What a Certified Interior Designer Does on a Renovation

A lot of people think hiring an interior designer means someone comes in, picks paint colours, and hands you a mood board. That is how the industry has been portrayed on TV for years. But when you are doing a full renovation in Kelowna, a certified interior designer does a lot more than that, and understanding the difference can save you tens of thousands of dollars and a serious amount of stress.

I am Danielle, the owner of Oak and Ivory Building Co., and I have spent years working in furniture, staging, and renovation design across the Okanagan. Before I started my own company, I was the lead designer at a renovation firm where I ran projects from the first client meeting all the way through to the final walkthrough. I want to walk you through what that actually looks like, because most homeowners have no idea what they are paying for when they hire a designer, and they should.

The Design Phase: More Than a Pretty Mood Board

Yes, a certified interior designer creates mood boards and selects finishes. But the design phase is really about solving problems before construction starts. That means looking at your floor plan and identifying where the traffic flow breaks down, where natural light is being blocked, and where a wall could come out to open up a space without touching structural elements.

It also means drafting. When I take on a renovation project, I produce detailed drawings that the trades can actually work from. That is not something every designer does, but it is something every renovation needs. Without proper drawings, contractors are guessing, and guessing costs money.

Finish selection is another piece that people underestimate. Choosing a tile is not just about what looks good. It is about whether that tile can handle the moisture in your specific bathroom, whether the grout joint size works with the format, and whether the lead time on that product fits your construction schedule. Getting that wrong means delays or expensive substitutions mid-project.

Quoting and Scheduling Trades

This is where a designer who has renovation experience becomes genuinely valuable. I coordinate with plumbers, electricians, tile setters, cabinet makers, and painters. I know the order things need to happen in. I know which trades need to be booked six weeks out and which ones can be called in on shorter notice.

When you hire a contractor without a designer, the contractor manages the trades. That works fine for straightforward projects. But on a renovation that involves design decisions, having a designer in the room when the trades are being briefed means fewer change orders, fewer misunderstandings, and fewer surprises on your invoice.

Material Ordering and Compliance

I order materials. I track lead times. I make sure the cabinets arrive before the countertop template appointment, not after. I also make sure everything we specify meets BC Building Code requirements. That last part matters more than people realize. A beautiful renovation that does not pass inspection is a renovation you have to redo.

In Kelowna, the City has specific requirements around things like bathroom ventilation, egress windows in basement bedrooms, and electrical panel upgrades when you are adding square footage. A designer who has worked through the permit process here knows what to expect and how to plan around it.

Project Management from Concept to Completion

The thing that sets a full-service designer apart from a decorator is project management. I am on site. I am answering calls from the tile setter when the layout does not match the drawing. I am at the cabinet delivery to make sure nothing is damaged. I am the person who catches the problem before it becomes your problem.

At Oak and Ivory Building Co., I use a cost-plus budget model. That means you see every invoice, every material cost, and every trade payment as it happens. There are no hidden markups and no surprise bills at the end. You know exactly where your money is going at every stage of the project.

Why It Matters in Kelowna Specifically

The Okanagan renovation market has grown a lot in the last few years. There are more contractors working here than ever, and not all of them have the same standards. Hiring a certified interior designer who also manages the project gives you an independent set of eyes on the work. I am not a contractor. I am not trying to protect a trade relationship at your expense. My job is to make sure your home looks and functions exactly the way you envisioned it.

If you are planning a renovation in Kelowna, West Kelowna, or anywhere in the Okanagan Valley and you want to understand what working with a designer actually looks like from start to finish, reach out through the Oak and Ivory website and we can talk through your project.

Danielle Ursulan is a certified interior designer and the owner of Oak and Ivory Building Co. in Kelowna, BC.

She specializes in full-service renovation design and project management across the Okanagan Valley.

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Craftsman house exterior paint palette with soft neutrals, blue-gray accents, and wood-tone samples

How to Choose Exterior Paint Colours for an Okanagan Home

By Oak & Ivory Building Co. • August 24, 2026

Choosing an exterior paint colour is one of the highest-stakes decisions you can make for your home—and one of the easiest to get wrong. Unlike an interior wall you can repaint in a weekend, an exterior repaint is expensive, disruptive, and visible to the entire street. Here in the Okanagan, there is an added layer most colour advice ignores: our light. I am Danielle, a certified interior designer in Kelowna, and here is how I walk clients through choosing a colour that still looks right in three years, not just on the paint chip. Start With What You Cannot Change Before you look at a single colour, take stock of your home's fixed elements—the things you are not repainting. Your roof, your stone or brick, your window frames, your driveway, and even your established landscaping all have undertones that your new colour has to live alongside. The most common exterior colour mistake is choosing a beautiful colour in isolation and then discovering it fights with the roof. Photograph these elements together and keep them in front of you the whole time. Understand LRV (This Is the One Most People Skip) LRV, or Light Reflectance Value, is a number from 0 (black) to 100 (white) that tells you how much light a colour bounces back. It matters more outside than inside, because exterior light is far more intense. A mid-tone grey that looks sophisticated on the chip can wash out to a flat, chalky non-colour under full Okanagan sun—or a soft greige can suddenly read pink. As a rule, a colour reads two or three shades lighter outdoors than it does indoors, so if you love a colour on the chip, you usually want to go one step deeper for the exterior. Test on the Actual House, at Different Times of Day Never commit to an exterior colour from a chip or a screen. Paint a large sample—at least two feet square—directly on your home, on more than one side, and look at it in morning light, harsh midday sun, and evening shade. Our light shifts dramatically through the day here, and a colour that looks perfect at 9 a.m. can look completely different at 6 p.m. This single step prevents the most expensive mistakes. Build the Whole Palette, Not Just the Main Colour A finished exterior is never one colour. It is a coordinated set: the main body or siding colour, the trim, the front door, the garage door, and ideally a nod to the roof tone. Getting these to work together is where most DIY colour choices fall apart—the body colour is fine, but the trim is too stark or the door clashes. A proper palette treats all of these as one decision. Why the Okanagan Is Different Our high-elevation, high-UV light is genuinely different from the softer, greyer light most national paint guides are written for. Colours here run cooler and brighter under the sun, undertones get exaggerated, and our landscape—sage, rock, lake, and vineyard tones—sets a backdrop that not every palette flatters. A colour scheme built for a Vancouver or Toronto home will not always translate to a Kelowna hillside. That is exactly why I created a set of exterior palettes designed specifically for Okanagan light. The Shortcut: Designer-Curated Okanagan Palettes If you would rather not gamble on the most visible decision your home will make, I have done the work for you. My Okanagan exterior paint palettes are curated colour schemes—each one includes coordinating body, trim, door, and roof guidance, chosen to perform under our specific light. They are instant PDF downloads, so you can start today. If your home has tricky fixed elements or you want a scheme built around your exact house, my custom colour service handles that too—you send photos, I build the palette. And if you would rather have a professional make the whole call in person, that is what colour consulting is for. However you get there, the goal is the same: a colour you will still love long after the ladders are gone. Browse the Okanagan Exterior Palettes → Book a Colour Consultation →