Examples of beautiful interior designs are abundant in today’s commercial landscape – especially in the age of ‘Instagrammable’ designs. Just a quick Google search or a leisurely stroll inside some of the city’s latest malls will provide you with enough inspiration for your own ideas. But these lovely spaces hide more than they show. Behind every successful project lies the logistics, planning and secrets that made them what they are. And now, you get a peek behind the curtains.

We’re sharing some of onestop’s industry secrets to pulling off your very own commercial space makeover. Before you revamp your hotels or restaurants, keep these helpful tips in mind to kickstart your renovation projects smoothly and get it to the end of the road with barely a bump in between.

POINT YOUR BUSINESS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

No amount of design trends will make your establishment a success if you don’t know where you’re going. Choosing the right design or theme for your establishment is crucial. And it can only come through fully understanding the direction your brand is going in and aligning your design choices with it. Will you be hosting events in your spaces? Then you might need to cater a more open design. Is your brand advocating sustainability? Try using more eco-friendly materials. This might be an obvious detail, but when you’re flushed with the specifics of managing and renovating your business, it can be an easy thing to overlook. Take some time to do a full-scale survey of your establishment before you define the project scope – it will even help with budgeting too.

ALWAYS PLAN AHEAD

As they say, knowing is half the battle won. When you get down to the nitty-gritty of the renovation, you’ll barely have enough time or capacity to view the full scope in its entirety. And this could cost you more time and money down the road if you aren’t careful. Planning ahead doesn’t just mean catering for buffer times at all stages of the renovation in the face of potential delays. It also means planning smartly for the renovation to be done during the off-seasons of your business, or even in individual stages to ensure your business activities have minimal disruptions. With clearly defined objectives and budgets, you’ll be able to communicate what you want with project managers, designers and builders, to find the perfect solution to fit your needs.

STAY INVOLVED

Renovations are huge tasks involving different groups of people – contractors, designers, architects, owner’s reps, third party project managers, purchasing agents, brand teams, management companies and more. While the minute details of your renovation can sometimes overwhelm you and it’s tempting to leave it all to the project manager, staying involved in every step is one of the easiest things you could do to minimise any surprises along the way. Stay in contact with the project team throughout each stage of the renovation to keep the workflow moving forward and to ensure the smooth operations of each group to meet the project deadline. Decisions by one group could affect everyone else so keeping in sync with all job stakeholders is important.

TIMELESS IS THE WAY TO GO

Chances are you won’t be doing renovations very often. Designing the perfect look for your business is important, but so is choosing a style that can withstand the test of time. For most projects, there are sweet spots between what you want and what will stay tasteful in the future. All it takes is a little bit of research and smart planning – something we’re quite familiar with. For restaurant interior inspiration, check out our favourite projects here. Looking for design theme inspirations that will outlive current trends? Click here. And lastly, view here for some pointers to consider with the new normal.

SECRETS OF THE TRADE

Throughout our experience in managing projects across a varied range of spaces, brands and budgets, we’ve come to learn of a few more tips beyond the usual renovation advice to keep your projects from being a sour experience. Here are some of them:

Take lots of photos

Refurbishments make for a great story on your social channels and it’s an easy way to build anticipation for the completed look while still engaging with your customers.

Create buffer zones

For major changes, you might want to split the project up into different areas at different timings so you’ll still have space for your customers while the renovations are ongoing. And don’t forget to add barricades to keep customers safe around the construction sites.

Manage expectations

Failing to manage the expectations of the involved teams can lead to unforeseen delays and financial overruns. Many issues and disputes can be avoided by simply understanding and communicating with each other more effectively.

Have contingencies in place

We all hope nothing goes askew during a big project. And even if everything goes smoothly, it would be wise to have a contingency plan for any unwelcome surprises along the way.

SPEAK WITH US TODAY

We hope our tips and tricks have given you more confidence to kickstart your renovation projects. Here at onestop, we’re dedicated to making the refurbishment process as efficient and painless as it can be. Drop us a message for a free consultation here to make your renovation dreams come true. And follow our pages for more tips regarding commercial furnishing and renovations on Facebook and Linkedin.

20 November 2020