Have you ever wondered exactly what IS online design? Have you thought about working with an interior designer to help you upgrade your current or new-to-you home? Did you change your mind because you felt that it was too expensive?
Many interior designers and decorators have design service options that will work with any home design project investment level. Enter Online Design. Or you can call it Virtual Design, E-design, or even Remote Design. This is a less expensive alternative to working with an interior designer for full service design.
Those of us who offer e-design services take just as much care with the design of your space as we do with our full-service clients. The difference is that we don’t execute the design. You do.
You get the same attention to detail, the same design skills and expertise, and the same personalized decor as full-service design. We don’t come to your house and everything is done through email and video chat. That means you can work with Diva by Design even though we may not live near each other!
WHY CHOOSE ONLINE DESIGN?
You are in control of how long it takes to finish your room. Once you receive all your e-design materials, you can begin. Or you can wait until you are ready. It all depends on you. Guess what? You also don’t have to have a huge furniture budget or spend your entire investment all at once.
You get to have all the fun of re-creating our design yourself and on your own timeline.
Plus, you decide whether or not to buy the pieces I have added to your design as-is, or you can use it as inspiration and find alternatives. Your choice! I promise not to be offended if you change something. After all, it’s your house and you need to be comfortable in it.
Another reason to choose e-design over traditional interior design is your personal comfort level. Not everyone likes to have a person come to their house and look closely at their space. It can be intimidating.
Also, you might feel like you have to clean every time they are going to show up. You don’t have to schedule any appointments, and you don’t have to make sure you can be there during working hours. Another benefit is that neither one of us will have to disinfect anything or wear a mask for added safety.
You are getting the educated expertise of a professional interior designer in a way that works with your budget. We do all the design and sourcing work to create a personalized space that you will love coming home to and that’s it! You don’t have to pay for the time it would take for us to order, take delivery, and execute the design. Now that you know what IS online design…
HOW DOES ONLINE DESIGN WORK?
- Decide what you need help with: floor plans, accessorizing, paint and finish colors, or an entirely new room design.
- Choose one of our design services that fits your investment level and needs, click the payment button and once you purchase you will then have a link to my Interior Design Questionnaire.
- Fill out our questionnaire with as much information as you can think of (one word answers are too short!). Email the answers along with photos of your space, measurements, and inspiration pictures of rooms or design features that you like.
- We will look over everything and then send an email to schedule a video chat or phone call to go over your information to make sure we understand your vision and have everything we need to begin.
- Next, sit back, relax, and wait for your personalized design to arrive! (It takes about 2-3 weeks for a full e-design to be completed.)
WHAT IS ON THE INTERIOR DESIGN QUESTIONNAIRE?
You will answer questions about your color likes and dislikes. Also, there will be lifestyle questions. What you like to do in your free time and things like that. We ask about your family and who lives in the home (including pets).
We want to know what design styles you like and more. It may sound intimidating, but these are the same questions we ask in our in-home design consultations. We need to get to know as much about you as possible so that your finished e-design looks like you and not a cookie-cutter, one size fits all design.
WHAT DO I GET WITH MY ONLINE DESIGN?
Would it help if I said, “That depends.”? Just kidding! What it does depend on is the package you choose. We have three.
MATERIALS SELECTION SERVICE
The first is our Materials Selection Service and it includes sourcing all the materials for your new home or remodel. You can give the list to your builder so he or she will stop asking you what you want for this or that all the time.
- Lighting (interior & exterior)
- Paint colors (interior & exterior)
- Stone and roofing suggestions
- Trim and moldings
- Flooring and bathroom tile
- Cabinet door style and hardware
- Door handles, etc.
This is a tiered pricing service based on the square footage of your home. You can find more information for this service HERE. I also provide this service with an in-home consultation if you live anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley.
DIY MOOD BOARD
The second e-design package I offer is our DIY Mood Board. This service is for those who want a new look for their room but don’t want to buy everything new. It includes:
- A digital Mood Board – this is a visual representation of how everything will look when it all comes together (including pieces you already own).
- A Space Plan – a scale drawing of where to place the furniture from your Mood Board.
- An itemized Shopping List – All items will include clickable links to order online or will be sourced from your favorite local shops that have online catalogs.
- One Mood Board and Shopping List revision (up to three items).
All delivered to you in a .pdf file by email. This is a new service that we haven’t added to our website yet. You get the first chance to try it!
DIY DESIGN
And third, we offer a full, top-to-bottom, brand-new-everything design of your space. This package is called DIY Design. It includes:
- Fully Custom Storyboard – like a mood board, but has everything from paint, furniture, window treatments, lighting, flooring to accessories.
- Detailed space plan that includes furniture placement and lighting.
- 3D Elevations that give you an overall picture of what your room is intended to look like including accessory placement and window treatments.
- Custom “Trade-only” items to give you a personalized space that even your best friend doesn’t have.
- Itemized Shopping List – All items except “Trade-only” will have clickable links to order online or sourced from local shops with online catalogs, and a list of “Trade-only” items that can be purchased through us and delivered to your home.
- A Design re-cap that describes the choices I made and why with instructions on how, why, and where items should be placed.
- One Storyboard and Shopping List revision (up to three items). 3D Elevation revisions are extra.
All design deliverables and revisions will be sent to you as a .pdf file by email. You can read more about this service HERE.
DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU MY BUDGET?
It may seem like a strange question, but yes, I do need to know what your preferred investment level for furniture and finishes will be. It gives me a realistic picture of what can be accomplished in your space.
Don’t think that you can get a full room design with brand new “everything” on a $5000 budget. It isn’t realistic because of the cost of good design. If you want things that last, it will cost more than that. On the other hand, if you only need a few furniture items and accessories to finish out your space, that might be a good starting place.
Working with an interior designer can save you time – you don’t have to go all over town or scour the internet for hours on end to find what you want. You can spend your valuable time with family or working on your business.
We can also save you money by keeping you from making costly mistakes. You will know before you purchase items for your home that everything will harmonize and flow together for a cohesive look and feel to your new space.
Many people want a beautifully furnished home, but don’t have time to figure out every small detail. Christina Rodriguez of Diva by Design guides you through the process of creating a personalized and pulled together space. Then you can relax stress-free in your fully finished home or office. Let us take care of the details so you don’t have to!
CLICK HERE to contact Diva by Design. CLICK HEREto join our Facebook group The Diva’s Home
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Such a clear explanation of these available virtual service offerings, Christina!
Thank you, Janet!
Very very thorourgh post Christina on this ever growing design option for many home owners. Impressive for sure!
Thank you, Mitzi!
Such a great explanation of e design which is so popular right now!
It sure is! Thank you
I love how you explain the differences between this type of virtual service offering and your full service concierge level interior design, executed in person, Christina.
And your discussion of your different virtual service offerings is very helpful, too.
Great post!
Thank you, Leslie!
Love how in-depth this is. Such a great way for clients to still gain quality service in a safe way but alsoj love how this opens up the opportunity for those that aren’t local, to work with designers all over.
Thank you, Chari!
Thanks for making this post so crystal clear, as the word online can mean many things to different people. It is interesting to see the many options on Interior Design service. More people should take advantage of this right now. Thanks for the good read!
I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment!
Great explanation to potential clients of what to expect and how to work with you!
Thank you, Mary Ann!
What a great explanation of how you offer this service for clients. I bet this answers any questions one might have.
Thank you, Sheri!