Detail Movement Interiors - Edinburgh interior designer — What is E-Design? (2024)

E - Design, Remote Design, Online Design, Virtual Design…if you have ever heard either one of these names and thought, “What on Earth is that?”, then my lovely, you are not alone. As the industry evolves, and certain events happen around the world (hello 2020), new types of services come to life, to meet people (and their needs) halfway.

To put it simply, E - Design is an interior design service done by an interior designer for a client, online. It does not require in-person meetings or an in-depth design process. But it offers the most important bit of help, and that is creating a functional layout, coming up with a design scheme, and selecting the right furniture, all within a set budget.

An E - Design service doesn’t have to be limited to what I just mentioned above. It can have more or fewer options. It really does depend on the interior designer or design studio offering this service. However, you, as a potential client can also ask for a more bespoke service if your needs are a bit different. This service is not set in stone. But this is what it generally includes:

1. Access to the mind (creativity, expertise, connections & experience) of an interior designer;

2. A bespoke layout;

3. Various types of presentation boards based on what the designer offers (these can be mood boards, furniture boards, sample boards, etc.);

4. Furniture list - this includes a list of all the proposed furniture, lights, and accessories (again, depending on what the interior designer offers in her/his offer), completed with links so that you can buy the items in your own time and at your own pace.

E - Design costs a fraction of what it would be to hire a full interior service from an interior designer or studio. Often clients don’t require a full service, but rather just access & advice from an interior designer, and help to come up with a design idea/scheme.

That is why this interior design service has been created to help clients who:

• Are not in the same city as the designer, or in the area covered by the interior designer, but still wish to work together;

• Do not need full interior design services, but just need help coming up with an idea, picking materials or fabrics, and the right furniture;

• Do not necessarily need to do the whole home at once (be it a flat or a home), but instead want to focus on a single room or a couple of them.

This type of service became very popular during the lockdown in 2020 when everybody was forced indoors and they become more aware of their surroundings. More importantly, they became aware of how they wanted to feel in their homes. This and all of the reasons I just mentioned above.

And this is where I come in.

I started offering this service back when the 1st lockdown happened and I’ve had the pleasure of helping so many lovely clients create a wonderful space that allowed them to feel relaxed and go through the pandemic a bit easier. Because in the end, what we all really desire is to live in a beautiful space that allows us to feel happy, safe and relaxed, not to mention thriving.

I’ve worked on living rooms, work-from-home offices, children's playrooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms for some amazing women who own their own businesses. Knowing that I help them to ease the pressure of having it all together and doing everything on their own is reward enough for me. Seeing them thrive now, online, is another reason why I love doing what I do because I know that I’ve contributed to that joy and happiness, even if just a little.

Because you see, we are our surroundings (environment). We are molded by it, influenced by it. So it’s extremely important that your space responds to your needs and allows you to relax your nervous system and thrive. And my aim has always been to achieve just that through calm and thoughtful designs, that take into account your needs and wishes and create a timeless home for your to live your best life in.

So, what is my E - Design process then?

STEP ONE - Getting on the same page

You are interested in working together and have decided to use the E-Design service after looking at the information here. So you get in touch asking for help to redesign a room in your home. After we chat a bit about what it is that you actually need, I send you a questionnaire with questions that are meant to help me get a sense of your needs, wishes, and likes for your project. What I will require from you will be photos of the space you wish to redesign and the dimensions of the room, so we can work to your exact specifications. For example, there is no point in picking a 3 or 4-seat sofa, if there isn’t any room for it in the room.

This is also where you can safely share with me what is your intended budget for this project. If at any point, I think your budget might not be enough to cover the transformation, I will let you know. That way, we can focus on what is more urgent or important to you.

For example, let’s say you wish to redo your bedroom and have a beautiful dressing table, but you do not have a budget to cover all the things you would love to have as well. And that is ok. We can focus the budget where you needed it most, on let’s say finding a great mattress and bed. We can focus on having a dressing table at a later time. We can absolutely include it in the design, but you don’t have to buy it or do everything in one go. This way you won’t have to give up on your dream of having a dressing table.

STEP TWO - Gathering Inspiration

At this stage, you can share any inspirational images, Pinterest boards, or any other bits that you think might help. Don’t worry if you don’t have any such images. I will send over some inspirational images for the room in question and you can pick your top 3 - 5 images that you like the most. This way, I will get a sense of your style, what attracts you in a space, etc.

STEP THREE - Creating the vision

Once I have all the information from you, I will start creating a couple of mood boards that represent how I see the room looking based on your wishes and needs. At this stage, all we really want is to pin down the direction we want the design to go in. This is where I also create the floor plan (layout) of your room, making sure it is functional because there is no point in having a beautiful room if you cannot use it properly, right?

After I create the mood boards and the floor plan, I will send them over to you, along with sharing my thoughts on why I chose the furniture pieces. You can have a look and let me know if you want to tweak anything. For example, if you don’t think you will need 2 armchairs in a living room or 6 dining chairs etc, we can adjust that before going forward.

STEP FOUR - Everything in one place

Once I have your ok for the floor plan and the direction of the design for the room, it’s time to pull everything together. In this stage I go away and work my magic, researching, selecting the best colours, fabrics, and furniture pieces to make the design come to life. And the best part? All of this within your budget.

I will put together a furniture list that will include all the items I would recommend having in the room. The list will have all the information you need (from prices to sizes, to direct links to lead times). All you will need to do is decide what you wish to buy, keep or buy at a later time. After all, this is your home, you get to enjoy it fully. A little disclaimer here - the furniture list will represent the prices and availability at the time we work together. These will, most likely, change in time. So it’s something worth keeping in mind if you want to buy anything at a later date.

STEP FIVE - Pining down the final touches

As with the floor plan, if there is anything that you don’t quite like from the items I’ve picked, we can find alternatives. There are 2 free revisions included in my prices, precisely for this reason. So that we have room to move things around, sort to speak.

This is the part that most of my clients get really excited about because not only do they get to see how the room will look, but they also get all the information in one place and then they can make the best-informed decisions for their homes.

So long, 50 hours + looking for the best table or bed, the best paint colour within your budget to make the whole room feel joyful, comfortable, and calm. So long overwhelm, stress, and confusion over which material is best.

I do all that work for you (and more) and put everything in one place so that nothing gets lost or forgotten about. Everything is just one click away. Easy, peasy, comfort squeezy!

And now, it’s all over to you! You get to put the design together and arrange everything in one place. You’ll have the plan to help you and guide you along the way. And, of course, I will always be just one email away to advise if you get stuck on anything. And that is it really. You get to do the most fun bit - putting everything together, styling it after your heart’s desire, and enjoying your new space!

If you managed to read all the way to the end, thank you. I know this post was a long one but I do hope it did answer some of your questions about what “E - Design service” is. I know it’s all over social media these days. And just a reminder, this interior design service is often less expensive (by a long shot) than hiring a designer for full interior services, and you get access to the interior designer’s experience and expertise (plus everything is done a lot quicker).

If you want to find out more about the online design services I offer, you can have a look here. Also, please do feel free to reach out if you have any other questions or if you need a bespoke service. I am always happy to hear from you and I would genuinely love to help.

As always, lots of love and remember to let your imagination run wild!

Raluca x