JOIN OUR TEAM
Tera Janelle Design is a full-service, residential interior design team.
With over 17 years experience in construction design and furnishings, Tera Janelle Design specializes in large-scale renovations and ground-up new construction projects, guiding clients through every detail of the design, build, and furnishing process.
Forget about beautiful houses. We are focused on creating beautiful HOMES, pairing luxury with comfort to create beautiful, functional, and throw-up-your-feet spaces where families and friends do life together.
It has been 17 years since I began designing homes, and I still get excited for every new project. In designing our clients' homes, much of our time is spent in front of a computer and spreadsheet and design drawings; navigating deadlines, budgets, shipping statuses, and hundreds of delivery boxes. And while being a designer is far from the luxurious day-to-day many imagine, being a part of the construction and design process has captivated me from my earliest days. Growing up, my father was a contractor and my mother loved to garden. They built our Wisconsin farmhouse by hand and truly made it a place to gather. Everyone was welcome and there was a deeply felt sense of comfort, belonging, and HOME for all who visited.
I am honored to be entrusted with creating that same sense of HOME for our clients. We value the trust you are putting in our team. We embrace the responsibility to ensure the design is functional, thoughtful, and timeless so you continue to love your home for years to come. We can help you sort through the likes to get to the loves, and share our experience in knowing when to splurge and when to save. We will help you to see the potential of your home and to navigate the hiccups of making it a reality. We are here to partner with you through every step of the design process, and you can rest easy knowing we have been here before. We've got this! And I hope our enthusiasm is infectious. We cannot wait to be a part of making your home one you love!
LET'S WORK TOGETHER!
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THE DISCOVERY CALL
Call or email to schedule a call. We are excited to learn about your project! This is the opportunity for you to connect with Tera and to learn more about our team, design process, and the investment. We offer multiple tiers of design services, depending on your project needs, from design consulting to flat fee design packages to full service design.
MEET THE TEAM
Schedule a complimentary meeting at our Design Studio to meet Tera and the design team, learn more about our design process, review our portfolio and samples of our design deliverables, and discuss the anticipated design and project investments. If determined a fit, we are ready to get our boots-on-the-ground and to see your home in person!
THE DESIGN CONSULTATION
Our one-hour Design Consult ($500) is the jumping off point for our team to see your home or review your build plans in person, to share our ideas, and to develop a detailed design proposal outlining the options for partnering with our team depending on your project needs, from hourly design consulting to flat fee design packages to full service design. The design consultation includes the following deliverables: a Project Discovery Call with Tera Janelle, a TJD design survey in preparation for the consultation, up to one hour of virtual or in-home consultation time, and a written summary of the consultation. If our team, the project, and our process is determined a fit and you decide to proceed with our design services, the design consult fee will be credited towards your project!
PHASES OF OUR "FULL SERVICE DESIGN" PROCESS
01. DISCOVERY
Project discovery call with Tera and in-home design consultation. Signing of design proposal and payment of design fee deposit. Client "deep dive interview" with design team. Documentation and measure of existing spaces and furnishings.
02. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN & INVESTMENT ESTIMATES
Development of the design concept in order to determine the general layout and aesthetic direction. Drafting of CAD floor plans and elevations. Creation of trade and contractor quoting packets. Securing of trade and contractor bids. Presenting of estimates to clients.
03. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Creation of 3D renderings (as applicable). Selection of all design finishes, hardware, materials, and furnishings. Upon client approval, conversion to proposals and purchase orders. Signing of updated project budget agreement reflecting any requested add-ons. Payment of project budget deposit and approval of all orders.
04. PURCHASING & CONSTRUCTION
Placement and tracking of all design orders, including lighting, hardware, cabinetry, counters, window coverings, furnishings, etc., as applicable. Receiving and warehousing of all deliveries. Construction progress oversight. Collaborating with contractors and trades. Site visits to ensure design is implemented as intended. Delivery of design materials to project site.
