Online or onsite design: which one suits your project?
Tags: Online design, Onsite design, Planning
People often ask me which service is "better". The honest answer is neither. Online and onsite design lead to the same place: a room that works, drawn to scale, with every finish and piece chosen for a reason. What changes is how we get there, and whether your particular room needs me physically inside it.
Here's how I help clients decide.
Online design works well when…
The room is fairly straightforward. A living room, bedroom, home office or dining room where the walls are staying where they are. If the job is layout, colour, furniture and lighting, I can do all of it from good measurements and photographs.
You're not in London. I design rooms across the UK and Europe. Distance makes no difference to the drawings, and you're not paying for my travel time.
You're happy to do a little homework. I'll send a short questionnaire and a simple measuring guide. Twenty minutes with a tape measure and your phone is usually all it takes. If that doesn't appeal, I can come and measure for you in London.
You want a clear plan to carry out at your own pace. You get one pack with the drawings, scheme, visuals if you choose them, and a shopping list with my trade prices beside retail. Order everything at once or room by room.
Onsite design is the better choice when…
The room has quirks a photo won't show. Sloping ceilings, uneven period walls, awkward alcoves, a chimney breast in exactly the wrong place. I learn far more in ten minutes standing in a room than in a week of emails.
Anything structural is involved. Knocking through, moving a kitchen, new joinery or new lighting circuits all need someone checking levels, services and what's behind the plaster before we commit.
Light matters. Paint and fabric look completely different in a north-facing London flat than they do on a screen. Onsite, I bring the samples to you and we decide in your own light.
You'd rather decide with things in your hands. Some people need to touch the stone and hold the fabric against the sofa. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's what onsite design is for.
A quick way to decide
Ask yourself two questions:
Is anything being built, moved or rewired?
Is the room unusual in shape, age or light?
If both answers are no, online design will almost certainly serve you well, and cost less. If either is yes, it's worth having me in the room, even if only for a single Design Day to get the big decisions right.
Still not sure?
That's what the first call is for. It's twenty minutes, free, and you're talking to me, the person who would design the room. If online design won't do your project justice, I'll tell you so rather than sell you a package.
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