VIRTUAL PREP & PLANNING
Designers taking safety measures to keep renovation projects on track
A lot of industries have ground to a halt in the past few months as a result of stay-at-home measures due to the novel coronavirus. The Vancouver Sun caught up with local interior design firm Falken Reynolds to hear how this crisis has affected the local home renovation market. Are projects still going ahead? And if so, how do they differ from before?
Things have shifted dramatically in the past few months, says Chad Falkenberg, half of the design duo that makes up Falken Reynolds.
But, after the initial shock everyone experienced, designers, tradespeople and their clients have adjusted to the new normal and established a rhythm.
“The part we’re probably finding easiest is the discovery phase at the beginning of a project, where we’re learning about a client, their preferences, sharing images, talking about floor plans and working through those types of things,” he says.
Falken Reynolds have clients in Singapore, Beijing, Whistler, Victoria, Calgary and Smithers, says Falkenberg, so working remotely on projects is not new for them.
What is different, for himself and his partner, Kelly Reynolds, is that they’re now working virtually with all of their clients, even the ones just a few blocks away, and relying heavily on tech platforms (like Zoom).
“In our business, so much of our work is relational and really personal, and at the beginning of all our calls we’re spending five to 10 minutes trying to make the tech work,” he says.
Accurately conveying colours and textures of different materials they’re proposing to clients is tough because only so much can be achieved with phone and computer camera angles, says Falkenberg.
What they have done in the past, for their U.s.-based clients, and what they’ll do for the clients going forward, is simply order extra samples of everything and ship them to them, says Falkenberg.
“We’ll schedule meetings, make sure everything is labelled and easy for them to walk though,” he says.
A new experience for Falkenberg and Reynolds was recently teaching one of their new clients how to accurately and carefully measure the condominium space they’re helping him renovate, so he could then send them measurements and they could begin the design process.
The long and short of it, says Falkenberg, is that everything in the renovation process is going to take longer, require more prep and planning, but can still move forward.
Working with trades, he says, is taking longer because of social-distancing measures.
“If the project is a little bigger, trades can go to the site and keep their distance, but that’s definitely challenging in Vancouver where spaces are smaller. So the projects that are in construction, they’re definitely looking at a longer construction period because there’s typically going to be only one trade on site at a time,” he says.
In general, though, the general contractors they’re working with have got on board with the new site rules, wearing masks, handwashing, disinfecting and keeping their distance, Falkenberg says.
“I was pleasantly surprised at how everyone has adjusted to it,” he says.
Falkenberg and Reynolds have personally experienced what it’s like to renovate and move during the COVID-19 crisis, having moved into their new home only a few weeks ago.
“We bought and took possession literally when things started shutting down. We were thinking we’d do a little bit of renovating, and at that point no one knew how much things would change,” Falkenberg says.
Having their new home painted and the carpets replaced during this time has been “nuts,” he says.
“Just trying to schedule people, and to get keys to people without being in contact with them. Booking elevators because we’re in a condo. Everything has had to take a bit more time,” he says.
Falkenberg says he has come to appreciate everything he took for granted before the COVID -19 crisis, like being able to meet trades at your apartment and open doors and hold elevators for them.
“It all takes more time, prepping and planning. The nice thing is everyone understands and has been incredibly patient,” he says.