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Stay connected with us on our social media!&nbsp;Follow us on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sixidesasia">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sixidesasia">Instagram</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Sixiderchannel">YouTube</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">Telegram</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://t.me/sixidesasia">TikTok</a>&nbsp;for the latest design trends and inspiration!&nbsp;📸💬🎵

Well, that&rsquo;s it for 2022. As the year closes, the boys and girls at SIXiDES once again take a look at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/home-interior-trends-2021">the trends</a>&nbsp;&ndash; what people loved (or didn&rsquo;t) in 2022. Turns out, according to our brightest and brainiest, Singaporeans didn&rsquo;t enjoy&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/4-warning-signs-of-spontaneous-false-ceiling-collapse">falling ceilings</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/10-ways-to-prevent-and-prepare-for-a-fire">fires</a>&nbsp;at home. But there&rsquo;s a lot more than just those things to worry about at home.&nbsp;If you&rsquo;re renovating, remember to secure the correct <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/7-things-you-ll-need-permits-before-you-renovate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">residential renovation permit</a>, stay far away from any <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/how-to-avoid-disappearing-contractors-and-protect-your-dream-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blacklisted renovation company in Singapore</a>, and consider whether you&rsquo;ll need <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/places-to-stay-during-a-renovation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">temporary housing during home renovation</a>. On a global scale, about 55% of all accidental deaths happen at home. Considering that not so long ago, when most of humanity was locked-up at home, it&rsquo;s almost a miracle that mankind hasn&rsquo;t been driven halfway to extinction. That said, here&rsquo;s a few more safety tips by rooms to keep yourself and your loved ones from becoming another statistic. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672324327847-empty-modern-room-with-furniture.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> KitchensThe heart of any home but also known to be the biggest hazard too. Talk about a love hate relationship. However, keep these tips in mind and you can enjoy it to its fullest. Slips and FallsTHE most prominent kind of accident at home is made worse when you&rsquo;ve got a tiled floor (which home doesn&rsquo;t?!). Just keep the floor nice and dry and nobody has to get hurt, capisce? CutsWhat&rsquo;s a kitchen without knives? You&rsquo;ve got to have them. But with sharp knives comes accidents too in the form of extremely curious little fingers. Store them. With kids, if it&rsquo;s out of sight, it&rsquo;s out of mind. Burns and ScaldsUnless you&rsquo;ve come up with a way to cook without heat, this will be a concern you&rsquo;ll have to be mindful of. Teach kids (both mental and biological ones) that the kitchen is NOT a play space. And always, ALWAYS pay attention to your cooking. Netflix can wait. PoisoningIt&rsquo;s not just about bad cooking. Don&rsquo;t save food for long. Be religious about clearing out the fridge. Remember: Hokkien mee isn&rsquo;t like wine; it does not get better with age. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672324372189-modern-living-room-style.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Living RoomsTrips and FallsRugs and carpets are great at making places looking larger and more alive but not so great at keeping people on their feet. These things are trip hazards. Tape down carpets wherever you can.&nbsp; Other fall hazards are kids. More specifically, they&rsquo;re toys. Ever had a Lego piece embedded into your feet? Ensure that you have storage solutions that they can always use to keep stuff off the floor. FurnitureJust because most furniture is heavy doesn&rsquo;t mean they don&rsquo;t ever fall. Many have been hurt and killed by falling furniture. Why else do you think every IKEA furniture comes with a wall fastener? Those teeny tiny things save lives. Specifically, the lives of little kids and pets that like to climb. PoisoningLike any good femme fatale, some plants are pretty but deadly. Plants like peace lilies and ZZ plants can be pretty toxic when ingested. Guess who might eat them? 10 points for you if you guessed kids and pets.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672324405998-bathroom-interior-design-with-shower.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> BathroomsSlips and FallsEvery bathroom has tile flooring so you know the drill. Keep. Them. Dry. Especially more so because they tend to get very wet, very quickly. Who knew? Also, think bathmats. Especially near the shower. Otherwise you&rsquo;ll just be flooding the place after every shower. Scalds&nbsp;Got a fancy water heater? Hope you got a good one. And hope you&rsquo;ve got it set just right. Because, if you&rsquo;re not careful, you&rsquo;re nice relaxing hot shower might turn into a soup cooking show. ElectrocutionHair drying is a fact of life in bathrooms. Store them far FAR away from any shower and bathtub in a nice, secure spot. Electric baths have not caught on as a new therapeutic range for a reason.&nbsp; Moving On... To 2023So, that&rsquo;s it. Now that you&rsquo;re smarter and all set, sit back and enjoy your home, safe and secure. Time to grab a glass of [insert favourite beverage here] and party until it&rsquo;s 2023!

