DP 01: Drafting

Drawing or drafting, as we know it, is the most crucial tool for interior design. Before we do anything else, plans and elevations are made of the space that we are working on, it starts with us measuring up, called a measured survey. We often do this ourselves as it gives an opportunity to get a feel of what we are working on. This measured survey is then transcribed into an electronic version called CAD, i.e. computer assisted design. We use the latest Vectorworks software which can even create 3D images of our designs.

With these drawings in place, our first step is to work on the spatial planning. Many of our projects are completely stripped down to a bare shell that gives us a chance to get the layout right. At this stage, we work closely with our clients to understand how they want to use their home.

From there we can start adding layers on to the project, for example electrical and lighting layouts. All joinery is designed in house, in order for the joiner to cost and build accurately, the drawings are highly detailed. We also design bathrooms which are probably the most difficult areas to work on as are often small but need to fulfil a lot of requirements while incorporating restrictions such as soil pipe locations.

In parallel, we start placing furniture on to the drawings to see what is feasible with no pinch points. This means that the architecture and the loose furniture integrate beautifully. The drawings are then annotated in order to ease construction and enable us to have an accurate costing before work starts on-site.

We must not forget hand drawing. Most detailing is sketched before putting into the package as that helps us understand junctions, especially corners. The magic of good design, after all, is how one element junctions with another. Hand sketching is also used when meeting up with a client to explain the designs, we talk with a pencil!

Both hand sketching and CAD are a real skill, which take many years to perfect.

This period taken to draw up a project can take some time and requires client input too. However, attention to detail is crucial at this stage as it enables a project to run smoothly, on budget, on time but also to create the best home possible.

Discover further design processes with our posts on appointing an interior designer and client presentations.