05. INSTALLATION
Conclusion of construction and installation of all specified furnishings. Final project photography. The final reveal! "Punch list" follow up. Submission of final invoice and care guide to clients.
OUR DESIGN DELIVERABLES
CAD DRAWINGS: The Floor Plan
A floor plan is one of the most important aspects of a well-designed home: it defines the core function and flow of the spaces. Once the project direction is set, we start by drafting multiple floor plan alternatives, allowing clients to fully explore their home's potential.
CAD DRAWINGS: Elevations
Once the floor plan is fine tuned and approved, we move onto elevations. For detailed room such as kitchens and baths, we often draw multiple elevations, detailing the four walls of a room as well as potential millwork design, tile layouts, a reflected lighting and electrical plans, etc. Our in-house AutoCAD team allows us to draft our cabinetry design, millwork, lighting, plumbing, and tile elevations precisely to scale, integral in communicating the design to our clients and their contracting teams.
CONTRACTOR BID PACKETS
Once the floor plans and elevations of a space are fine tuned, it is time to bring in the trades! Depending on the scale of the project, a general contractor and architect may also be involved. At this meeting we provide to the general contractor (or direct to the trades for smaller projects) a Contractor Bid Packet, providing the teams all the details they need to bid the project and estimate the timeline. This packet includes, as applicable: floor plans, elevations, design boards, renderings, and a project summary document. This additional document is a written supplement to the design drawings and details proposed fixture allowances, work site expectations, and design intricacies necessary for trades to accurately bid a project's cost and timeline.
DESIGN BOARDS
A room’s design board is a visual specification of the selections within a room, highlighting how the finishes, fixtures, and furnishings relate within a room’s design concept.
SPECIFICATION SHEETS
The specification sheets or the "spec list" is part of the Design Build Book provided to your contractor. As much as we love design boards, the spec list is what contractors and trades look to. These highly detailed spreadsheets specify everything from the fixtures, material selections, and paint colors down to the nitty gritty details: grout width, paint sheens, light fixture hanging heights, lightbulb Kelvins, and installation instructions.
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3-D RENDERINGS
For key rooms of the home, particularly those a client may have difficulty imagining, we create 3D renderings. These dimensional, to-scale renderings provide our clients a realistic perspective of the final design to come.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do you design projects outside of your home base in Lynchburg, Virginia?
At this time, we focus primarily on projects within one hour of Lynchburg, Virginia.
Do you offer design consultating?
We do! Our one-hour design consultation is available virtually or in-person and is ideal for those looking for help with paint colors, space planning, new build plan review, kitchen and bathroom design, and furnishings selections. For those with large scale construction or furnishing projects in mind, it is also the jumping off point for our team to see your home, to share openly our ideas for the spaces, and to develop a detailed design proposal outlining the options and investment should you desire to partner with our team on your project. You can read more about our design consultation on our Design Services page.
We are building a new home. When should we call you?
We recommend reaching out at least 6 months before you break ground. We partner with clients on new construction primarily on a full-service design basis, meaning we join projects at very early concept and guide our clients through every detail of the design and build process. We often join our clients' new builds before they've even chosen a builder or architect, sometimes even before they have purchased the land/lot. This early collaboration provides for the very best final designs!
Would you join a new build that is already underway?
We generally join a new build long before the project has broken ground, but we evaluate every project inquiry independently. We are happy to review the point you are at in the process and let you know whether it would be a fit.
Are clients required to use TJD for both construction design and the furnishings?
While we do not require furnishings as a part of construction design projects, about 85% of our projects involve some level of furnishing. We have found clients are infinitely more happy at the conclusion of a construction project when at least one room is furnished to completion. After so many months (or even years!) spent in the bustle of the construction process, the warmth and satisfaction of knowing at least one room is fully finished has been invaluable to our clients.
What is the difference between "construction design" and "furnishings design"?
