Understanding how we work, step by step

Our process begins with an Initial Consultation – in which we take a look at the outline of your space, take a brief, and establish (at least) a ballpark budget. This is followed, a week or two later, by a first Design Presentation – in which we show our first design ideas. The Design presentation includes outline layouts, elevations, aesthetics, and some material and product choices – and will have associated realistic costings for the project as a whole.

These two appointments are free of charge, and are designed to give us the opportunity to demonstrate our value to you, and for you to assess if we are the right fit for your project.

Once you are happy to proceed to the next Detailed Design Phase, we ask for a 10% deposit payment (calculated against the estimated budget costings we will by then have agreed). Receipt of this payment establishes our mutual commitment to each other regarding the process and its scheduling.

Once the deposit is paid, we start the more iterative phase where design ideas are further explored, refined, and drawn up in technical detail. This stage will normally necessitate us making a site visit, in order to take accurate measurements and to better understand how the space feels within the context of the home and its wider environment. The detailed design phase is also where you will be required to make decisions.

At this stage, while we will already have clarified an agreed budget, design decisions may vary costs – up or down. We take responsibility for giving advice that will keep projects tracking within the initial agreed budget, but actual costings will always vary – within reasonable limits – as specifications are finalised.

We commit to keeping a budget on track because we have no wish to extend anyone beyond their budgetary comfort zone – however, we will equally be guided by you if your budget is flexible and/or you would like to expand your ideas. Advice is in our gift, but final choices are always yours to make, and final pricing will be confirmed at the point where we are agreeing and signing off a project.

When a design is finalised, agreed and signed off, we require a payment that will represent 50% of the total order cost (to include the 10% deposit already paid): this is so that we can place orders. At the point of ordering we are committed to the costs, as many of our products are made to order – this means we cannot normally cancel orders once they are placed.

The final balance becomes payable 14 days before the agreed delivery date. If you change the delivery date for any reason, the balance will still need to be paid, as will our suppliers who will have made and delivered everything to us by then. Failure to do this may postpone your delivery and installation. We understand delays may happen on site and we offer 2-weeks complimentary storage at our warehouse – after this time, delays will necessitate additional storage fees, which may also vary according to volume. 

At the start of the project, we will propose a schedule, which will include design meetings, site visits and key dates to achieve your project timeline. We will always keep you updated to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

One of our core values as a business is that we should always be available and approachable – our aim is to make your journey as easy and enjoyable as possible. We are always available for questions or to give you more information about different material or product choices. Many of our kitchen and bathroom displays are working, and appliances are there to be demonstrated or tried out as you make decisions.

We know that disruption in your home can be stressful and in reality that things don’t always go to plan, however we have years of experience in managing home renovations and we know how to approach any issues that arise.  Even when a project goes 100% to plan, there will be moments of stress and frustration. We employ a ‘good human’ policy at Day True because even(/especially!) in moments of frustration, the wheels of problem solving are oiled better with mutual respect and understanding than they are with ‘abuse’. We may ask for your patience and understanding while we sort out any problems, but we are always working on your behalf.

We adhere to a few ‘piratical’ values – by which we mean that we sometimes will challenge the status quo with creative ideas and progressive thinking, and that we will never design something that we feel will not work well for the purpose or the people for whom it is being designed. Your willingness to share information and to be open to new ideas helps us to push the boundaries of a few ‘accepted’ norms, which in turn helps us create a space that will fit you better than you might have imagined and that will serve you well into the future.

We are proud of all our projects as you can see on our website and social media – we like showing off what we do well! We would love to include your project in our future marketing, which may include images we take during the project and/or a professional photo shoot at the end. Of course, we will share the photos, so that you can show them off to your friends too. We are confident that you will be happy to write us a good report, and we will invite you to share your experience as a testimonial.

Our commitment to you is simple, at the end of the project we want you to have improved your home environment and your way of living in it. During the project we will invite you to come and try the products before you buy them (even the steam room!) so that you can make informed decisions. Once the project has been completed, we will check in with you to make sure everything is as it should be.