Deciding to build a custom home is one of the most important and life-fulfilling decisions a person or couple will ever make. Custom means that it is not an off-the-shelf design, there is no inheritance of someone else’s tastes, and that it is a true expression of the new homeowners. An address for a lifetime.

We at Chase Custom Homes of Denver specialize in helping people realize their life-long dream of building just the home, their right home. We work with architects, financing experts, crafts people, and highly trained subcontractors to ensure that every system, every detail comes out just the way the homeowners envisioned it.

There are a ton of details that go into creating a custom home, everything from flooring, roofing and wall treatments, to landscaping, location, lighting and everything else. But a critical area of expertise that often comes into play when planning such a project is whether or not to hire a professional interior designer to shepherd the look of the living spaces. We couldn’t recommend interior designers more. We work with them on almost every project, trust their judgment, and, like the homeowners themselves, gape in awe at the result.

However, many people balk at the notion of hiring a professional interior designer, even on a custom home building project, and generally for two reasons: 1) the perception that an interior decorator will add a layer of expense that will push the budget; and, 2), the perception that the homeowner will lose control of the design process and end up with something other than they wanted.

Our experience is exactly the opposite. Professional interior designers have so many contacts with crafts people, painters, furniture makers and designers, flooring specialists, on and on, and access to “to the trade only” showrooms and catalogs. They most often can deliver the goods and their services for far less than the untrained neophyte could ever hope to tap. And, while many people fancy themselves good at interior design, our experience is that professional interior designers work closely with clients, and rather than overwhelming the homeowners, they almost always deliver a finished product that
takes the dream to a higher – and highly desirable – level. In the many custom homes we have built, those of our clients who work with a professional interior designer are the most delighted with the results – financially and aesthetically.

Interior design isn’t a hobby that someone decides to make into a career. It is now a respected professional degree program at many top colleges and universities throughout the country, offering national accreditation through such organizations as the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CDIC). In Colorado, Colorado State University in Fort Collins offers both a bachelor’s and master’s degree program in interior design with the College of Applied Human Services and the Department of Design & Merchandising. There are also several interior design trade associations and certification programs where professional in the field keep up-to-date with the latest techniques and trends, as well safety issues and environmental applications.

Here’s what a professional interior will deliver to clients:
• A vast network of crafts people – painters, carpenters, furniture makers, tile and stone specialists – who can deliver on nearly every promise imaginable.
• Trade-only resources. Furniture, carpeting and flooring options, wall coverings, artwork, fabrics and textiles, linens, cabinetry, countertops, hardware, lighting, doors, appliances, and much more – all from showrooms and catalogs not open to the general public, and often at substantial savings. Also time savings, as they know the sources and ease the research process.
• Space planning. Professional interior designers are highly trained in space planning techniques that get the most out of every size and shape of room.
• Experience working with architects, contractors and subcontractors. Professional interior designers are particularly skilled at working with every aspect of the design-build process, helping to create the interiors as they are being designed.
• Homeowners’ style. The object of professional interior design is not to make a design statement for the designer, but rather to fulfill the desire of the homeowner with real-world solutions.
• Environmental expertise. Highly trained in environmental issues, including LEED certification processes, so that the installation and the operation of all living spaces will comply with environmental regulations for chemical use, waste mediation and energy efficiencies.
• Electronic capabilities. Modern professional interior designers use specialized computer programs in the planning and design process, to create “virtual” spaces for envisioning a room before it is constructed.
• Project guidance. Professional interior designers are on-site throughout the construction and finish to ensure that everything is done properly, and to make the adjustments necessary when unforeseen snags enter the picture.
• Form and function. The study of interior design is not only about the look of living spaces, but also about how people use the space. This ensures that the homeowner has spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and work well for the lifestyle of the people occupying the house.

There’s a lot more, of course, as the checklist of items that go into the creation of exemplary interior spaces is long and varied. The bottom line is that in the experience of Chase Custom Homes, teaming up with a professional interior designer invariably results is raising the “wow factor” for clients building their dream home.