Construction design specifics the floor plan, layouts, and finishes of the items that are fixed or attached to the home, such as paint, siding, flooring, cabinetry, fixtures, tile, wallpaper, etc. When we describe designing the "furnishings" of a home, we are referring to the rugs, lamps, artwork, upholstery, furniture, artwork, draperies, and styling accessories. At Tera Janelle Design, we most commonly partner with clients in designing both the construction and furnishings of the home, so the home has a decidedly cohesive, customized feel throughout.
What is your fee structure?
Our design fees are billed on an hourly or flat fee basis, depending on the scope of the project. Those design fees cover the hours worked by and overhead of our design team. Contractor and trade costs, furnishings, and fixtures are billed separately.
Do you require a minimum project investment?
The minimum design fee expenditure for local projects is $10,000. Design fees cover the hours worked by and overhead of our design team. Contractor costs, furnishings, fixtures, etc. are billed separately. We do not have room-by-room minimums but are happy to discuss average projects investments, so you can ensure our design approach and team is the right fit for your project.
I love your kitchens! What is the average cost of your kitchen renovations?
Our kitchen projects typically start at $100,000 + appliances and design fees. All construction related costs are paid by you directly to your general contractor, and cabinetry, fixture and furnishings to our design team. Don't have a contractor in mind? We are happy to recommend one!
Do you provide the contractors?
One of the key values we bring to our clients is Tera's seventeen years in design and of building relationships with wonderful contractors, trades, and manufacturers. If you do not have a contracting team in mind, we are happy to make recommendations! Our clients sign contracts directly with their general contractor of choice, and all construction related payments are paid directly by clients to that general contractor.
How long should we anticipate our kitchen renovation will take?
The length of project is contingent on project scope, contractor availability, and product lead times, but we work with contractors and vendors to provide an anticipated project schedule so you know what to expect and when! Here is a typical schedule for a complete kitchen renovation. The design phase of a kitchen reno typically lasts 2 - 6 weeks, depending on the level of customization and structural changes. Following that, we submit the project for quoting. The length of time a project takes to quote depends on the availability and timeliness of the contractors and tradesman. For a kitchen renovation, we find general contractors typically take 2 - 4 weeks to meet with trades and compile the project estimate. From there, the start of construction will depend on the general contractor's availability. If the kitchen materials are ordered ahead of time (many kitchen appliances are currently running 6+ months lead times), construction for a complete kitchen renovation typically lasts 4 - 5 months from "day one" of construction to completion.
What does "full service" interior design mean?
In a nutshell, full service interior design involves a design team partnering with you from early concept to final completion — from initial conceptual design to CAD drawings, design presentations, budget management, helping you shop and edit your existing belongings, placing and receiving orders, collaborating with contractors, partnering in construction, warehousing furniture deliveries, and installing the final furnishings and design. We even stuff the pillows and steam the drapes. Full service design takes your space from just a dream to fully installed, resulting in a streamlined process and magazine-ready space. We want you to walk in and feel instantly at home! Depending on the size and scope of the project, full service design services may include
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Whole-home floor plan design
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Budget planning
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All materials and furnishings selections
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3-D renderings for key rooms
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Custom cabinetry design and elevations
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Custom millwork design and elevations
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Exterior finish selections
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Exterior living and entertaining space design
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Lighting and electrical planning
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Mechanical walk throughs
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Custom furniture design and production
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Custom art commissions
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Art and accessories selections
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Project administration
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Procurement, expediting, and warehousing
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White-glove delivery and installation for final reveal
Has the pandemic affected the design process?
The short answer, YES. We are seeing longer lead times for manufacturing and furnishings, and very busy project loads for quality contractors and trades. But we have always approached our design process with a Type-A attention to detail and planning, so we have simply kicked that into ultra high gear!
We are interested in working with your team. What's the next step?
Give us a call or send us an email to schedule a Discovery Call. We cannot wait to learn more about you and your dreams for your home!
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Are our services and process a fit for your project?
We are excited to talk with you!