After 2.5 mths of searching for an interior designer, we finally confirmed with one today. We went through quotations with Orange Cube, Living Gaia, Image Creative, +Space, Aspero Design and Obbio Concept. Some id that we approached expect us to give them the design or they are not willing to reveal too much in case we take their designs to other id firms.
Some observations of the various id that we encountered:
Ciseern - Practically at every furniture show at Expo. Most expensive of all. Their package is already $10,000 more than competitors. No followup from them ...
Rezt n Relax - Encountered a newbie ... asked a whole lot of questions only to followed up with us 1 month later. Ignored him ...
Orange Cube - Friendly guy, willing to listen. On the pricey end.
Living Gaia - Their package was quite a good deal but all the extra carpentry was on the pricey end. Package included changing all room doors, Sys-3 aircon, hood n hob, free upgrade to quartz surface. Quartz is getting more popular. Similar to solid surface but more resistant to scratches and heat.
+Space - Didn't followed up with us after the initial contact at Expo.
Aspero Design - Quite a good pricing but they couldn't give us the quotation in time. The id was previously from Square Room, which we had approached (but didn't use) for our previous renovation.
Image Creative - Very competitive pricing for an id firm. We visited one of their completed projects, which was the home of a famous footballer in Singapore. It's a HDB transformed into a condo-like feel. However, they are not forthcoming with any design for us.
Obbio Concept - Recommended by a friend who had his house done by this id. Previously from Art Trend, he had setup shop on his own. He was very forthcoming with designs for our renovations, done up the quotations and changes very quickly. We like his proposed design very much that we decided to give him the contract.