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Well, that’s it for 2022. As the year closes, the boys and girls at SIXiDES once again take a look at the trends – what people loved (or didn’t) in 2022. 

Trend Of 2022 - Safety First

SIXiDES is an interior design tech and renovation platform that uses tech to change the way people renovate their homes. Conceived as a means to safeguard aspiring homeowners in realizing their space with ease and peace of mind. SIXiDES unique features provide an integrated solution that guides the users right from the very beginning till the end of the renovation journey.

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Where did the time go? Everyone was just celebrating Christmas and, suddenly, the year ended and then it was the New Year. And just around the corner, before you can catch your breath, is Chinese New Year. Quick, start decorating!&nbsp;Here are 8 ways you can do so quickly &mdash; especially if you&rsquo;re sprucing up your home as part of a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/mastering-space-innovative-planning-for-your-4-room-hdb-flat-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4 room flat interior design</a>&nbsp;refresh or planning some light&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/guide-to-all-interior-design-renovation-verification-and-accreditation-schemes-in-singapore" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design &amp; renovation</a>&nbsp;work before guests arrive. Paper Cutting Arts 窗花Time to get cutting &ndash; pull out the papers and scissors! Literally translated to &ldquo;window flowers &#39;, these super duper easy to make decorations symbolise a whole bunch of things, depending on what you cut. Peaches for longevity, pomegranates for fertility, mandarin duck for love, pine tree for youth, and peony for honour and wealth. Making these yourself personalised the decoration. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672972085794-pexels-angela-roma-7363724.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Table SettingArrange that table quickly! If you&rsquo;ve ever visited a friend for CNY, you&rsquo;ll know snacks on the table are THE thing. But if you really want to be flashy, don&rsquo;t just dump the goodies there &ndash; arrange them! The time and effort will not go unnoticed. At least, until everyone starts digging in. But it&rsquo;s the effort that counts. Door Couplets 春联Our ancestors used to make these out of pine trees. But you don&rsquo;t have time, just use paper! Paper is made from trees, so they kinda count? Regardless, couplets are made of large red papers that have Chinese calligraphy written onto them &ndash; they typically wish blessings upon guests who enter your home. If you&rsquo;re well versed in Chinese poetry, you could make your own.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672972112805-chinese-traditional-letter-decoration.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> F&uacute;-rtune 福These are a little like couplets but are specifically diamond-shaped with one word on it &ndash; 福 (f&uacute;). It means fortune and you can paste or hang it anywhere. Just remember to hang it UPSIDE DOWN. &ldquo;But why?!&rdquo; you ask? Because upside-down in Chinese is 倒 (d&agrave;o) is homophonous with 到 (also d&agrave;o), which is &ldquo;to arrive&rdquo;. Hence, &ldquo;luck will arrive&rdquo;. Super easy to make, you can practically have a hundred of these in a jiffy plastered all over the house.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672972126716-pexels-rodnae-productions-6692048.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Lanterns 灯笼What&rsquo;s CNY without lanterns? Buy them or get your kid (or neighbour&rsquo;s kids) to make them! They can come in all sizes. Whatever it is, hang them around your front door &ndash; their bright red illumination is said to guide good luck into your home. Or at the very least, show your friends where your house is! Mandarin Oranges 金桔Chinese love a good pun and Mandarin oranges are no different &ndash; 金 (jīn) literally means gold and 桔 (j&uacute;) respectively sounds like good luck 吉 (j&iacute;). More importantly, you can quickly get crates of them to decorate your home &ndash; stick them onto any flat surface you can find! &nbsp;They&rsquo;ll not only add pops of colour to your home but they&rsquo;ll also fill it with their sweet aroma too.&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1672972149397-pexels-%E9%82%B1-%E9%9F%AC-356269.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Blooming FlowersThis side of the world, we often call it Chinese New Year, but it really is called the Spring Festival &ndash; the mark of a new seasonal cycle. Which is why, on top of all the other decorations, blooming flowers are symbolic of this time. Popular plants to bring into the home are plum blossoms, orchids, peonies, and peach blossoms. To the florist! ConclusionSo, what are you waiting for? Stop reading and get decorating!&nbsp;And if you&rsquo;re doing a quick festive refresh as part of your <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation</a>, these touches will instantly bring life and colour into your space.

