Interior Design Matters Thread 2

[mimai1122]

Hi! I'm new to this thread. Actually, I find it interesting kasi never pa akong naka-hire ng services ng interior designer. But, I'm thinking about it. Condo unit lang naman ang plano namin, and minimalist lang ang gusto namin na dating. I have some questions, though, with regard sa pagpili ng interior designer.

First off, kelangan bang licensed ang interior designer? I mean, may license ba sila dapat? What's the difference if hindi licensed ang i-hire ko?

Also, what qualities should I look for in an interior designer? Tama na bang may experience na siya and may maipapakitang portfolio of work niya? I was thinking kasi na bigyan siya ng idea of what I want and then gumawa siya ng plan na makakatulong sa 'kin to give me an idea of what our condo unit will look like. Bale, I'll ask suggestions sa kanya.

Lastly, magkano usually ang fee ng interior designer? Sulit ba talagang mag-hire ng isa?

Thanks!

[denxa_1]

^^ hi sis mimai1122
This is kinda long. hehe

Yes, interior designers need to have a license. They're called decorators if they don't have one.

As for the difference between licensed and non-licensed, yung first talaga is the formal training that IDs get before licensing and while maintaining their licenses, which is a big plus. It means na hindi lang magazines/pinterest/instagram ang point of design reference nila. They're exposed to different strategies of design conceptualization, they're updated sa industry since they get to go to seminars, industry shows etc

In terms of aesthetics, meron namang decorators na magagaling din talaga in making the space beautiful. Functionality-wise, that I'm not sure. IDs though are trained to make the space beautiful and functional. They also follow building codes, they're knowledgeable in material use and they take ergonomics and anthropometrics with great consideration. Hindi lang sila to make things pretty.

Lastly, the most important thing is the regulation. Licensed designers have to follow the law for fees, scope of work, building codes and even warranty for their design services. You can file a formal complain if they're unprofessional and unethical and they can be sanctioned. Unlike if you hire someone na unlicensed, wala kang mahahabol if in case magkaproblem. You can post them on FB pero walang legal action.

As for what to look in an ID, ask for portfolio. Not just to see if they have experience, but also para macheck mo if you have the same vision. They might have a lot of projects before, pero wala namang nagssuit sa taste mo or sa reqts mo, then hindi rin sya yung perfect fit. It would also help if the ID has a construction team para design and build na. Pero if you find someone na gusto mo but design services lang, they can also probably help you get a contractor.

For the fees, ang alam ko the minimum now is 1500/sqm. Fresh grads yata charge around 800-1k/sqm.

I hope this is helpful =)

[delleamor]

Mga sis! what kind of bed should I buy kaya for a 1br condo unit? advisable ba ang convertible?

[denxa_1]

^^ hi sis, yes. ID/contractor/design educator =)

[nestea_dell]

Hi sisses! need ko din recommendations ninyo for builders, aken ang idea i need lang yung magbubuild for my kitchen. My space is 32sqm including balcony, kitchen muna pagawa since limited budget. Please PM me. TIA

[delleamor]

^^ hi sis, yes. ID/contractor/design educator =)

Amazing! Sis, may alam ka bang reliable mattress for back-aches?

[denxa_1]

Hi sisses! Some of my posts were removed. =(
Anyway, if you're interested in seeing works/ scouting interior designers, there's an exhibit from today till sunday called Interior & Design Manila at SMX.

[kirbaine]

We gave up relying on an Interior Designer due to bad experience. I am not discouraging anyone here, maganda talaga mag hire if you don't have time designing yourself and also for a clear plan and visualization ng finish product.

In our case, its so unfortunate lang siguro that we chose an ID na may topak. Kahit contractors din, may chance that they will run with your downpayment. We're quite new to hiring IDs but after our experience, we learned so much from it. We tried 2 IDs from RealLiving, yung iba kahit inquiry pa lang, ang sungit sungit na, sounds arrogant. Yung 2 IDs, the first one has an attitude problem, warfreak...The 2nd, much better sana kaso immature naman and narrow minded. Risky din talaga since once you paid the downpayment, mahirap na din mag back out. So I am relying on Pinterest and Houzz for reference since yung previous designer, doon din kumukuha ng inspiration, yun lang nga di naman tayo marunong sa Sketchup or Cad, Moodboards na lang. But I am not closing my doors on hiring an ID one day. For now, pahinga muna at naubos ang pera ko sa kanila..LOL.

