Furnishing a Luxury Home—What to Expect in the Way of Costs and Timeline

Birmingham homeowners appreciate luxury, and when considering a home renovation place the luxuriousness of their remodel as a top priority. You also understand that luxury goes beyond selecting particular furnishings and fixtures, and involves creating a truly high-end living experience created with interior design choices that become greater than the sum of their parts.

At MainStreet Design Build, we appreciate your exquisite taste, and are your local experts at managing and exceeding your expectations, especially when it comes to luxury home furnishings and high-end interior design. Also top of mind is your luxury interior design budget, which can vary widely based on the scope of your project, and the firm you choose as your remodeling partner. So whether you’re moving into a newly built custom home, or upgrading your current interiors, let’s take a look at the design considerations, costs, and timing associated with furnishing the luxury home renovation that you and your family desire and deserve!

Dialing Up the Luxury from Room-to-Room

“Luxury interior design is a lot like luxury clothing fashion,” smiles Amy Fischer, Interior Designer of MainStreet Design Build. “Similar to how a classy woman could wear a Louis Vuitton purse with a pair of trending cutoff jeans, luxurious interiors are created with a combination of exquisite taste, innovative creativity, and a flair for both form and function. When you’re thinking about how to define a luxury remodel, and set it apart from a more standard renovation, I recommend focusing less on the individual components – you know,  each movable item and decorative element – and instead work closely with your interior designer to capture the personalized high-end living experience and unique style that you and your family are trying to create.”

To get the juices flowing, your team at MainStreet Design build offer a few suggestions, appropriate for each room in your Birmingham home:

Bedrooms

• Custom Bed Frames: These depend on the style of your bedroom, and your approach to comfort and elegance. If you and your spouse go modern, fine leather or hand crafted wood veneer are super classy, while a more traditional approach involves upholstered headboards with tufting and bold silhouettes
• High-End Mattress and Linens: You spend a third of your life in bed, so make it as luxurious as you can with equally luxurious bedding, ranging from bespoke linen to Egyptian cotton, sateen, or silk, with quirky patterns and personalized colors.
• Dressers & Nightstands: Attention to detail, seamless integration, and functionality and comfort can all be had with fine hardware, mirrored finishes, exotic veneers, and accent lighting built right into or hidden inside or under your custom nightstands

Bathrooms

• Shower and Steam Amenities: A great place to start converting a boring bathroom into a luxurious home health spa is with frameless glass enclosures, rainfall showerheads, body jets, and flexible steam features. Add a custom quartz or marble top, glistening hardware, and veined stone sinks, too
• Soaking Tubs and Fancy Fixtures: Freestanding classic tubs in cast iron or modern materials like stone or synthetics can be tastefully paired with designer faucets in polished chrome, brushed metals, or matte black for an ultracool effect
• Mirrors & Lighting: Bodacious, backlit mirrors and vanity lighting with either crystal sconces or more modern LEDs can create any mood you and your family

Kitchens

• Custom Cabinetry: The bedrock of any luxury kitchen remodel, you and your interior designer have endless choices between handcrafted woods such as teak or walnut, with high-gloss, lacquer, or matte finishes, with soft-close doors and even integrated lighting
• Smart Appliances: Birmingham residents expect nothing less than stainless steel, custom paneling that matches the custom cabinetry, with plenty of touch screens and touch sensitive controls for the height of elegance and convenience
• Countertops & Backsplashes: Style, baby, style, in quartzite, marble, granite. Waterfall edges and onyx sheer surfaces can create jawdropping appeal while providing maximum comfort and ease of use and cleaning

Living & Dining Rooms

• Sofas and Sectionals: Fine Italian leathers or rich velvet upholstery with nailhead trims, wooden feet, sleek metal accents, and tufted backs exude class
• Custom Armchairs and Chaises: Can be flush with plush, and finished in silk, mohair, and velvet
• Tables and Chairs: Dining tables can be crafted from premium woods and even stone, with ornate bases and matching chairs with travertine tops, polished metals, and backs made of fancy inlaid woods
• Credenzas & Sideboards: Can be honed with mirrored panels or glossy veneer, exotic inlaid woods and custom tiling, all expertly matched with the surrounding mood and style
• Designer Lighting: Glistening chandeliers in crystal or artisan-blown glass, including floor lamps and semi-hidden LED fixtures, maybe projection displays of stars and planets

Home Offices

• Custom Desks & Chairs: Partner with your designer to go modern minimalist or traditionally grand, with woods or metals to match, sheen plastics or padded leather, with functional features at every step
• Bookcases & Shelving: Built-in shelving or freestanding libraries with embedded lighting and art can be done in rich woods—walnut, cherry, or mahogany. Integrated lighting highlights collections or art objects.