Where did the time go? Everyone was just celebrating Christmas and, suddenly, the year ended and then it was the New Year. 

Quick And Easy Ways To Decorate In Time For CNY

Mattresses are a big deal &ndash; they affect our quality of sleep and, thus, quality of life. No surprise. We spend a third of our lives on them after all. Considering that most replace their mattress as often as they renovate, you&rsquo;ll want to REALLY think about these 5 factors before getting your next coma-inducing platform.&nbsp;Many&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interior design firms</a>&nbsp;even remind homeowners that a good mattress matters just as much as the aesthetics of your space &mdash; whether it&rsquo;s your bedroom or your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/hdb-living-room-unleashing-the-charm-of-singaporean-lifestyles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">living room design Singapore</a>&nbsp;plans. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1674798235992-Slumberland-Vitalise2.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 1. Size Matters&nbsp;Big? Small? Or something in between? Think Goldilocks here: there IS a size that&rsquo;s just right. Consider your body size, height, and bed frame. &nbsp;&nbsp; When choosing one to match yourself, it&rsquo;s not a problem if the mattress is oversized. But too small? Hope you like sleeping in the fetal position. &nbsp; Next is the one thing most overlook &ndash; height. Too high and it&rsquo;ll get difficult to get INTO bed. Too low and it&rsquo;ll be difficult to get OUT of bed. Get one where your feet can touch the ground when sitting on it.&nbsp; Lastly, it&rsquo;s got to match your bed frame. ALWAYS match the mattress to your bed frame&rsquo;s size. Many inattentive buyers have ended up with mattresses that stick out worse than a sore thumb. &nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1674798254673-NEW-+Before+Point+2+-+Dunlopillo.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 2. Material Needs&nbsp;Just like ice cream, mattresses come in all sorts of flavours (just not as tasty). &nbsp; Memory Foam. Invented by NASA back in the 60s, memory foam is like a nice warm hug, cradling every part just right. Basically it&rsquo;s one of the best at body posture support, relieving pressure points and back pains. Some with cool gel tops help to beat Singapore&rsquo;s warm climate.&nbsp; Latex. Memory foam&rsquo;s nature-loving cousin is made with natural rubber; no harmful substances, chemicals, heavy metals, VOCs, or formaldehyde. And they&rsquo;re naturally hypoallergenic, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-allergen. Boasting outstanding durability, shape-retention, and resilience, they can be any from very soft to very firm.&nbsp; Innerspring&nbsp;(a.k.a. Bonnell Spring). Around since the 19th century, these mattresses with interconnected spring coils are the most ubiquitous because 1) nobody likes sleeping on cold hard dirt 2) they&rsquo;re nice and &nbsp;firm, offering maximum back support.&nbsp; Pocketed Coil. Same same but different from innersprings &ndash; each spring has its own fabric &ldquo;pocket&rdquo;. This means that every single one supports every part of your body independently. This makes the bouncier, quieter (no squeaks), eliminates movement to other parts of the mattress. You could have a silent rave party on one side and still not bother your sleeping partner on the other.&nbsp; Hybrid. The best part is that you don&rsquo;t really have to choose between all the choices &ndash; practically match the mattress to your needs. Need a bouncy, body-conforming mattress? Get a pocketed coil topped with memory foam. Allergic and nature-loving? Swap that memory foam with a latex one.&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1674798270827-Pocketed+Coil-KingKoil-01.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 3. Firm Or Soft Touch&nbsp;Firmness is divided into soft, medium, medium-firm, or firm, with each serving different sleepers best.&nbsp; Side-sleepers benefit from soft to medium-firm mattresses which don&rsquo;t put pressure on shoulders and hips.&nbsp; Back sleepers will enjoy firmer foam mattress or a coil and foam hybrid one which, typically, is better at holding up your spine without putting unnecessary pressure anywhere. &nbsp; Stomach sleepers puts stress on their spines that leads to back and neck pain. A firm hybrid or foam mattress would help sort that out.&nbsp; Combination sleepers change positions often. A medium-firm mattress may offer just the right blend of comfort and support.&nbsp; Body WeightEssentially the heavier you are, the more you&#39;ll benefit from a firmer mattress. Vice versa if you&rsquo;re on the lighter side. &nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1674798315956-NEW-+Before+Point+4+-+Maxcoil-01.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 4. Budget&nbsp;The market is just swimming in mattress variety with prices ranging from a couple of hundred to thousands of dollars. Going in blind, you might end up coming home with an expensive lemon you can&rsquo;t get rid of. More isn&rsquo;t always better &ndash; go armed with knowledge, tons of questions, and, most importantly, a budget. &nbsp;The same applies to a <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-does-having-design-styles-affect-your-budget" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">budget renovation</a> &mdash; knowing your limits helps you avoid overspending and unnecessary upgrades. 5. Where To Get Them&nbsp;Going out shopping is no small task and it would be a hassle if you had to trek across Singapore looking for the best mattress with the best deals. Thankfully, they&rsquo;re a boutique that sells most of the top-branded mattresses at factory-direct prices: the aptly named The Mattress Boutique. &nbsp; For top-of-the-line personalised service, hop on by any of these locations where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/vendors/brands/the-mattress-boutique">The Mattress Boutique</a>&nbsp;is:&nbsp; Tradehub 21&nbsp;18 Boon Lay Way, #01-98C, S609966&nbsp;Phone: +65 6970 6978&nbsp;&nbsp;AZ@Paya Lebar &nbsp;140 Paya Lebar Road, #01-11, S409015&nbsp;Phone: +65 6287 6288&nbsp; Nordcom 2&nbsp;2 Gambas Crescent, #01-07, S757044&nbsp;Phone: +65 6898 6288&nbsp;

