Our First Visit with You:
J.A. Ratto offers remodeling services in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Mercer Island and the entire eastside of the greater Seattle Metropolitan area. First of all there are no fees for our introductory meeting. Our first meeting is really our introduction to you, to your home and to your ideas. This is where you begin to tell us your story. You lay out your ideas about the spaces that you're interested in changing and we in turn bring our resources into play and together we formulate a plan for getting your job designed and completed. First meeting duration is typically 1 ½ to 2 hours in length, depending on the size and scope of your project.

Working with Designers
The second phase of the process includes our design contract. More often than not, the size and scope of your project is going to involve both the design and craft skills of many people. Working plans (blue prints) will have to be drawn so that all of the many skilled craftspeople involved in your project will understand exactly what to do, where to do it and how to do it according to your demands. This process of designing ensures that your specifications are detailed into every phase of the project. All of the major questions regarding your design ideas are addressed and answered here. Besides the plans and specifications we also work together with you to develop your budget for project as part of the overall design process. It is our goal to make sure that we design a project that fits the budget. Budget development involves working with the Sub-contractors, material providers and suppliers who will be involved in your project.

Attention to the Details
In preparing for your first meeting with one of our designers, it would be a good idea to put together your thoughts about the likes & dislikes of the space you're thinking about remodeling. We will want to discuss with you, what works and what doesn't work in your existing home and whether you've found any examples for changing the existing space or utilizing a different layout for the kitchen or bathroom that you're thinking about remodeling. Perhaps you've come up some new ideas about cabinets, furniture, fabrics, colors, lighting or interior design styles and ideas that you would like to incorporate into your remodeling project. Do you have any ideas about how you or how your friends and family would like to be made to feel in your new space? These are the thoughts and ideas that help us with the attention to the details that we hope will be part of the satisfaction of the remodeling process for you and your family.

Time . . . the design process is a time process. It is often the case that you go back to the drawing board more than once in the design process. Time for original sketches, time for review, time for more sketches, time for drawings and final drawings. Time for specification writing (make, model and serial number on all those appliances, fixtures and lighting details). Time for final approval on all of the specifications. Time for final construction drawings. Time for construction document preparation and developing your schedule. Time for writing up the construction contract and time for the city to review and issue your construction permits. BUT the most important time is the time that you spend with your designer making sure that they are laying out and developing exactly what YOU want in your new space. Be patient. Good projects, great projects and the most successful projects are the result of good planning.