If you’ve got your eye on a hard-to-get, unique piece of furniture or décor, you’ll love this step by step guide on how to get your hands on some truly incredible items for your home.
These exclusive items are often what we call “trade only” or “to the trade.” This means manufacturers only sell to interior designers and showrooms. If they sell anything to the public, their offerings are usually limited and pale in comparison to their full-fledged trade only options.
How to Get Exclusive, Unique Decor for Your Home
After you have agreed to work with a designer (KTJ Design Co, for example), you will begin meeting with the design team to review their recommendations for you – or even shop the showroom samples together.
Our design team records your choices, such as vendors, product codes, dimensions, colors, finishes and more. We send out Request for Quotes (RFQ) to our vendors and manufacturers. We update the item pricing, chronicle the lead time, and create Pricing Proposals for you to review and sign.
How to Order Custom Furniture for Your Design Project
Once you agreed to the proposal, we will prepare all purchase orders. Since many items will be custom and almost all vendors need to be paid in full prior to fabrication, full payment on all purchases is required prior to us actually placing the orders. Due to the unique nature of your order, we can’t offer returns or refunds.
Most of the items purchased through our studio have some customization to them. Upholstery is always done with a fabric we hand-select, because we know what will work best for your project and lifestyle. We have a few select resources we prefer to use for upholstery that have superb construction and customer service.
Window treatments are always made to order using a local workroom, resulting in high quality, custom window coverings. We will take measurements and quote everything that’s needed, such as fabric, labor, and hardware.
Freight, Warehousing and Delivery
Furniture purchased from manufacturers requires shipment to a warehouse that has a loading dock or fork lift. When your furniture pieces arrive at our warehouse, we immediately inspect them for damages. We store all your pieces until everything for one room (or house) has arrived. Should an item come damaged, we file the claims with the vendor and the freight companies, order a replacement and let you know if there will be a delay on your project.
Installation and Reveal Day
Delivery and installation is scheduled in collaboration with you. You are sent installation day instructions via email, and the photographer is booked to arrive at the end of your installation. You are welcome to be present during installation, but we encourage you to take a day away from home (the day is quite hectic and messy while we unbox and unwrap everything).
We’ll have multiple trades people and contractors in your home at the same time taking care of different functions –the drapery installers, the art installers, movers, design assistants, etc. We’re present throughout the entire installation process and will coordinate all trades people and contractors to ensure a smooth installation.
Note: We may style the room with extra items to fill in and jazz up the room for the photo shoot. You will be given an itemized list and prices of those additional items and you can purchase them if you’d like.
Ready for Us to Manage, Design, and Decorate Your Interior?
Schedule a Remodel Clarity Session with us to get a game plan for your project. A few short weeks after that, we will be able to reveal the Design Concept and Style Guides for your home and begin ordering your beautiful, custom pieces.