[iamsuperizch]

Hi Kirbaine.  Are these two Licensed Interior Designers? May I know if they completed their contract with you?  Did they finish the job that you hired them to do?  If they did not comply with the agreed contract or worse, ran away with your money, you can report them to the PIID (Philippine Institute of Interior Designers) and ask for their help.

Licensed Interior Designers are required to renew their license every 3 years so they can continue with their practice.  They need a Certificate of Good Standing from PIID and completed the 45-point requirement.  If you report their malpractice to the PIID, maybe the organization could deny them that certificate (if allegations are proven true) and they won't be able to renew their license and of course, practice their profession.  This will prevent them to con more clients in the future.

That's why it is important that clients hire Licensed Interior Designers; if they committed fraud and ran away with your money, you can easily report them to the PIID and they can help you.  You can always check with the organization if active or expired na yung license ng ID or better, if licensed ID ba sila or not.  If expired, hindi dapat sila nagpra-practice.

If you hire a non-professional to do the job, mahirap maghabol.  Same goes with the person offering the service tapos wala siya license, mahirapan siya maghabol if hindi siya bayaran ng client and takbuhan siya because the transaction is illegal to begin with. 

Clients should always protect themselves when getting services from others.  Mas mabuti na maging paranoid kesa maloko and mawala yung pinaghirapan ninyo.  Everything should be black and white.  Everything should be documented.  Read the contract thoroughly.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  Know your rights.  Also, not all featured in magazines are Licensed Interior Designers.  You can always verify it to the PIID.

By the way, WORLDBEX (The Philippine World Building and Construction Exposition) is tomorrow until the 20th at The World Trade Center, Buendia Avenue, Makati.  If you guys are building or renovating your homes, I suggest you visit the exhibit.  Discover new materials, meet suppliers and you can source the materials you need or might need for your property.

[kirbaine]

@iamsuperizch,

I think the 1st ID is not licensed, the 2nd I am not sure if they are licensed IDs, Boxform Interiors yung name ng group.

The first one did not finish the job but left us the remaining 5% balance. But we feel na the progress and quality is not enough for the back jobs that were left.

Yung 2nd, nag downpayment kami 50%, submitted their preliminary sketches but the sketches with my final required revisions were not turned-over completely. This project was assigned/turned over to his team member na ID, yung miscommunication nila or since hindi ata calibrated yung friend ID nya kung ano ang scope, ako pa yung sinisisi kaya hindi tinuloy. Ano ba malay ko sa depth ng scope ng sketches nila?? They claim that they collaborate when they work on a proj so i thought its interesting so I hired them. This is just this year 2016. Gusto ko nga refund yung downpayment ko sana. Medyo busy lang kasi ako and I feel that I just want to forget it & stop making kulit pa bec the ID don't respond sa SMS ko. I can PM you the info if you are interested even our detailed chat. So you can also judge the situation.

Medyo I got disappointed with editor who responded from Real Living. I actually asked for their advice to help me find an ID before my 2nd attempt to find a good ID bec I thought they could help. I did not really intend to report the first ID i had issues with but of course, they questioned it and they said na as part of their SOP, they wanted to get info, the name,etc...and resolve it first then they will recommend. I prefer not to reopen the case since we closed the issue via email. However, since SOP nga daw, I gave them the details, name, etc...After a few days, she just informed me that she confirmed that the project had been terminated nga & issue was closed between us, that's it. Lol, i already know that. I thought there will be an interesting update or good recommendations. Then she left me and no longer replied to my followup emails, no help or recommendation at all. I used to buy Real Living Magazines pa naman, parang na disappoint ako bigla and stopped buying it due to negative associations.

