If you’re building a custom home, I recommend bringing your interior designer in while you and your architect are still developing the floor plan. At that point, you can test the layout against the way you want to live, while there is still room to adjust a doorway, rethink a kitchen island, or find a better spot for a window.
After 25 years of designing homes in Los Angeles, I’ve found that many of the choices that make a house feel comfortable are made before you ever pick a sofa or a slab of stone. Here’s where an interior designer can help at each stage.
While the floor plan is taking shape
I like to start with a simple exercise: walk through an ordinary day on the plan. Where do you come in with groceries? Can someone get to the refrigerator while another person is cooking? Where do guests set down a drink when you’re entertaining? The answers can tell us more about the layout than the room dimensions alone.
Furniture layouts are useful at this stage, even if you haven’t chosen any furniture. Drawing a dining table and chairs to scale shows whether people can walk around the table when the chairs are pulled out. In a living room, placing the sofa and chairs on the plan can reveal whether the path to the backyard cuts through the seating area.
At the Bel Air Hills Residence, I worked with the architect and structural team from the beginning to develop a floor plan around the clients’ daily routines. I continued working with the general contractor and trades during construction, so the decisions we made on paper carried through to the finished home.
Before framing, plumbing, and wiring are finalized
This is when I work through the details with the architect and builder. If you want a built-in coffee station, for example, we need to know which appliance you’re considering, how the cabinet doors will open, and where the team needs to plan the services for it. The same goes for the small details you’ll use every day: where to plug in a lamp, how to light a mirror, and where to reach for a shower control.
In an entry with a tall ceiling, I like to consider the chandelier from the staircase as well as the front door. A fixture that looks well placed on a ceiling plan can hang awkwardly in the view from the landing. Reviewing those sightlines early gives the team a chance to adjust the location before the electrical work is in place.
The architect and engineers guide the technical requirements, and the builder and trades advise on installation. My role is to bring the interior details into those conversations while the team can still act on them.
Before cabinetry and finishes are ordered
Once the layout is set, I bring material samples together. Stone, wood, hardware, and paint can each look beautiful on their own and still compete when you see them side by side. Look at samples in daylight and under lighting similar to what you’ll use at home. A wood finish that looks neutral in a showroom may read much warmer in a room with afternoon sun.
Ask your designer and builder which decisions need to come first. Cabinet drawings may depend on confirmed appliance dimensions. The way a stone slab is cut can affect where a seam lands and how the veining continues down an island. Reviewing these details together gives you a better sense of what you’re approving.
If your plans are already drawn
You can still bring in a designer. Start by sharing the latest plans and telling them what’s already approved, ordered, or installed. I’d focus first on decisions that are still open and have the biggest effect on daily use. That might mean reviewing kitchen storage before the cabinets go into production or working out the lighting and furniture placement before the electricians finish.
For a first meeting, bring your floor plan, a list of what you want your new home to do better, and a few inspiration images. Tell your designer what you like about each image. “I like how the kitchen opens to the dining area” is more helpful than a folder full of beautiful rooms with no explanation.
Building a home in Los Angeles?
At Zdesign Interiors Inc., I help clients think through how their home will work and feel, from early floor plans to the materials and details they’ll live with every day. If you’re planning a custom home in Los Angeles, get in touch to discuss your plans. You can also read my guide to the decisions to make before construction begins on a remodel.