Outdoor Living

• Patio Furniture: Yes, luxury can be weather proof! Woven resin or teak sets with custom cushions, daybeds with canopies, chaise lounges, and water proof sectional sofas
• Backyard Dining: Metal or stone tables, chairs upholstered in fade-resistant fabrics
• Fire Pits & Water Worlds: Concrete, steel, and stone fire pits, fountains, ponds, and topiary boundaries

Luxury Ad-Ons

• Area Rugs: Whether hand-knotted and woven silk and wool, or tessellating modern cloth or synthetic, it’s all about the mood that a big rug can induce to transform an entire living space
• Textiles & Accents: Throw pillows in modern or traditional fabrics, decorative trims and accents, and plush or bouncy throws can be classy, fun, or both
• Art & Decor Pieces: The range is as wide as your creativity and vast as your budget, from original artwork, sculptures, or ready-mades to off-the-shelf retail flourishes that add a quirky and clever touch
• Window Treatments: Motorized draperies or blinds in sumptuous or synthetic materials—such as silk or velvet or plastic—blend form with function, traditional and contemporary, depending on your taste and the needs of your family

The Advantages of Partnering with a Design Build Firm When Furnishing a Luxury Home

As a discerning Birmingham homeowner, you value quality remodeling work, delivered on time and to budget. And as Birmingham’s award winning remodeling firm, MainStreet Design Build we value homeowners like you who appreciate the benefits of working with an interior designer who’s integrated within our team. Instead of hiring an independent designer, our own experts like Kim partner directly with you to ensure that your vision translates into the design work to transform your dream home into reality – and do so as efficiently and economically as possible.

Benefits of Working Directly with an Integrated Interior Designer

• Budget expectations vs. reality: they work directly with the construction team, so are aware of downstream costs and potential complications
• Shortening lead times on custom pieces: they are intimately familiar with supply chain and sourcing variables, especially for luxury items
• Achieving cohesion across multiple rooms: they are experts at what they do, and think in terms of your entire home, and not just the living space they’re designing
• Expert Procurement & White Glove Installation Services: they have excellent and long term relationships with local Birmingham venders and suppliers
• Better Space planning: they make the most of every square foot by understanding your design vision and anticipating every construction need

“Our design build process is at the heart of everything we do,” insists Kim. “We apply our three phase methodology to ensure seamless communication between our entire team throughout the entire remodel, and help our clients sleep well at night knowing that we not only plan for every contingency, but work together to prevent potential problems before they even occur. Another enormous benefit is advance planning; for example, by working directly with the interior designer, construction teams know where to place outlets and plugs, ensuring convenient yet hidden access to power. That’s ideal for electric window blinds, that are a pain when battery powered, but are a breeze if plugged in.”

Here are MainStreet’s three interior design phases, and the benefits they provide Birmingham homeowners:

PHASE 1 – Initial Consultation, Intake, and Brainstorming

Before any construction work gets started, Kim and her team will determine the design scope of your project. That consists of finding your vision for style, and how you want to make use of your living space. Their goal is to customize all design elements to bring your vision to life, and do so by working collaboratively and closely with you during this initial phase to ensure alignment from the get-go, and discover the best options for the rest of the project.

PHASE 2 – Design Work Begins

After gathering all the necessary information from you, and conferring with the rest of the MainStreet team, they’ll develop a finished presentation with all your interior design details. The presentation describes the entire interior design effort, and shows you how each element fits into your budget and time frame. Through 3D modeling, you’ll get a clear visualization of your project and how every detail fits together, every step of the way.

PHASE 3 – Transforming Your Vision into Reality

Once you’ve approved the design plans, the whole team gets to work on bringing your vision to life. Before the work is started, you’ll receive and have a chance to approve a well-thought-out budget and construction schedule, ensuring you know every detail. The final step is the actual physical installation, where we turn your interior space into the design you saw in the modeling, and do so by seamlessly integrating expertise from the design to the build phases.

How Long Will My Luxury Renovation Take?

A cynical journalist once asked Abraham Lincoln how long a president’s legs should be, to which Honest Abe replied: “Long enough to reach the ground.” The same rule applies to luxury remodels, since so many variables are in play: Number of living spaces to be remodeled, choices of high-end materials and luxury furnishings and their sources, etc. But it’s fair to say that even a modest luxury remodel will take at least a couple months, and more expansive projects even more time.

Thanks to MainStreet’s three phase design build process, you’ll be given a timeline that should be quite accurate, and enable you and your family to plan around the process. Your dedicated interior designer will work closely every step of the way with your project manager to ensure that the entire project stays on schedule, and fits within the range of your budget.

Factors That May Affect the Timeline

Important to note that, even with such an integrated and rigorous approach, delays can still happen. Every project is unique, especially luxury renovations involving intense work over longer timelines. So here’s a few factors to consider, with an eye toward mitigating them whenever possible:

• Backorders: Some items might not be available at the time of order, adding time to the project. A good design build firm like MainStreet will accommodate these delays, and work around them best they can
• Damaged Goods: If furnishings arrive in an unsatisfactory condition, they must be repaired or replaced. Extra care is taken with luxury furnishings, and nothing short of perfection is demanded. Any problems? MainStreet will take care of them.
• Unforeseeable Mishaps: Whether you’re building a new home or renovating an existing one, your contractor might run into delays with several uncontrollable factors, such as material deliveries, inclement weather, or permitting approvals. MainStreet takes pride in being flexible and agile to help reduce these delays, and will keep you informed at every stage.

