Design services
Material Selection
A straight account of Material Selection: the stages, the decisions that must be made early, and the ones that can wait.
Photo: williamskitchenbath · BY 2.0Overview
Material Selection, in plain specification
Written for the decision, not for the mood board.
Material Selection is a coordination problem before it is a design problem. Drawings, factory production, civil trades, electrical, plumbing and a delivery schedule all have to line up, and a project runs on whether that coordination is written down or assumed.
The most important date in material selection is the design freeze. Before it, changes are free. After it, panels have been cut to a drawing and electrical points have been laid to a layout. We make that date explicit, and we tell you exactly what it locks.
Where material selection interacts with services — a duct, a drain, a conduit, an AC route — the service wins. Every attractive detail that ignored a service has been rebuilt at some point, usually at the client’s cost, which is why we resolve them together on one drawing.
Six house styles
Material Selection in six personalities
The same brief resolved six ways. Each carries its own material, finish and detailing.
Photo: Dino ahmad ali · BY 2.0Minimal Material Selection
Serene Minimal delivers material selection in chalk · pale oak · linen: nothing decorative survives unless it also does work. Design stage: 2 weeks. Drawings: Plans, elevations, 3D views. Site duration: 4–6 weeks.
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Photo: Jeremy Levine Design · BY 2.0Bold Material Selection
Bold Contemporary delivers material selection in charcoal · oxblood · smoked oak: high contrast, confident mass, a single saturated move per room. Design stage: 3 weeks. Drawings: Full GFC set. Site duration: 8–12 weeks.
See this stylePhoto: williamskitchenbath · BY 2.0Heritage Material Selection
Modern Heritage delivers material selection in teak · cane · antique brass: indian craft detailing on a contemporary frame — jaali, cane, inlay and hand-finished brass, used sparingly. Design stage: 3 weeks. Drawings: Full set with detail drawings. Site duration: 10–14 weeks.
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Photo: Jeremy Levine Design · BY 2.0Classic Material Selection
Classic Luxe delivers material selection in ivory · statuario · gold: proportioned panelling, cornice and moulding, book-matched stone and warm gilt detail on ivory. Design stage: 4 weeks. Drawings: Full set with joinery details. Site duration: 10–14 weeks.
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Photo: mescon · BY 2.0Scandi Material Selection
Indo-Scandinavian delivers material selection in birch · chalk · sage: pale timber, soft daylight and muted green — nordic restraint adapted for indian light, dust and humidity. Design stage: 2 weeks. Drawings: Plans and elevations. Site duration: 4–6 weeks.
See this style
Photo: masuidrive76 · BY 2.0Deco Material Selection
Art Deco Glam delivers material selection in emerald · brass · lacquer: fluting, fans and geometry. Design stage: 4 weeks. Drawings: Full set with bespoke details. Site duration: 12–16 weeks.
See this styleSpecification
Material Selection specification, style by style
This is the table we issue to the factory and the site. It is also what a warranty is enforced against, which is why it reads in grades and dimensions.
| Specification | Minimal | Bold | Heritage | Classic | Scandi | Deco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Design and execution | Turnkey with civil | Design, execution and styling | Turnkey with bespoke furniture | Design only with site support | Turnkey with art and styling |
| Design stage | 2 weeks | 3 weeks | 3 weeks | 4 weeks | 2 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Drawings | Plans, elevations, 3D views | Full GFC set | Full set with detail drawings | Full set with joinery details | Plans and elevations | Full set with bespoke details |
| Site duration | 4–6 weeks | 8–12 weeks | 10–14 weeks | 10–14 weeks | 4–6 weeks | 12–16 weeks |
| Supervision | Weekly site visits | Dedicated project manager | Project manager and site engineer | Project manager | Weekly visits | Project manager and design lead |
| Payment stages | 4 stages | 5 stages | 5 stages | 5 stages | 4 stages | 5 stages |
| Handover | Snag list and sign-off | Snagging, testing, documentation | Full documentation | Full documentation | Snag list | Documentation and styling day |
| Warranty | Lifetime on modular | Lifetime on modular, 5 years on site work | Lifetime on modular | Lifetime on modular | Lifetime on modular | Lifetime on modular |
Before you commit
How to choose material selection
Six checks that prevent the failures we are most often called to fix.
- Ask to see a completed project of similar scope and, if possible, one that is two or three years old. New photographs show intent; older projects show how the work held up.
- Read what the quote excludes, not what it includes. Civil work, electrical upgrades, false ceilings and appliances are the usual exclusions that appear later as additions.
- Establish who is on site daily and who you call when something is wrong. A named project manager is worth more than a large studio.
- Get the drawing set defined in the contract: plans, elevations, electrical layouts and joinery details. Working from 3D renders alone is how sites go wrong.
- Fix the change-order process before work starts — what is free, what is chargeable, and at what point the design is locked.
- Confirm the payment schedule is tied to milestones you can verify, not to dates.
Bangalore
Material Selection in Bangalore
What the city's climate, water, housing stock and society rules mean for this specification.
Working in Bangalore means working around two practical constraints more than around climate. Apartment societies restrict working hours, service-lift access and debris removal; and the new high-rise stock along the eastern corridor is handed over as a bare shell, so material selection arrives at the same time as every other trade.
Balcony enclosure rules vary sharply between societies, and a few refuse them entirely. Anything involving a balcony gets checked against the society's own rules before design, not after — including in Indiranagar and Koramangala, where older buildings often have their own restrictions.
