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I guess I misunderstood. I’ve never picked out finishes ever before knowing I was going to use an interior designer (as in trained and licensed not a “designer” who just works with a builder. Finishes are not at the start but sort of classes of finishes are - Ann Sacks tile vs subway tile sourced from home store etc. Even doing a large remodel, with detailed specs, the actual selecting tiles etc. came much later. This sounds very casual and not what I’ve experienced in the bid part of the process. I’ve provided ideas via Pinterest style board of what I like, for them to get an interior designer familiar with looks I like, but we wouldn’t be pulling samples at that stage. I thought she was doing CAD work and an architectural design for you, not paint chips and tile with what sounds like general ideas. Luxury level vs moderate vs. builder grade finishes are the general tiers, with final cost based on actual products selected.
Right - this was somewhere in between. I think she was trying to 'sell' me on the services she provides, and wanted to make sure I picked out with her etc. DH wanted me to fly back down there to do all that; I didn't want to for all sorts of reasons (travel during COVID, expense, time it would take etc). To make both of them happy (?) I suggested I meet with her while we were still there over winter break. She was also very concerned about how this would price out (adding to my concern of the type of work she's used to doing) - she usually bids at $2.50 a sq ft allowance for tile, for example. The "CAD work" was a general layout that fits the space - but no electrical/plumbing/lighting etc. We are providing fixtures (DH can get through his business).