[iamsuperizch]

What was stated in the contract regarding project termination with your second ID?  Project termination should have a written notice and the settlement depends on what is stated in the contract under this clause.

With my contract kasi, all payments made to the Designer prior to the termination are not refundable should the Designer be terminated at no fault.  The Designer shall be compensated for the services performed prior to the receipt of the notice including 10% of the remaining balance of the fee.  Pwdeng iba yung sa kanya, so depende talaga sa usapan ninyo and sa nangyari.

I could ask PIID about this, in general ha, but it would still be best if you personally seek for their help or advice regarding the second ID.  If may habol ka ba or wala na talaga but with the first one, since na-settle na, baka wala na din (tapos hindi pa licensed so baka wala talaga magagawa PIID with it).

P20k is not small.  Ako personally and as a consumer, I can let go until 5k, beyond that, hindi na ok sa akin at maghahabol talaga ako.  Up to you if you're willing to take the stress and effort to sort things out with the person concerned.  Maybe start with confiding with PIID first and see kung ano recommendation nila without dropping names muna.  Then think about it if worth it pa talaga maghabol.

[kirbaine]

@iamsuperizch - I will PM you the contract, there is no section about termination. I will share you my chat transcript with his team member/ID tomorrow afternoon. This member was the one who didn't want to continue the project. The owner of the group was aware of it but did not even give me a call or reply sa text after nagbitaw ng salita yung team member nya which is actually his friend/kabarkada. I just feel na stress lang to try to reach them over and over. But then yes, somehow we still wanted to get some percentage of what we paid kasi for me, the sketches although 3D looking, are useless since they are not finished & wala namang measurements. 

Will PM you in a while for the contract...

[dyosabel]

mga sis, san kaya makakabili ng steps for the stairs? nahihirapan kami maghanap eh.

[mama squeak!]

^I saw wood steps sa Wilcon. I'm sure meron din yan sa MC Home Depot.

[dyosabel]

Thank you Mama Squeak! Nacheck na namin yung sa Wilcon. Medyo pricey sya for that type of wood
Check din namin sa MC Home Depot. Thank you!

[rasee16]

@kirbaine, I am just wondering bakit ka iniiwan ng mga ID mo.. Hindi naman kaya may problem din sayo as a client? Are you just hiring them for the design drawings? Kasi if yun lang, ang dali pa nun kasi wala pa sa execution ng trabaho. Bakit daw tinitigil nila yung trabaho? Ikaw ba yung tipong pa-revise ng pa-revise hanggang sa tumagal ng walang natatapos? Minsan kasi may mga taong di alam kung anong gusto nila tapos lahat naman ng ipresenta sa kanila, puro ayaw. Hindi ko alam kung ganyan ka ha pero baka lang kasi ganun yung nangyayari kaya walang nagtatagal na ID.

We had a client, 2 years na ginagawa bahay nya hindi parin matapos tapos kasi pa-revise sya ng pa-revise during construction to the point na nalulugi na contractors nya kaya linalayasan na sya. Hindi rin kasi madali magpaulit ulit ng trabaho lalo na kung yun na yung dating napagusapan. Ayun sa awa ng dyos, August kami nagstart, hanggang ngayon di pa kami tapos sa stair railings nya kasi yung client rin mismo ang cause of delay. Ayaw nya pa ipakabit yung ibang glass hanggang hindi nila naaakyat lahat ng gamit at furniture sa 2nd floor kasi baka raw mabasag. Eh kung tutuusin 3 weeks lang tapos na dapat kami, hello anong petsa na..

[kirbaine]

@rasee16, you can read my post above, this summarizes the issues we had with IDs and its definitely not about revisions or anything paulit ulit. Arch kasi yung isang ID, mainly our issue is lack of supervision or kumbaga maraming unacceptable workmanship that anyone can't just ignore, Example ha, kitchen counter sobrang baba, edi makukuba ka naman. Its also frustrating how they ask for progress billing. They will ask for payment since they will based the progress from the materials that were already there even there is technically no progress with construction. Nasabihan kami before and we were advise na hindi pala dapat nagbabayad unless may progress talaga yung contruction hindi dapat base sa materials na nabili. Plus other issues na if we happen to miss them, our place would be a total mess for sure. Kaso 2 yrs ago pa ito so this is closed.

