One of the best pieces of business advice I've had is to hire your weaknesses. Bibby + Brady has always worked well with just the two of us because Dael and I compliment each other with our strengths. But as we've got busier and started taking on bigger projects, we wanted to be able to offer our clients a more complete interior design service. So we're thrilled to have a new member of Bibby + Brady to help us do just that. Meet interior architect, Briana Joll...

Briana emailed us at the end of last year when she and her husband were getting ready to relocate from Auckland to Hawke's Bay. We caught up for a coffee earlier this year once she had made the move down. With a Bachelor's degree in Spacial Design, certificates in ArchiCAD and CAD Draughting, and a working background in commercial interior design, we knew she'd be a valuable addition to our team. Being able to offer both our commercial and residential clients 3D visuals, along with documenting, draughting, and elevation drawings meant we could offer the best possible service to our clients.

We got straight to work getting Briana to create 3D visuals for a clients' laundry and kitchen renovation. These are so valuable when your client wants to see their space before starting on the construction stage.

It's an optional service we now offer, and it's a great tool for visualising how things fit and how different colours and materials will look. It's much better to spend a bit of time at this planning stage, tweaking the design until you're happy, than making changes at the construction stage or after installation.

In this particular laundry, the doors and the room are existing, and we're getting the cabinetry made and installed by our joiner. Briana can also do the elevation drawings if necessary.

Below are examples of elevation drawings Briana has done for some commercial jobs. Elevations show the fronts or sides of something, as opposed to a floor plan which shows a space from above. They're intended for use as a guide for construction, and as well as commercial projects, elevations are also great for residential kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, or anywhere that requires built-in joinery, such as bookshelves or an office.

Space planning is another of Briana's fortes, as you can see from this commercial office project below. Dael and I are also adept at this, but Briana's experience in spatial design and CAD software definitely enhances our services now.

So you see, the addition of Briana to our team means that Bibby + Brady can be your one stop interior design shop, cliché as that may be. Whether your project is residential or commercial, we can take it from the concept to the finished interior, project managing it along the way, and including submitting plans to Council (when necessary). You don't need to go to a number of different professionals, we can handle it all for you and take away much of the stress. We love having Briana as part of our team, and if you work with us you will definitely benefit from her too. Visit our 'Design Service' tab to find out more about working with us, and make sure you download our "work with us" pdf to learn more about our services and processes.