Mattresses are a big deal – they affect our quality of sleep and, thus, quality of life. No surprise. 

5 Factors To Consider When Buying A Mattress

Finding an interior designer is like finding a soulmate &ndash; it will change your life, for better or worse. Only one will involve a wedding, but both involve a long-term commitment, significant investment, and chance of constant headaches.&nbsp; The best way to avoid messy outcomes? Meet multiple designers before choosing one. This is especially important if you&#39;re planning a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/singapore-2024-renovation-budget-condo-renovation-cost-forecast" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">condo renovation</a>&nbsp;and want to make sure you don&rsquo;t accidentally work with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/how-to-avoid-disappearing-contractors-and-protect-your-dream-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blacklisted renovation company in Singapore&nbsp;</a>&mdash; a mistake that leads to the worst kind of <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/renovation-regrets-furnishing-and-finishes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">renovation regrets</a>. Why? Here are 5 reasons why.&nbsp; ChemistryChemistry is everything. In your relationship with your interior designer, chemistry also means clear communication. Regardless of how talented and world-renowned they are, if you are unable to get along with them, chances are that nobody gets what they want. Being able to buddy-up ensures that everyone is willing to spend time to understand each other. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1676616867537-Portfolio.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> PortfoliosA passionate designer is a designer that&rsquo;ll see to it that the job is done perfectly right. Ever see someone do a good job doing something they hate? That&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;ll want to know if the one you&rsquo;ll hire for your renovation has a flair for designs you like through their portfolio.A portfolio is an opportunity to see if designers know their stuff. The big question to ask is this: is the portfolio you&rsquo;re looking at THEIR work or the collective work of the firm? Experienced designers will have plenty of personal work to showcase whereas ones who have less to show for it are either: (a) still building their portfolio through internships or mentorships, or (b) are actually sales designers more focused on closing a deal than designing. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1676616896029-progress-stock-figures-timeline-concept.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> TimelinesYou&rsquo;re a busy person. So is your potential designer. Work out a schedule with each one that meet and see what works best for both of you. Discussing this with multiple designers gives you a baseline on what a sensible timeline looks like &ndash; because nobody can deliver a job yesterday. While reputable firms will do everything in their power to stick to the timeline, just remember that, like quotations, this is an estimate. Delays are inevitable. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1676617021013-front-view-house-investments-elements-arrangement.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">&nbsp;Money MattersGetting tons of quotations is a great way to get a baseline of what&rsquo;s a good deal, a bad deal, and an outright scam.Prioritise firms that give you an itemised quotation. Excessively fussy? Yes. But this gives you a sense of how familiar a firm is about spending your money well. The more quotations you get, the more realistic your expectations will be.With payment terms, you&rsquo;ll want to be exceedingly specific. Key word: EXCEEDINGLY. Make sure your potential designer knows exactly how much you&rsquo;re willing to spend and when you can pay. &nbsp;Going through many designers gives you options and ideas of what a reasonable payment schedule is. Typically, payments will be in instalments with differing upfront deposits, depending on who you talk to. However, if anyone ever demands a 50% deposit, you might want to walk away very VERY quickly &ndash; these are practices associated with shady folks or firms going under.&nbsp; One last note that quotations are simply estimates; one should always prepare 10-20% more than that in the event of the unexpected. What SHOULDN&rsquo;T be unexpected is the payment terms &ndash; once the contract is signed, no one should compel you pay outside of agreed payment period. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1676617044979-standard-quality-control-collage.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> Warranty And InsuranceWarranties and insurance are assuring. However, what isn&rsquo;t is that they differ from firm to firm. Being able to compare these terms ensures that you know EXACTLY who&rsquo;s giving you the best bang for your buck. Be extremely detailed with these &ndash; anything that is promised to you needs to be in black and white before signing the contract. Nothing worse than having to bear the extra cost of poor workmanship a day after renovation. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1676617065064-top-view-colorful-letters-numbers-baby-shower.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> So, How Many To Meet?There&rsquo;s no magic number to how many you should meet but the bare minimum should at least be three, with more being better.That&rsquo;s too many weekends to vet through designers, you say? &nbsp;Then let SIXiDES help you do your homework for you with eQuote. Based on what you want, SIXiDES will recommend multiple reputable interior designers to fit your needs.

Finding an interior designer is like finding a soulmate – it will change your life, for better or worse. Only one will involve a wedding, but both involve a long-term commitment, significant investment, and chance of constant headaches.

