About Lathika Nair Design
About and Background
Lathika Nair is the founder and principal designer at Lathika Nair Design. Lathika studied Bachelor of Architecture University of Kerala, India 1997-2002. On 26th August 2010, Lathika and her family immigrated to Melbourne, found a home in a beautiful bayside suburb and immediately Lathika found work with an architectural firm, and then later with an Interior Design firms.
Fast forward a few years to family and home and maternity leave and friends and family and friends-of-friends asking her to ‘do a little design job on the side’ (that usually turned into much bigger projects), and Lathika decided to branch out on her own. And so, Lathika Nair Design was born.
The Process
Often our clients haven’t worked with an interior designer before, and it can be a daunting prospect. Lathika Nair Design (LND) wants to take the mystery away from the process and show you exactly what it will be like when you work with us. Interior designers make indoor spaces useful, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting essential and decorative items, such as colours, lighting, and materials. Our work encompasses the interior of almost every type of building. If you can think of a building type whose interior that we can’t make safer, more functional and more beautiful, let us know #challengeaccepted
Embarking on a renovation is stressful! We want you to know as well as being creative and easy to deal with, we are also organised and have you, our client, in mind every step of the way
Here is an outlike of what happens when, including when payments are due:
Initial consult
- The potential client sends an email/DM to LND outlining details of their project
- LND gets in touch and sets up an initial consult a telephonic chat
- LND sets up a time for site visit depending on the type of the project.
- LND sends a design proposal with the scope of works and design quote
- The client accepts the quote and pays the deposit (typically 10% of the total cost of the project)
Design Stage
- LND works on a concept design and does an initial site visit. We issue the next payment at this stage, typically 20% of the total cost
- Brainstorming sessions. We like to solve your design problems and hit your wants and needs before construction! Of course, things come up during construction, but changes, once the work commences, can get costly for the client, so we spend time brainstorming and creatively solving challenges before work starts. We do not gloss over this stage; we want you to understand (and love) the design
- Mood board (yay, a super fun part of my job) and 3D views presented to the client
- Finalisation of design.Another payment is due at this stage, typically 20% of the total cost
- The final material, fabrics and finishes are selected (more often than not, this is a super fun part for you, the client!)
Design Development Stage
- If required, tender drawings are prepared and sent for quotes; for instance, you decide to have bespoke kitchen cabinets. LND manage the entire tender process
- The quotes received are reviewed. Builder/trades are confirmed, and a contract with the builder is agreed
- We work with the appropriate people to complete the final set of working drawings. These are the drawings from which the trades and their crew work. They are critical! Also confirmed at this sage is the scope of work. The builder’s contract and the working drawings are signed off. Another payment is due at this stage, typically 20% of the total cost
Project Management Stage
- And voila, work commences.
- Another payment is due during work progress at the site, typically 20% of the total cost
- Project management is taken care of by LND from the initial contact with suppliers and trades to the final client inspection. The final payment (hooray, no more money going out!) (well, at least for this project 😉) is due at completion, and it’s typically 10% of the total cost
About and Background
Fast forward a few years to family and home and maternity leave and friends and family and friends-of-friends asking her to ‘do a little design job on the side’ (that usually turned into much bigger projects), and Lathika decided to branch out on her own. And so, Lathika Nair Design was born.
