From Sample to Spectacular: Selections & the Finishes Phase

And selections really cannot be made in isolation because many of them affect architectural details, sometimes even the mechanical systems, lead times, installation timelines and all, the work of multiple trades.

So really, it's not as easy as a lot of people think when it comes to the selection process.

So help us understand which are the selections that need to come earlier in the process.

And do any of those surprise the clients as far as, wow, we didn't think we'd have to make that decision so early?

I'm lucky in that most of the people that I work with are very excited to start the selection process.

So, you know, they're happy to work through it.

I think the thing that maybe surprises people the most is having to choose things like the You need to choose, obviously, the color of the grids in your windows, the color of the hinges for the exterior door.

That seems to throw people a lot.

Because with those hinges, that then plays into what you're going to do with your hardware for interior doors, which then affects plumbing and lighting and everything.

So that I think is probably one of the things that people are most surprised about.

As far as a process for when things need to be done, we actually, Hibbs has it written into the contract here in St. Louis, the phases of when we have to have materials selected.

So for instance, exterior materials, stairs, shower bases, roofing color, windows, doors, that kind of thing happens in phase one.

Some of those things aren't terribly exciting.

We get those things out of the way, and then the fun begins.

I feel like once we start with appliances, things just kind of all fall into place.

For me, appliances are very, very critical because when you're talking about how you're going to be using your kitchen in particular— A lot of times we'll end up changing things from what the architect has shown on the plan, which then affects the cabinetry.

You know, the kitchen plays a lot into the dirty kitchen and how both those areas function.

So starting all of that early on is critical.

And I think appliances is the perfect place to start.

And I think that's one of the selection items that the clients find unusual is, why are we making our appliance selection so early when we're not installing them until the very end? But you're right about that.

There's a reason for it, and it plays into so many other things.

So, Aaron, I'll ask you the same question.

What do you think surprises the clients most about the selection process and the order in which we select?

Plumbing valves, anything that goes behind the walls needs to be selected as early as possible.

To Anne's point, if there's a change from the architectural drawings, we need to either pull the architects back in, like on a house recently, we decided to put the double ovens in the pantry because the clients aren't big cooks and they have a 60 inch range plus double ovens.