5 Reasons To Meet Multiple Interior Designers For Your Dream Home

The thing about renovating homes is that, unless you&rsquo;re in the industry, everyone&rsquo;s a novice. Admit it &ndash; you can count all your renovations with only one hand. With that little experience, with a dash of inattentiveness, you are ripe for the picking by scammers.So how would you know if someone&rsquo;s trying to pull a fast one on you? Fortunately, if you know to look for, most scammers have pretty obvious red flags. Always check whether the firm is legitimate, whether they understand <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/7-things-you-ll-need-permits-before-you-renovate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">residential renovation permit</a> requirements, and whether they&rsquo;ve ever appeared as a <a href="https://www.sixides.com/articles/how-to-avoid-disappearing-contractors-and-protect-your-dream-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blacklisted renovation company in Singapore</a>.Without further ado, here are the top 7 red flags you should watch out for before you get scammed by an &ldquo;interior designer&rdquo;. 1. They Sound Good... Almost Too Good...&hellip; then it&rsquo;s most likely a scam. Just like all good things in life. There are two ways how an ID scammer would go about after sweet talking you into a &ldquo;great&rdquo; offer:1) &nbsp; &nbsp;They&rsquo;ll ask for a larger than usual deposit (usually over 30%). When you pay it, POOF! They&rsquo;re gone.2) &nbsp; &nbsp;They&rsquo;ll actually do the job but they&rsquo;ll a) use cheap materials unless you &ldquo;upgrade&rdquo; them b) slide in hidden charges, and/or c) charge for &ldquo;unexpected&rdquo; material costs.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever they do, it&rsquo;ll snowball into a larger bill.&nbsp; What to do?Get many quotes. The more quotes you get, the better the idea you get of what is a reasonable price to pay for your renovation. And always insist on a tiered payment for deliverables achieved. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1677220829825-engineer-team-discuss-working-construction-property-site-inspection-village-project-estate-building.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 2. They Don&#39;t Visit The SiteThere&rsquo;s no regulation that says interior designers HAVE to visit the renovation site. That said, it&rsquo;s still industry practice to do so. If the ID shows no interest in the site, chances are, they&rsquo;re after a quick cash grab. Proper firms WILL be interested in hearing concerns and understanding the floor plan before showing their ideas to you. What to do?Ask firms about their processes and ensure that there&rsquo;s a site visit prior to committing a deposit. Of course, unless you have not collected your keys.&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1677220867365-office-worker-with-tablet-pencil.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 3. They Give Vague QuotationsIf getting a detailed quotation is harder than getting a confession from a money-laundering politician, give the &ldquo;interior designer&rdquo; a pass. Quotations should include:&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Cost by rooms or scope of works&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Itemised material and service cost estimates&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Payment schedule (see #1)&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Timeline with key milestones (see #1 again)&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Exclusions What do to?Insist on a detailed quotation and quiz the firm about difficult or vague terms for clarification. <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1677220893946-creativity.