Engage an ID or Contractor?

For those who are in dilemma of whether to engage a Contractor or an ID, here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of getting either one of them.

Contractor

Pros
1) Cheaper

Contractors do what you tell them to do. They do not offer much design ideas nor provide with you any 3d perspective design renders. Think of them as providing no frills renovation services.

2) Wider choices & more flexible
You can choose your own suppliers for different brand and type of materials. You can practically decide on the choice of materials or any outrageous designs (and get away with it too!) :)

Cons
1) Lack of design ideas

Contractors are usually lacking in the design skills. However there are some contractors who do have some pretty good ideas and even offer some reasonable good perspective sketches! Nonetheless, bear in mind that contractors are not design trained and do not provide consultation services. Thus they do not offer much design ideas. Hence, you have to be sure of what you want and know the exact colors, materials the location etc of everything.

2) Time consuming

You will need to do a lot of coordination, planning, follow-up etc yourself. Thus for busy people who prefer not to be tied down with so much coordination work, contractor is highly recommended for those who are looking at minimum renovation (ie. Resale / premium / DBSS Flats)

3) You are on your own

You might not be experienced enough to know what is acceptable practice / standards (some may try to con their way though by insisting certain things to be done in certain way in order to cut costs)

Interior Designer

Pros

1) Lesser stress and Less time consuming

ID does all the dirty work of coordination for the different contractors. This usually translates to lesser stress. However I have came across people who couldn’t work with their ID and had alot of issues with them thou. Therefore finding a good ID is crucial.

2) Plenty of Designs Ideas

Space planning is the utmost importance in any renovation process. Thus, a good ID who are trained in this field will be able to find out your lifestyle space plan accordingly. This help in making best use of the limited area available. The market practice is for IDs to provide a 3D rendering of their proposed designs.

3) Warranty
It is the market practice to provide 3-5 years warranty from any ID firm.

Cons

1) More Expensive

They are known to charge much higher compared to Contractor. The markup is due to the design services and consultation provided.

2) Cookie cutter designs
Some IDs provide same design ideas for the same kind of theme and do not seek to stretch their creativity muscles. Not all IDs are truly passionate about what they are doing. :(

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Categories: contractor, interior designer, tips