If you are wondering why this might be so, know that as many as 6,500 apartments and terraced houses have been booked in Vilnius since the beginning of this year. If at least one-fifth of these new residents have started furbishing their homes, the number of people competing for interior designers, decoration specialists, furniture makers and other qualified specialists is as high as 1,300. This is why preparing for your interior project in a careful and reasonable manner is very important. The results, beauty, coziness and functionality of your home decoration rests on a highly significant and fundamental step known as the interior technical design project. It is the cornerstone of all homes that sets up the key technical points.
The technical design project is necessary for the specialists who will do the interior decoration as it allows them to accurately assess the needed materials and works. A single-story house will require about 8 to 12 technical drawings and schemes encompassing the following categories:
- Arrangement of internal partitions and spaces
- Furniture positioning
- Spots for sockets, lighting and plumbing equipment
- Floor, wall and ceiling finishing plan.
The technical design project may include a detailed bathroom installation plan with tiling schemes, cabinet furniture plans and other technical drawings.
The main function of the interior technical design project is to facilitate, quicken and ensure a smooth home furbishing process and quality results with no surprises. The technical design helps to plan works, deadlines and quality assurance requirements if we are to believe Marius Morozovas, Interior Designer at Citus. According to Marius, contractors engaged in finishing and decoration works usually provide the estimate only after receiving the technical design project.
“A technical design project facilitates the entire home furbishing process: it helps to avoid all the unpleasant and costly mistakes, to estimate the number of necessary materials and to plan the required investments. Usually, apartments in older houses have inconvenient layouts. Unfortunately, this also happens in newly constructed homes. Those who prepare an interior technical design project can be sure that their home will be comfortable, practical, and cozy. Preparing a technical design project makes a house more ergonomic and adapted for daily living,” says the designer.
People without a technical design project will be facing challenges
“The biggest challenge is to furbish one’s home independently so that it is convenient to live in while lacking the needed knowledge and experience. Lack of experience and first-time attempts mean that you do not understand which solutions work to increase or decrease your comfort,” says the Interior Specialist at Citus.
Marius Morozovas names wrong estimates of the quantities of necessary materials as one of the most frequent mistakes, resulting in an abundance of left-over materials. Other common problems include poor lighting and bad lighting layout, with the number of installed switches being too high or too low.
The Interior Designer also notes that the lack of technical design project increases the likelihood of fraudulent workers who might calculate higher quantities of flooring, ceiling, or wall decoration materials instead of the optimum amount. This way, the prices for the performed works are heavily increased.
Advantages of the technical design project for the general interior design
According to Marius Morozovas, ergonomics is the key advantage of the technical design project. It sets up the entire furniture layout, the number of switches and sockets, the lighting layout, floors and ceiling and all other accessories. The project is relied on during the entire home furbishing process.
“The piece of furniture represented in the technical design project cannot have its measurements changed in reality. Otherwise, the spaces between furniture might be too narrow to walk through. If the technical design project is duly prepared and the materials are purchased, the installation works can start right away, with furniture and light fixtures left for later. This way, everything will be done gradually and people will not have to wonder where to place their furniture while they wait for other works to be finished,” says the Interior Specialist.
Key points and unnecessary parts in the technical design project
According to Marius Morozovas, furniture layout is the key point of the technical design project as furniture is the starting point for planning other accessories and installations. Socket placement and lighting is another major point of the technical design project.
“These drawings require many discussions and time. Usually, clients ask the interior designer to prepare only the electrical and lighting plans but it is practically impossible to do properly without the layout of the furniture. All drawings are related and vital. In other words, you cannot sing a song without lyrics and the same can be said about the interior technical design project,” says Marius with a smile.
The Interior Designer notes that the technical design project does not encompass such information as the color of the walls, floor laminate class, tiling, household appliances, material selection, light fixture models, furniture design, flooring or décor elements.
“Some designers like to add the tiling plan but this is custom made and can only be done by the designer after selecting the tiles, choosing their pattern and dimensions,” says the Interior Designer at Citus.
Certain skills needed to prepare the technical design project
According to Marius Morozovas, the specialist preparing a high-quality interior technical design project must know the inner layout and certain technical elements, such as building architecture and any installation rules presented by the builder. Not all interior designers are capable of preparing an accurate and high-quality technical design project.
“The entire situation is not properly assessed, resulting in mistakes. Sometimes, the designer’s solutions contradict construction regulations or the laws, violating the rules regarding the bearing walls, lift pits, façade solutions that must be coordinated with the municipality, terraces, etc.,” says the specialist.
Marius Morozovas believes that the first thing to do before making technical drawings is to get more information about the situation, assess the obstacles, if any, and cooperate with other specialists, if necessary. In cases of larger projects, engineers, ventilation system specialists, electricians and other specialists work together. The designer makes the design while specialists in the respective fields take care of engineering solutions. This is why the designer must be proficient in both the designing and construction regulations to prepare a high-quality technical design.
Interior technical design prices and deadlines
Marius Morozovas says that the price of technical designs project ranges from 10 to 14 euros per square meter in the present-day market: “Of course, the price heavily depends on the designer’s experience and availability. The entire process may take from 2 to 5 weeks but many things also depend on the client, his ability to make decisions and his financial possibilities.”
An approved interior technical design project is forwarded to the contractor who prepares the estimate and starts searching for materials after its confirmation. The first works to be done are the plumbing, tiling, another flooring, door installation, socket and lighting installation. Then, furniture and decoration follow. Usually, it takes about 2-4 months to furnish an apartment in a newly built house and 4-5 months to furnish a terraced house.
The Interior Designer also notes that, presently, the housing market is very active and many residents are setting up their homes. Furniture makers and decoration specialists, not to mention interior designers, are all very busy and have works scheduled for 3-6 months in advance. Thus, it is highly recommended to plan house furbishing-related works and look for trustworthy partners as early as possible.
Good luck!
Translated by MP Translations Agency in Kaunas.