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 4. They Don&#39;t Have A PortfolioWould you see a doc without credentials? Same thing applies to interior designers. Their portfolio is their proof of work. It pretty much gives you an idea if the interior designer you&rsquo;re talking to has the chops to turn your ideas into reality. If their sense of style jives with yours, great!&nbsp; What to do?Ask for their portfolio. If it&rsquo;s a firm&rsquo;s portfolio, ask for the interior designer(s) responsible for the work shown in it.&nbsp;To be extra sure, do a Google Image search of the images to see if the photos hasn&rsquo;t been stolen from somewhere else. 5. They Over-Promise On TimelinesEverybody wants everything yesterday. However, perfection cannot be rushed. Even more so with renovations. Everything is a process; from the planning to the building to the finishing. Skipping or rushing any of these steps is a recipe for disaster. If supposed <a href="https://www.sixides.com/professionals/interior-designers">interior design firms</a> too eagerly promises quick turnaround, you probably should turn around and look for a new one. What to do?Get quotations and timelines from multiple agencies. Don&rsquo;t be shy. These timelines will allow you to make comparisons so you know what counts as a reasonable renovation period.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1677220931717-glasses-documents.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> 6. There&#39;s No DocumentationIt ain&rsquo;t a promise &rsquo;til it&rsquo;s in black and white, AND signed off. Verbal agreements are only as good as hot air and even less useful in court if things take a turn for the worse.&nbsp; What do to?Because documentation involves legal matters, there&rsquo;s a lot to do:&nbsp;1. &nbsp; &nbsp;Get a contract for every little promise that the interior designer makes.2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Get itemised billing with a list of materials and services used/to be used.3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Take photos of defects and ensure they&rsquo;re fixed before making full payment.4. &nbsp; &nbsp;Be positively clear on termination clauses. 7. They Have Lots Of Bad ReviewsReviews are the end-all be-all to any business. It&rsquo;s fine if they&rsquo;ve got a couple of bad reviews. But, if it makes up the majority of the whole lot, buyers beware!&nbsp; <img src="https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sixides-us/uploads%2F1677220995961-medium-shot-young-people-with-reviews.jpg" style="width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> What to do?Always check interior design firm reviews from MULTIPLE sources. Just because they&rsquo;ve got glowing reviews on Facebook, doesn&rsquo;t mean it&rsquo;ll be the same on Google Reviews.&nbsp; Be Alert And DetailedIt&rsquo;s a little harsh to tell you to distrust every interior designer you meet. And you shouldn&rsquo;t. However, you&rsquo;ll need to be very detailed and insistent about information so you don&rsquo;t fell prey to opportunistic scammers out there looking for a quick buck. Stay safe, be alert, and be mindful.&nbsp;

The thing about renovating homes is that, unless you’re in the industry, everyone’s a novice. Admit it – you can count all your renovations with only one hand. With that little experience, with a dash of inattentiveness, you are ripe for the picking by scammers.

Trend Of 2022 - Safety First

Well, that’s it for 2022. As the year closes, the boys and girls at SIXiDES once again take a look at the trends – what people loved (or didn’t) in 2022.

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