​An excellent interior designer plays a significant role in transforming indoor spaces into environments that are safe, functional, and visually appealing. They visualize and realize how a company’s brand, business model, and operations will manifest visibly in the commercial interior design of the space.

However, apart from curating a stunning commercial interior design, what are other aspects that a designer should follow? Here are the rules for a successful commercial interior design project.

Who is a Commercial Interior Designer?

​A commercial interior designer is someone who maps out, directs, and supervises the construction of commercial spaces such as boutique hotels. They guide clients with the selection of materials, color schemes, and furnishings.

Commercial designers ensure that all aspects harmonize and coordinate well with the identity or brand and the commercial interior design of the hospitality space. Hence, they should be keeping up with the current design trends in hospitality spaces. They should be aware of what appropriate seating furniture to install or what color scheme would attract the target market.

As professionals in the field, commercial designers evaluate the needs of clients and the commercial space in order to devise an extensive plan that will satisfy and suffice the demands of the operations in the space and maximize profits. They draw plans and layouts of the commercial interior design. Then, they render images of prospects and proposals, complete with details, color palettes, finishes, and materials in accordance with code requirements.

Ultimately, the interior decorator of commercial spaces has to address the correlation between the necessary daily functions and operations and the physical space. They need to focus on the aesthetic and functionality of the interior space of a building. 

Commercial vs. residential Interior Designers

​Interior design encompasses many subcategories, including residential and commercial interior design. There are key differences between the two, such as the focus, whom they are catering to, and the overall aesthetic of the space.

Residential interior designers focus on residential/private homes, condominium units, and apartments. They create designs based on a personal level of preference. They cater to the needs of private individuals and families.

Residential interior design focuses on creating interior spaces that are conducive to living. As professionals, they work directly with the owners of the house and cater to their personal preferences when it comes to design. Comfort is the utmost priority for residential interior design. The design concept involves sentimentality and the personal touches of the owner.

In contrast, a commercial interior designer focuses more on creating public spaces such as hospitality establishments, hospitals, schools, and offices. The company’s branding and image serve as the basis for its commercial interior design.

Commercial interior design companies prioritize user experience as the foundation of their design concept. They design based on how different people will interact with the space. As designers, they must consider how their clients and customers will be using the space. Commercial spaces encourage a healthy and aesthetically appealing environment. Commercial interior design encompasses a wider scope.

Who Uses a Commercial Interior Designer?
Companies from all sorts of industries hire commercial interior designers. Such companies necessitate the professional working expertise of an interior decorator for the construction projects of their interior spaces. Such projects can be for new spaces or renovation of the existing commercial interior design of the place. The following are the most typical clients of these designers.

Luxury Hotels
A luxury hotel is in the hospitality industry, hence the need for striking yet homey commercial interior design.

A well-equipped interior decorator embellishes luxury hotels with the appropriate commercial interior design. This way, the customers will enjoy a relaxing yet aesthetically pleasing environment. Most luxury hotels use “Resimmercial” interior design since it incorporates residential elements into the commercial interior design of the space.  

Retail Stores and Center
The commercial interior design of retail centers and stores should be a safe and conducive environment for their operations. Knowing the number of customers they get on a daily basis, interior designers conceptualize an interior design and layout that maximizes the fast-paced projects and operations of the establishment.

Upscale Restaurants, Bars, and Cafes
Commercial interior design for food and beverage hospitality establishments requires an intensive analysis of their daily operations. They should also consider the constant interaction among the employees, customers, and the physical space they are in.

Corporate Offices
Commercial interior design for commercial office space includes the selection of office furniture, paint jobs, and layout of the whole office space.

Key Stages of the Commercial Interior Design Process
Commercial interior designing is an intensive process wherein a client and the designer must establish clear and detailed communication. It comprises different stages of the design process. This way, you can achieve commercial interiors that are of high quality and conducive to commercial operations.

Initial Consultation
Designers must first meet with clients in order to gather significant information from the company to better understand how the interior should look like.  During this pre-design stage, the designers consult clients regarding their preferences and necessary considerations for the interior design and overall feel of the space. 

Moreover, this consultation will also define how the designers will incorporate the branding and identity of the company into the interior space. Furthermore, in this stage, they outline the scope and schedule.

Space Planning
In this phase, responsible parties should enact a comprehensive analysis of the existing conditions of the commercial space. This is to understand further the design considerations and necessary actions for the interior space. Moreover, the owner and designer should develop the goals and budget.

