Author's supervision of a project: what is it and why is it needed?
The shortest answer you’ll probably get from Google is: it’s a designer’s service for overseeing the renovation process.
Many clients assume that once the design project is complete, all questions on-site will resolve themselves. But as we know, surprises can pop up in the most unexpected situations. More than 70% of our clients order author’s supervision for their design projects. The rest choose to manage the renovation process on their own.
From our experience, the cost of a designer renovation can amount to half, or sometimes even the full price of the apartment itself. So, is it really worth the risk to simply hand the drawings over to the construction crew and hope for the best? Especially when the combined cost of the design project and author’s supervision is usually no more than 5% of the entire budget.
Cutting corners on author’s supervision often leads to the well-known “expectation vs. reality” memes. Builders, once handed the project documentation, may choose to follow their own taste, suggest abandoning some design solutions due to complexity, or simply overlook important details. But as we all know — the devil is in the details.
It’s important to understand that a designer is not a foreman. They don’t supervise the workers on-site every day or monitor construction technology step by step. Their mission is to ensure that the client’s expectations match the final result. Simply put, the finished interior should look like the visualization — if not 100%, then at least 98%.
Even with an excellent construction team, situations often arise where the designer’s experience can save you time, stress, and money.
- Sometimes a lot of time passes between the design phase and the start of finishing work. A material may have gone out of production, or isn’t available in the required quantity, and you might not want to wait months for delivery. Of course, you can choose a replacement yourself, but an experienced designer will select the most suitable alternative in terms of tone and texture much faster and more accurately.
- In apartments and houses on the secondary market, surprises often hide beneath the surface. Over the years, history layers up not only in the wallpaper. We’ve frequently discovered unexpected issues during demolition, such as structural nuances that require thoughtful solutions or adjustments.
- Some decorative decisions need to be made directly on-site. For example, complex wall colors can appear different under varying lighting conditions, and decorative plaster applied by different hands may show visible differences in texture.
A construction site is like a living organism where countless factors come together. Making the right decision at the right time can turn a mistake into a highlight. Author’s supervision guarantees that even the most complex ideas will be brought to life flawlessly.
When we handle a turnkey project — including construction work and built-in furniture — we provide author’s supervision free of charge.