Today I want to share with you an online interior decorating project that I just finished for a client based oversees. I was thrilled to receive an email from this client who saw my feature on Inquirer, written by my super fun friend Tessa Prieto- Valdes. Here is a copy of the first inquiry I got from him:
Happy Holidays!!! I have browsed through one article in Inquirer.net that features your blog. Had the opportunity to looked through your blog and really liked the way you have presented your work. The objective for this inquiry is to explore if there are any opportunity that i can avail your services. Here is a little background of mine: I am an expat working in manufacturing facility here in China, I have a 3 bedroom 103 sq m unit that is scheduled for turnover by the first week of January. I have attached the floor plan. Here is my dilemma, due to my work, I cannot spend much time in Manila looking for furniture and talking to designers. What i am looking for is to get an advice and furniture shop recommendations so I can purchase all i need in one trip. On the other hand, the rental contract of my current address will be due by end of January. So that means, i have only a 3 week window to finish my unit and transfer. The unit that i have will be turnover with basic finishes. Due to the above mentioned scenarios, I would like to explore the following: 1. I do not think i have time for major renovation and painting work. Might have to consider it later on as a possible makeover. 2. So what i am looking for is a professional advise that will recommend what pieces of furniture to buy and where. So i can schedule a quick trip to Manila and get everything I need. 3. My mother, brother and myself will be staying in that unit. 4. I will be occupying the master bedroom, while my mother will be staying in the middle room. My brother will stay in the room near the living and dining area. 5. My brother and myself are both 6 footers, so we need big beds. at least 2 meters in length. I am just not sure if there are ready made beds out there, or i need to custom made the beds. 6. From a design / requirement standpoint, here are my thoughts:- wanted my furniture to be leather based and wood based. I am not a fan of fabric sofas and glass tables
- as mentioned we are tall people, if im not mistaken, the ceiling height is roughly 2.75M, i am roughly 1.96M, so I prefer not to have low lighting hanging around.
- each bedroom needs to have a TV, so need recommendations whether to hang the TV or get a TV table. The living room will also have a TV
- For the master bedroom, aside from the bed, I am looking at the possibility of setting it up like a studio unit, with small set of chair, TV, study table. Not sure though if i can accommodate everything.
- preferred to have yellow lighting instead of white.
- my mom is already in her 60’s while my brother is still single at 40. Im married without kids so my Taiwanese wife sometimes fly over to Manila to stay with me when i am vacationing from work.
- That is why, wanted the master bed room to be cozy and with a semblance of a vacation house.
- Assuming there is no need for major renovation and painting work, i am looking at a budget of roughly 300k to 500k for furniture pieces. You mentioned that custom made furniture worked better. Do you have a rough lead time for this?
- If needed, i can work two phases, for phase 1, i can transfer the necessities first, like beds and air conditioning units. the rest can follow later on.
We worked on the project, took his budget into consideration and came up with the following proposal for his needs:
The client got a complete coded file of the furniture, wallpaper suggestions from Wallcrown, recommended paint, rugs etc. with contact information on where to purchase each item as well as each item’s sales retail prices.
The client was pleased with out service and he was able to fix his home at a fraction of the cost with no hassle. I had fun putting concept together for him too. Have a great week and happy Monday!
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