MATERIAL SELECTIONS: WHEN AND HOW

ASK THE EXPERT

By Thomas Burger

Material selection is one of the most important and most expensive details of a home. What does this include? Everything from the size, shape, and location of your HVAC vents and returns to whether you’re using applied base molding or flush base molding, all of which dictates the engineering and framing. Most clients think that designers simply place furniture or suggest lighting location, flooring, cabinetry, appliances, countertops and backsplashes. The truth is, without a full set of ID drawings from your designer little more than the pouring of your foundation can be done.

Making these choices without a Master Plan that encompases EVERY detail of your final vision down to the last piece of art is like packing for a trip not knowing where you are going. You’re packing for a sunny beach not knowing that you’re going to Alaska. Sounds ridiculous but I see homeowners do this almost every day. They wait to hire designers until most of these decisions are finalized with their builder and then discover that their ultimate goal for their “LOOK” is incongruent with their choices. Builders often charge excessive amounts for change orders even if they haven’t yet broken ground and then tell you that any change will delay the project for weeks if not longer.

When building or remodeling, create a Master Plan with your designer before you do ANYTHING so that EVERYTHING in the home, once furnished, is harmonious and reflects your DREAM HOME. The time to bring your designer on board is when you first begin to conceptualize what it is you want. A good designer will bring imaginative ideas and work with your architect/builder from the very beginning. By using your designer’s pool of resources it will avail you a far larger selection of materials and save you time & money!

Thomas Burger Design Inc.
495 S. Grand Central Pkwy.
World Market Center A-228
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106
w.thomasburgerdesign.com

Call for your appointment: (702) 468-9734