetic, and how we are navigating today’s supply chain and the everchanging industry of interior design. At Alisha Taylor Interiors, our goal is to make each one of our clients feel at home in their living space. Through our personalized design process, we work to create homes that are unique, timeless, and reflective of the people who live in them.

Listen to the Podcast Interview here: