Home Renos | Design Needs Alignment Process

The proper Design, based on your innate Needs, that are all in Alignment, are the 3 key components to achieving the perfect renovation or custom built home. We know the best person for the task of blending those seamlessly is likely you and your loved ones… but with that said we know that not EVERYONE is capable or willing to do all of their own home renovations. Without paying close attention to your home’s “DNA”, you risk a project result that may leave you dissatisfied.

At Pinnacle Group, we’ve eliminated this risk by creating a document to help you communicate clearly with us (and vice versa) with regards to fulfilling all 3 of those needs. Receive our Free DNA Document and find out:

  • Why this concept of DNA (Design, Needs, and Alignment) can help you avoid costly mistakes & prevent regret.
  • Questions to ask Builders you are considering for your Renovation or Custom Built Home to ensure a hassle-free experience.

DNA-Process™ – An Introduction

You are unique; unequivocally defined by your DNA blueprint. These distinctions extend to all aspects of your life, including your home. At Pinnacle Group, we understand that to build an authentic living space, a family’s needs, desires and aspirations must be infused into the design of their home. We regard this as a family’s ‘DNA’….defined as our DNA-Process™.

In our view, the family’s ‘DNA’ must be the driving force for a renovation or custom home build. To do it any other way ultimately leads to some dissatisfaction after the fact. Statements such as, “I should’ve done this differently…”, “I didn’t think of that…”, or “I wish I would have…” all result from the fact that the family’s ‘DNA’ was not initially considered.

We believe a home is a family’s personal sanctuary where life’s fondest memories are created and preserved. The family home serves as both an anchor and a compass, providing support and direction to all family members. Capturing the essence of our client families and creating spaces that support their diverse needs is truly the heartbeat of Pinnacle Group’s business philosophy.

You may be asking yourself at this point, “What does a biological term have to do with renovations or custom home builds?”

At Pinnacle Group, our understanding of how to read your family’s unique ‘DNA’ is part of our distinct Vision; is ingrained in our internal proprietary process, and is the core of our success. We go beyond even the highest levels of the Renovation and Custom Home building industry… into a completely new realm of home personification.

When we start the design process of renovating or building a home, we begin with a detailed interview and analysis of who you are—whether you’re a retired executive, a successful professional, a bourgeoning business owner, or a growing family. We find out how you and your family would like to flourish in all areas of your life and choose materials and design directives based on these findings. This process, in combination with expertly completing your project on-time and on-budget, is precisely why we have an enviable client satisfaction rating; this is based on post-project client interviews of all of our clients completed by Client Insight Inc., an independent 3rd party assessment and survey firm.

Pinnacle Group’s DNA-Process™ stands for:

D– Design

N– Needs

A– Alignment

At Pinnacle Group, we go far beyond superficial discussions when determining the right design for your home. From the onset, we pay close attention to all of the details of your vision, no matter how clear or vague that vision may be. Whether or not you are completely sure about what you really want or need, our extensive needs analysis questionnaire that each family member fills out, allows us to uncover the small nuances that often make the biggest differences.

Pinnacle Group has developed an extensive needs analysis questionnaire that we use to precisely determine your family’s unique requirements for your renovation or custom home build. This detailed questionnaire is specifically designed to cover all bases and to compel you to think about what you really need; exploring angles that you may not have ever considered before but are critical to the new design. We are serious about creating the perfect spaces for you and your family that; not only serve today’s needs…but include anticipating the inherent gifts, talents and aspirations that each member of your family possesses.

Once we have a clear understanding of what distinguishes your family’s needs, we can begin creating a design; then progress to a 3D rendering of your newly remodelled space or custom home design. We use this rendering as the starting point of collaboration with you on the actual final design. We completely understand that seeing something on a blueprint or sketch is not the same as seeing something “virtually.” The 3D virtual experience allows you to be able to “walk through” the space and “experience” it without actually being there. Our 3D modeling software allows you the freedom to explore possibilities perhaps not yet considered. If for example you wish to shift a wall to ensure that your unique piece of Art fits perfectly, or move a window ever so slightly to better capture the views, reconfigure your Master Suite to best place your furnishings…etc…we can immediately show you what it will look like; all of these changes can be done in real-time, with a simple click of the mouse!

Taking the time to accurately determine the ‘DNA’ of every Client allows us to create a home that each member of your family can truly say is their favourite place to be!

DNA-Process™ – Part 1 (DESIGN)

We all know the traditional definition of DNA; it is your individual characteristics and makeup that set you apart and make you unique from anyone else. Your personal DNA is what makes you unique as a person; at Pinnacle Group, we believe that each family also has a personalized ‘DNA’.

Paul Klassen, CEO of Pinnacle Group, has recently trademarked a new process for Renovations. Coined the DNA-Process™, this is a procedure that makes an in-depth analysis of the needs and desires of each prospective Renovation Client. Far beyond the typical questions of “What is your budget” and “What colour would you like your walls”, this study personalizes every renovation by asking specific questions of each family member such as “Does your Family/Great Room have enough room for books, photos and trophies” & “How many pairs of shoes would you like to have storage for in your Master Bedroom”. Designed to ‘hone in’ on what is truly important to the family unit, this process ensures every angle is considered and eliminates post-project disappointment.

Pinnacle Group’s DNA-Process™ stands for:

D– Design
N– Needs
A—Alignment

Design

Design is often taken for granted as a simple, superficial process mainly involving aesthetics rather than specific functionality; with this approach it is easy to overlook the prerequisites of each family member.

“I want this style of kitchen”, “I want a home theatre”, or “I want a big family room”, are typical examples of initial statements; however, this vagueness often leads to dissatisfaction.

At Pinnacle Group, we go far beyond superficial discussions when determining the right design for your home. From the onset, we pay close attention to all of the details of your vision, no matter how clear or vague that vision may be. Whether or not you are completely sure about what you really want or need, our extensive needs analysis questionnaire that each family member fills out, allows us to uncover the small nuances that often make the biggest differences.

These findings are incorporated into an initial rendering where the collaboration process moves into full swing! A 3D model of your new space is projected on our boardroom big screen TV, capturing and illuminating the distinctive character of your renovation or custom home build. This allows you to “feel” what the new design space will be like. This process also allows for the freedom to explore many different possibilities and options; you won’t be limited by the initial design but instead will find this is just the starting point of discussion to determine the perfect spaces that will suit your family.

We understand how important every single detail can be and the effect that the smallest change can make on your dream home. With the use of Pinnacle’s DNA-Process™ along with our 3D modeling software, we have completely eliminated the uncertainty of how your final project will turn out from the very start. A visit to Pinnacle’s Customer satisfaction scores supports the fact that we are indeed capturing those important design nuances in every area of our client’s home design.

DNA-Process™ – Part 2 (NEEDS)

Part 2 in our DNA Process Series focuses on the 2nd aspect of Pinnacle’s DNA Acronym; Needs. The specific needs of a prospective Client are the heart & soul of Pinnacle; our entire goal is to create a space that meets the individual needs of each family member. Our mantra is to Make Your Home Your Favourite Place To Be – successfully understanding and integrating your needs is what makes this possible!

The Needs portion of our DNA Process consists of 20 questions in an extensive and highly detailed questionnaire. This questionnaire is designed to cover all bases and to compel Clients to think about what they really want; exploring angles that they may not have ever considered before but are critical to the new design. We are serious about creating the perfect spaces for each of our Client Families!

Pinnacle’s questionnaire consists of basic questions such as “How many people are living in your home”, to specialized and specific questions such as “Do you have significant pieces of art or furniture that you want to keep in mind when designing your home”. From a 1-10 rating scale for each current room, to simple Yes/No answers for questions such as “Would you like a fireplace in your Master Bedroom”, to areas for extensive written answers for questions such as “What would your ideal Master Bedroom/Retreat look like”; this questionnaire is truly an in-depth analysis of the individual needs of each family member, and the overall driving force behind each renovation.

The interactive interview process that Pinnacle Group designers take Clients through is a very easy and exciting experience – our questionnaire is designed to get the ‘mental juices flowing’ and allow each member to express their own individual wishes. Once a family’s Needs are expressed and fully understood, the 3rd part of our DNA Process begins…

DNA-Process™ – Part 3 (ASSESSMENT)

As you can see, once we have a clear understanding of what distinguishes your family’s needs, we can begin creating a design; then progress to a 3D rendering of the newly remodeled space or your custom home design.

We use this rendering as the starting point of collaboration with you on the actual final design. We completely understand that seeing something on a blueprint or sketch is not the same as seeing something “virtually.” The 3D virtual experience allows you to be able to “walk through” the space and “experience” it without actually being there.

Our 3D modeling software allows you the freedom to explore possibilities. If you want to shift a wall, move a closet, make a room bigger/smaller, etc. we can immediately show you what it will look like; all of these changes can be done in real-time, with a simple click of the mouse!

Additionally, through this valuable process, we can work with you to achieve the perfect design in the most cost-efficient process possible. We actually collaborate; not only with our interior designers and architects, but with our site supervisors, special suppliers, and professional trade affiliates. Based on your lifestyle needs and design flair, we make sure that our industry experts are consulted on how the end result that you envision can be achieved accurately; without unnecessary and unforeseen expenses. With the experts in the room, solutions can be discovered quickly, cost efficiencies can be implemented, timelines can be firm, and cost overruns can be mitigated. Slight changes left unchecked by trained professionals, are often what lead to cost overruns. At Pinnacle Group, we prevent this from happening.

A second and equally important aspect of alignment is to ensure that you, the homeowner, choose a renovator/custom home builder that is in complete alignment with your needs and expectations.

You want to make sure that the Builder you choose for your project will actually be able to provide you with the finished product you had envisioned. They should have a proven track record of delivering an excellent building experience as demonstrated by their customer satisfaction scores.

Unfortunately, in renovation and custom home projects, the quality of a project sometimes falls short of the expectations of the homeowner. This is due to poor planning, poor execution, lack of systems and processes and most of all, a genuine lack of customer care. A great design cannot be properly executed without stellar business systems and a genuine understanding of a customer’s needs and expectations.

We hope this insight into Pinnacle’s DNA Process has been helpful.

For more information please call our showroom at 403-720-8789 or click this link to request a copy of the entire DNA Document!