The mild climate is a genuine advantage: solid timber and veneer move far less here than in Delhi or Chennai, which makes craft detailing more durable and more affordable than it would be elsewhere. It is one of the few Indian cities where that is true year-round.
Hard borewell water in Whitefield, Sarjapur Road, Hebbal and Yelahanka leaves scale on glass, chrome and stone within months. Where the supply is hard we specify surfaces and fittings that tolerate it, and we tell the family the honest maintenance routine rather than leaving them to discover it.
For Bangalore homes we hold material with the grade and batch recorded, and we plan deliveries around society access rules rather than around our own convenience.
Sizing
Material Selection by home size
Scope below is what material selection typically covers at each home size, with the site duration we plan for.
| Home size | Typical scope | Planning note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 BHK | 2–3 weeks on site | Compact planning, one clear gesture |
| 2 BHK | 4–6 weeks on site | Standard scope, most common brief |
| 3 BHK | 8–10 weeks on site | Full scope with storage planned in litres |
| 4 BHK | 10–14 weeks on site | Extended scope, bespoke elements |
| 4+ BHK / Villa | 14–20 weeks on site | Villa scale, bespoke throughout |
Cost
What moves the price of material selection
We quote line by line rather than per square foot, because these are the items that actually differ between two estimates.
- Scope: design only, design and execution, or full turnkey with civil work.
- Joinery quantity in running feet, which dominates most estimates.
- Finish level and hardware specification.
- Civil and electrical work, which is the most common source of variation.
- Furniture, lighting and styling, which are separate budgets and are often forgotten.
Process
How the work runs
Five stages, with the decisions each one locks.
We measure the space ourselves rather than working from the builder's drawing, note the services, water quality, daylight and society rules, and write down how the room is actually used. Material Selection is specified against that survey, not against a catalogue.
Plans, elevations and details, with the specification written as grades and dimensions. You approve an elevation, not a render — this is the stage where changes cost nothing.
Material, finish, hardware and services are locked, and the estimate becomes a line-by-line document. We tell you exactly what this date locks and what can still change afterwards.
Factory production runs to the approved drawing while site work is prepared. Material is checked against the approved sample on arrival, in daylight, and stored correctly until the programme calls for it.
Installation, testing, snagging and a documentation file with drawings, warranties, decor codes and hardware models. A first-year service visit is scheduled at handover.
Living with it
Maintaining material selection
The honest routine, and the mistakes that cost the most to undo.
Care and maintenance
- Keep the handover file: drawings, warranty documents, paint codes, decor codes, hardware models and appliance registrations.
- Book a service visit at the end of the first year, when hinges and runners need adjustment and silicone needs checking.
- Photograph the concealed services before they are covered.
- Report any defect within the warranty period in writing rather than by phone.
What goes wrong
- Starting site work before the design is frozen.
- Comparing quotes on the headline number rather than on scope and specification.
- Leaving appliances, furniture and soft furnishings out of the budget.
- Paying ahead of milestones.
Detailing
Material Selection detailing notes
The small decisions that separate built work from assembled work.
The design freeze is the most important date in the project. Everything before it is cheap to change and everything after it is not.
Ask for the services drawing — electrical, plumbing, AC — and keep a copy with photographs before the ceilings close.
A weekly written site report with photographs prevents nearly every dispute that would otherwise surface at handover.
Snagging should be a scheduled stage with a defined window, not a conversation after the last payment.
Questions
Material Selection — answered
What does Material Selection include?
Design, drawings, material specification, factory production, site execution and handover in our standard scope. Civil work, appliances and furniture are quoted separately and explicitly so the estimate reflects the whole project.
How long does a project take?
Two to four weeks of design, then four to sixteen weeks on site depending on scope. Full turnkey work with civil changes sits at the longer end.
How is it priced?
By scope and specification rather than by square foot alone. Joinery is measured in running feet, finishes and hardware are specified by model, and civil work is estimated separately.
Can I make changes during the project?
Freely before design freeze; after that, changes to layout, carcass sizes and electrical positions have a cost because the factory has cut to the drawing. Finish and hardware changes are usually still possible within the same band.
Do you handle civil and electrical work?
Yes, within a turnkey scope, with a project manager coordinating trades. Where a society restricts contractors, we work with the approved vendor and supervise.
What happens at handover?
A snag list, correction, testing of every service, and a documentation file with drawings, warranties and material codes. The first-year service visit is scheduled at the same time.
Do you work on material selection projects across Bangalore?
Yes — Bangalore is where most of our projects are, from apartments along Sarjapur Road, Whitefield and Hebbal to independent homes in Jayanagar, Indiranagar and Malleshwaram. We survey the space ourselves, work within the society's access and working-hour rules, and hand over with a documentation file. There is a dedicated page for our work in the city if you want the full picture.
Does Bangalore's climate or water affect this choice?
The climate helps and the water does not. Mild year-round temperatures are kinder to timber and joinery than almost any other Indian city, so craft detailing lasts. Hard borewell water in the eastern and northern corridors is the real constraint — it scales glass, chrome and stone, and it changes what we specify and what maintenance we ask the family to commit to.
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Next step
Planning material selection for your home?
Send your floor plan and we come back with a layout, a material direction and a line-by-line estimate. Free survey across Bangalore.