I think, before your contractor start work, should have everythng all plan out. eg it is better to hve lighting & socket plan all done, so electrician got less hacking. Furniture and space planning shld be done too, because positioning the door just a few inches differently may result in you being able to use the space to put in a small cabinet or shelve or shoe cabinet. Where u place the door can determine whether u hav more or less workspace, etc. Think before hand how your plaster ceiling layout, before your electirician start work.

Overall, I think, the entire process of the work must be thought through, propelry planned with specifics layouts/measurements. Deciding which to do first is then not really such a big issue.

Another example I can think of is say, size of a window. To miximise light, I made my window 7ft wide. But it result in a few setbacks,

1. When I ask to do roller blinds, the width is too wide for 1 piece due to weight.
2. My wall where the window is placed is 10 ft wide. If I had done the window at say, 6 ft, I would hve space left to accomodate a wall cabinet or a bookcase nicely without the curtains getting into the way.
3. I wnted to use ikea curtains because they work out cheaper, but the dimensions are not quite right. While u can stitch 2 curtains together to get the width, the height of the curtains is what u cannot changr if your window length is higher.

If u dont specify, the contractor will do the standard thing, ie, if u have a wall of 5 feet, they will put the door in the middle. But, if u plan bfore hand, and needed the 2 ft space for a cabinet, u cld tell the contractor to place the door to 1 side of the wall. Even where u place the switches can make a difference, if space is tight....

This post has been edited by lizziewong: Aug 26 2011, 11:06 AM