Concept Development
The development of the concept design for the space is a collaborative effort between the designers and the clients. This is critical to achieving a sufficient and satisfactory foundation for the design of the commercial space.

In this stage, the clients visualize their desired design of the space so that the designers will be perceptive of the various matters that must be considered for their design proposals.

Design Development
Considering the various conditions and parameters set by the clients for the commercial space, the designers are set to develop their design proposals for the clients. In this phase, designers generate preliminary layouts and plans based on the discussions from the preceding stages.

Moreover, this phase entails a consistent interaction between the clients and the designers for the necessary corrections and revisions to the plans. This also involves final recommendations and the approval of the clients for the final layout and plans for the interior of the commercial space.

The designer develops their plans and working drawings with the use of specialized technical software in order to provide comprehensive visual materials for the clients and other professionals working on the project, such as engineers and architects.

Selection of Finishes and Materials
After coming up with the final plan for the interior design, the interior decorator will then consult and discuss with the clients regarding the finishes and materials that they will install in the commercial space. As professionals in the industry, they are responsible for recommending finishes and materials that they will use for the commercial space since they are experts in the field.

In addition, thIs phase also entails the selection of decors and furniture sets and pieces that are to be laid out in the commercial space. This is to ensure the cohesive and consistent design of the space. Ultimately, the goal is to transform the existing space into an aesthetically pleasing environment conducive to conducting commercial operations.

Moreover, we also recommend working with custom furniture manufacturers in order to obtain the desired style for needed furniture. Bestar Hospitality is a custom furniture manufacturer that offers various highly customizable furniture pieces that are suitable for all sorts of spaces. Bestar Hospitality is always prepared to accommodate your furniture needs with a wide variety of selections of furniture pieces, from tables to all sorts of chairs for your commercial space.

Documentation and Specification
This pre-construction stage defines the different terms and conditions for the project. The clients and the designers are heavily involved in this phase. It is because they help in producing and applying for contracts, permits, and necessary documents.

Furthermore, they need to check for compliance and adherence to building codes in order to achieve faultless and irreproachable processing of necessary permits. Architectural details are also specified and emphasized during this stage. This is to provide the contractors and other professionals involved with a detailed direction on how the construction of the interior must be done.

Construction Administration
In the course of the construction of the project, the interior designers are heavily involved with coordinating assignments and ensuring that the project is being done accurately and stays within the budget and schedule. As professionals, they are responsible for ensuring that the quality of their projects is top-notch and satisfactory for their clients.

The construction phase entails intensive monitoring of compliance with the details and accuracy of the various elements in the space. Material and finishes are all checked constantly in order to adhere to the discussed agreements.

Furniture pieces must be checked thoroughly for accuracy and quality and laid out in the right manner. May it be a new space or a renovation of an existing one, accuracy and consistency is of utmost priority,  

Project Closeout
This is the post-construction phase of the project when the commercial interior designers perform a final evaluation of the project– making sure that all tasks and details have been accomplished appropriately and to the client’s satisfaction. A final walk-through with the clients is also conducted to ensure that all the elements of the design are functioning as predetermined.

Moreover, this also calls for an assessment of the project’s compliance with the agreed-upon contract. This gives both parties security from legal claims and issues.

The Rules For A Successful Interior Design Project

Good Planning and Organization
The success of a project is founded on the efficiency and thoroughness of the preliminary stages of the design process. Every project starts with adequate and complete planning.

With good planning comes smooth and fast-paced execution of the various tasks and specifications of the project. It also encourages accuracy and high-quality accomplishment of the project.

Consider Technology Implementation
Interior designers use specialized and technical software to produce working drawings, layouts, and plans. Hence, it is recommended that interior designers be updated and proficient with recent technological advancements in the interior design industry.

Moreover, being knowledgeable of recent design trends is also advantageous. This will help in the development of the design concept for the project. Having more ideas in design makes it easier for them to develop their own designs for their clients.

Recent commercial interior design trends include stunning geometric patterns, light and vivid color palettes, multi-purpose and customizable furniture, energy-efficient lighting, natural elements, and sustainability.

Balance of Form and Function
Interior design requires two elements as top considerations, which are form and function. Increase functionality without sacrificing the form. This can be done by comprehensively evaluating the necessary elements and reducing the unnecessary ones.

Wise Budget Management
The budget is what will keep the project going until its completion. As professionals, apart from the planning, commercial interior designers are tasked to manage the project, which includes timeline or schedule and budget management.

The project must stay within the predetermined budget unless necessary additional works not stated in the contract are approved by the client. This, in turn, maximizes the profit.