The Words My Interior Designer in Dubai Made Me Look Up

My to-do list from my designer had 5 items last Thursday. I could understand 2 of those items.

As I mentioned in my last post, we're doing this renovation project with just one decision day a week. Every Thursday morning I get a short list of things to do. This has definitely helped me stay sane while doing stage one of the renovation. But as soon as we got to stage two (the kids' bedroom and hallway storage), the list was starting to look like gibberish.

"Please confirm finish to joinery. Please look at attached FF&E schedule. Please check lead time for bunk unit. Updated BOQ to follow."

I just nodded and then closed the email. I opened up my search page and now have a huge note on my phone. This might help someone who's about to begin working with an interior designer in Dubai. You may not need all of this information on your first day, but it's reassuring to know that these words aren't as bad as they seem.

Joinery

This was the first word I had to look up, and I felt a bit silly. Joinery refers to built-in wooden features in a house. Wardrobes, shelves, a storage wall and a fitted bench. This includes our hallway storage and bunk unit.

It is important as it is all fitted to your space. If you buy a shoe rack, you can return it. But if you have a cupboard fitted to your wall measuring 2.3 metres with an outlet in the centre, you can't return it. This is why my designer kept asking me to double-check my measurements.

FF&E

I assumed this was a company. FF&E actually stands for furniture, fixtures and equipment. I found this A-Z of interior design terminology very helpful, and it became my favourite tab of the month.

It's basically a list of all the items that will go into the room once the building work is done. We have our bunk ladder, blackout blinds, wall lights and coat hooks. As I could see all of the items on one sheet, I wasn't tempted to buy extra bits.

Lead time

This is just how long something will take to arrive. It seems obvious, but it changes the order of things.

We had a longer lead time for our bunk unit. This meant that Amanda D'souza, our designer, wanted my decision 3 weeks earlier than I would have expected. My gut reaction was to put off making a decision. But she explained that if I did, then the kids would be sleeping on a mattress on the floor for a month. I decided on Thursday.

BOQ

This sounded the most serious. BOQ stands for bill of quantities, a document listing the measured quantities of the items in the drawings and specifications.

This is where things become less vague. Instead of just "Hallway storage" and one number, I could see what was included. Boards, hinges, paint and labour. My favourite question to ask any interior designer in Dubai is "Can I see this on the BOQ?". It's a relaxed way to find out why something is priced how it is.

Scale

I thought this meant size. Scale refers to how big objects are in relation to the space or other objects in the room.

This helped me understand why my chosen rug for the kids' room was wrong. It looked like a generously sized rug in the store but was tiny on the floor. It wasn't a bad rug but the wrong size for the room.

Snagging

Finally, and my favourite! Snagging involves going through the completed work and noting down anything small that needs fixing. Any issues with doors not closing, paint drips and crooked hooks.

Amanda walked with me around the kids' room with a roll of blue tape. We put a small piece of tape on anything we saw wrong. By the end, the room looked like it had a rash! But by next week there was nothing left.

What an interior designer in Dubai taught me about words

I used to be embarrassed to ask what something meant. I would sit quietly and look it up later, which almost meant I approved the wrong finish for the hallway doors.

Now I just ask. Any good interior designer in Dubai would prefer to explain a word on Thursday rather than re-do a cupboard on Monday.

The hallway is complete! The shoes and scooters finally have a home, and my daughter has decided the bottom shelf is hers. Next week's list only has 3 items, and I understand all of them!