The Benefits of Residential Architects and Interior Designers Working Together from the Get-Go, Part Two

As a residential architect, I can tell you the results are truly amazing when architects and interior designers collaborate on a project from the very start. In fact, at Morgante Wilson, we’re so passionate about linking architecture and design from the outset that we offer both services under the same roof. Elissa recently wrote a blog post on the same subject from an interior designer’s perspective. Here are my top five reasons, from an architect’s point-of-view, how a team approach from the very beginning is ideal:

I get to work with my wife!

You may think I’m joking, but I’m not. Elissa is not only a talented architect, she’s an equally talented interior designer. But it goes deeper than that. When clients hire MWA to handle the architecture and the interior design for their house, they get both of us collaborating and commenting and bouncing ideas back and forth. After thirty one years as partners in both business and in life, Elissa and I design and work very well together. We’re familiar with each other’s thought processes and approach, we’re comfortable offering constructive feedback and alternative ideas that really elevate a project in the end, and we trust each other – and our teams - implicitly. It’s hard to describe what a boon that is to a project, but it makes a tremendous difference.

Teamwork benefits everyone

Of course, our architecture team often works with a client’s own interior designer, too. The process may differ very slightly, but again, the end result is elevated when we’re able to work together from the outset. Think about it: a client may hire an interior designer who happens to find an enormous antique chest that he or she just knows the client is going to love. If I know about that antique chest, I can make sure to incorporate a recessed niche that’s perfectly sized to fit that chest and really show it off. Little things like that add up throughout a house and help take it from good to incredible.

Professional expertise is magnified

Architects specialize in laying out rooms. Interior designers specialize in furnishing them. Put us both together at the very start, and we can help each other do our best work. We can think in tandem about overall flow and vibe, and what a space should look like and feel like – and then design accordingly. There’s a tremendous difference between an empty room that gets filled with furniture after the fact, and a room that displays input from both the architectural side and the interior design side before it’s even built. As a team, we can think about how people will circulate through that room. Where should doorways be placed to allow movement around sofas? Where will electrical outlets be needed? How tall should the ceilings be, and what will fill that space? Thinking about those things from two different perspectives makes the end result that much better.

I’ll be the first to admit many interior designers have a good feel for architecture. And a lot of architects have a good feel for design. But by pairing a trained interior designer with a trained architect, you get more than just good feels. You get the absolute best analysis of what a space should be. That’s when the magic happens.

It’s best for the budget

Another benefit – and it’s a big one – is that when you establish your team early it’s better for the budget. That way the project doesn’t become reactive, where you may find you have to move walls to accommodate furniture. Working proactively together allows each half of the team to do its part to achieve a common goal.

It benefits deadlines, too

Finally, when architects and interior designers work together from the beginning your project is more likely to stay on schedule, and be delivered on time, in its totally finished state. When installed items such as tile walls and hardwood floors can be sequenced alongside elements such as window treatments, the interior design can be running parallel to construction. It’s the difference between draperies being ordered and installed before move-in because they were planned six months ahead - or making appointments for the drapery guys to show up after you’ve already been in the house for two months.

Those are my five biggest reasons to get your team in place early on. MWA makes that super easy by providing architecture and interior design services all in one place. Check out some of our joint work on our website. Then give us a call and we’ll chat!

Morgante Wilson Architects provides architectural and interior design services in Chicago, Deerfield, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Northfield, Ravinia, Wilmette and Winnetka – along with Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin and the U.S. Virgin Islands.