How Much Will My Luxury Renovation Cost?

Honest Abe would have a similar response to the costs associated with a Birmingham luxury home remodel, since so many factors are in play. That said, several considerations will always impact your overall budget, and are worth considering:

• Level of luxury: The choice of specific materials, styles, and brands will raise or lower your overall expense considerably. Work closely with your interior designer to ensure the overall project is within your budget range, and creatively balance exotic with everyday choices to maximize the aesthetic experience, and stay on point with your pocket book.
• Additional expenses: Whenever you get a per-square-foot general quote, remember that they usually don’t include taxes, delivery fees, or installation, which can cumulatively add several thousand more dollars to the total expense. Your estimate will MainStreet will be all-inclusive.
• Saved expenses and hassle: Partnering with a design build firm will provide you with an in-house interior designer, and one who works directly with the rest of the construction team to ensure seamless translation of your vision and the plan into the build itself. That helps prevent problems before they even occur, and heightens efficiency throughout to keep costs contained.

Benefits of Working Directly with an Integrated Interior Designer

• Baseline budget: they will help you establish a budget goal and help the overall team to stick to it
• Prioritization and mix: they will help you choose the right ratio between investment pieces vs. accent pieces to stay in budget with maximum design impact
• Phased planning: they will help you gradually furnish the newly renovated spaces to smooth overall costs over time, and do so with taste and panache

Work with Your Talented Interior Design Team at MainStreet

• Meet Amy: Since joining MainStreet in 2019, Amy has continuously helped clients refine each of their construction selections along with full-home furnishings, wall coverings and elegant window treatments. With a degree from Miami University and 12 years of experience running her own interior design business, she brings a keen eye for timeless style. Her expertise ensures every remodel is both sophisticated and livable.
• Meet Megan: With over 15 years of industry experience, Megan has worked in residential and commercial remodels, consulting, and film-set styling. Her deep knowledge of historical design and background as an interior design instructor make her a valuable mentor and collaborator. She brings a thoughtful, client-centered approach to every project, blending creativity with practical solutions.

Recent Projects Showcasing MainStreet’s Full-Scale Luxury Furnishing Expertise

Luxury Whole House Renovation & Interior Design in Birmingham, MI

A newly single homeowner wanted a fresh, modernized home designed for himself, his grown children, and family entertainment. He also needed a comfortable, stylish, and functional home office for remote work. But his home was compartmentalized and outdated, with no space for the home gym. MainStreet completely renovated the interiors, with an open-concept main floor, custom designed kitchen, striking new stairwell and railing, and a stunning new primary suite with a luxurious bathroom and custom-designed closet, with the additional bedrooms refreshed with updated bathrooms, new flooring, perfectly chosen furnishings, and modern lighting throughout.

A Luxurious Condominium Makeover in Bloomfield Hills, MI

Our MainStreet mission was clear: completely transform this cramped, fragmented space into a spa-like retreat that embraces the serene views, offering a perfect balance of relaxation and entertainment. We designed new bedrooms, kitchen and living room, foyer, and play rooms from scratch, and populated them with a distinctive combination of high-end materials and functional and durable furnishings appropriate for a family that liked to work hard and play hard, while maintaining a high level of luxuriousness with every major layout change and subtle furnished accent.

Grosse Pointe Farms Interior Home Remodel

A comprehensive renovation revitalized the stuffy and closed off kitchen, great room, and primary bathroom, and opened it all up with light and entertainment possibilities. The interior design was inspired by Japanese artist Akiko Hiromoto, with the goal of maximum functionality, creativity, and sophistication. Luxurious color and furnishing choices brought life and liveliness through a blend of exquisite taste, high-end essentials and accessories, and a flair for risk taking and aesthetic bravado. From the teal velvet chairs to the custom framed mirrors, the once banal home became an absolute delight to live in and entertain from.

Partner with Grosse Pointe’s Design Build Remodeling Contractor

Make sure you partner with a local design build contractor who can bring your dream remodel to life! Whether you and your family choose to update your kitchen, bathroom, or basement, create an entertainment area or home office, only a genuine design build firm can ensure that your interior designer will be an integrated part of the team, ensuring that your vision will be constructed with the highest quality, on time and within budget.

MainStreet Design Build is such a full-service, design-build remodeling firm headquartered in Birmingham, MI. The local leader, MainStreet is committed to delivering a luxurious end-to-end experience marked by personal care, accountability, timeless design, and exacting attention to detail. Since 1991, our team has made the renovation process comfortable, enjoyable, and safe, ensuring your home and basement transformation exceeds your expectations at every turn.

With a deep bench of architects, interior designers, and craftspeople, MainStreet Design Build is favored by discerning homeowners throughout Southeast Oakland County who value a high level of comfort and trust in knowing that their remodeling project will be done RIGHT. Browse our gallery of award-winning local renovations, and schedule a virtual design consultation. Let’s partner today to get you introduced to your dedicated interior designer, and make your luxury home dreams come true!