The Backstory
In the 1960s, our father and uncles started their building and renovation business. Inspired by their entrepreneurial spirit, we decided to join the renovation industry in March of 2016.
Over the next few years, we kept our heads down, learned the ropes, and served 100s of clients.
It may sound all rosy, but there were many times we felt so disheartened we almost gave up.
In the industry, there was a severe lack of technology use. While the rest of the world progressed in technology, the renovation industry remained largely pen-and-paper.
What frustrated us most was the general bad rep in the interior design and renovation industry.
There were plenty of stories of renovation scams — Contractors who disappeared after collecting the initial deposit, cheap renovation packages that promised a lot but ended up with lots of hidden costs. Furthermore, most companies gave clients no transparency about the processes and low visibility of the project progress.
We thought to ourselves, "There must be a better way to serve our clients." We wanted to do things right and decided to come together to re-imagine the ideal experience.
In 2019, after countless discussion sessions and lots of coffee, Interiio was born! We assembled a team to embark on a journey to build a different design and renovation experience — the Interiio Experience.
Interiio Beliefs
A better space is a better life.
We spend a large proportion of our time living and working in our homes and workplaces. But we often neglect these spaces and don't spend enough time and effort to enhance them.
We believe that a well-designed space, when built with quality, will have a lasting impact on our daily lives.
Good design is more than just looking nice.
Humans are visual creatures, and we are naturally attracted to beautiful things and images — but design goes way beyond just the aesthetics.
Good design should tell a unique story about the people using the space. Good design should utilize space efficiently and ergonomically. Good design should balance the aesthetic to the practicality.
These are just a few of the many aspects we look at when designing and renovating a space.
Clients come first, not sales revenues.
Statistics from the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) showed that the number of complaints every year consistently hovered above 1000. Given the relative lack of regulations and the cut-throat nature of the industry, designers are tempted to prioritise sales profit over the needs of their clients.
We believe that is not only regrettable but wrong. At Interiio, the needs of the clients come first. We'd rather make a smaller profit on a project than cut corners or mislead clients.
Happy employees lead to happy clients.
These days, interior designers are over-worked and under-supported. Other than actual design work, many bosses expect them to handle everything from sales to accounts. A typical job scope includes: finding clients, drafting proposals, calculating costs, planning material supplies, managing timelines, handling subcontractors, photo-taking, invoicing, and payment collection.
We believe that technology can help with the heavy lifting of these logistics. Our designers should focus on applying their creativity to enhance clients’ experience.
Our philosophy is simple. When we support our designers, we will have happy employees. And when we have happy employees, we will have happy clients.