As for 2nd IDs, this 2016 lang. We were ok before and this one chat conversation is the only time nagkaroon ng argument out of the blue, all because of the scope issue that until now, were not explained bec the ID didnt get back to me and not responding na eh. To simplify it, I am guessing that they provided me 1 document..possibly a measurement that they realized shouldn't be part of the scope and they blamed me for that because I did not tell them?? Like DUH...if its not part of the scope, bkit nila binigay so ang gulo diba? They were the one who drafted the contract so they should know better. I trusted them that we did not even question anything on the contract bec we assume they know what they are doing and may featured work sa Real Living and okay naman kausap during our initial meeting. What do we know about the technicalities? That is why we hired them so they can take care of this proj. Anyone wants a copy ng chat, PM me. I wonder if pwede nga sana report sa DTI yung ganito dahil may name ang firm, I dunno.

Wala kami issues, nagkataon lang that we were unfortunate in picking the wrong IDs/contractors. So I am hoping one day, we can hire a good, trustworthy and reliable IDs/contractors...someone who provides transparent service without squeezing as much money as they can from clients while still making a name for themselves and good living out of it. Again, I am not generalizing and it is purely based from our personal experience.

[rasee16]

Hay grabe.. And knowing you got these contacts sa real living pa tapos ganun.. Are they being endorsed? o baka naman paid ads lang kaya free for all who wanted to have their works featured. What happened to your house na? Natapos ba? Pangit ba kinalabasan ng work?

[kirbaine]

^

Oo sis, nasa list ng designers nila yung 1st. I am not sure if nasa list yung 2nd, its been a while since I last check RL website. Pareho naman silang na feature. Kaya wag papadala sa feature feature lang sa Magazine. You virtually don't know who you are dealing with, hirap magtiwala talaga.

Current condition ng house is damaged from termites. From the first ID/Arch, we firmly mentioned na may mga termites sa area namin. He used plyboard sa lahat ng cabinets and dividers, I thought kahit man lang solignum he treated the woods but no, the workers said hindi na pwede kasi may paint na until run nga, after a few months kinain lang ng termites. Our house is currently being treated but according to my dad and mga random architects that we talked to before, if treated wood kahit papaano di daw aanayin.

Actually I kind of agree. Because kahit may inaanay sa mga kakabit naming house/units, our house were still okay for many years. The kitchen cabinets were made of marine ply, hindi naman inanay. My dad mentioned na it was treated. But after we renovated it, saka lang nagkaanay talaga na ganon kabilis.

This Arch ID na ito, has poor listening skills, very arrogant kesyo he has celebrity clients daw, he ignore inputs from clients (he don't take notes), does not accept mistakes and laging may palusot sa mga mistakes niya and laging may rebuttal pero mahuhuli na hindi consistent sa mga excuses. I mentioned war freak ang impression because mukhang mahilig magtaas ng boses. I catched him one time talking to his phone with client, parang sine sermonan niya.

Anyway, we have a newly constructed place just beside our main house, which is an extension. Tapos na lahat ng structure, finishings na lang. Ito sana din yung pina padesign namin kay 2nd ID aside sa main unit.

If I may ask, in this case if ever I wanted to get a refund from my 50% downpayment dun sa 2nd ID, how much kaya should I ask? I mean, I only got preliminary drawings na may details and 3D looking pero may mga major changes ako that were not applied, no measurements din na dapat useful for a contractor or workers to follow.

I think I really need to somehow report the 2nd ID bec parang he left us with our downpayment, if they can do this to one client and they can get away with it just like that, they will do it again sa iba. I wanted to reach Real Living sana but last time, all we got was a nosy editor that did not really help me with my request for IDs that they can recommend. 

[rasee16]

How much is the 50% ba? Is it 50% of the design fee or 50% of the total project cost?