What should you bring to a showroom?
Plans with dimensions, photos of the rooms, a brief with your budget range by category, and samples of what stays: floor, wall, furniture you are keeping. Without these a showroom becomes a sightseeing trip, decisions slip to the next visit and eat weeks.
The kit for every visit. A floor plan with room dimensions, ceiling heights and window positions. Photos of each space in daylight and evening light: the shade of stone or paint changes. A sample of the floor or wall that the new piece will sit next to. A short list of uses: who uses the bathroom, how many people cook, whether there are pets. A budget range by category rather than a single figure: tiles, sanitaryware, kitchen, lighting, doors. A notebook or phone notes with columns "item, code, colour, size, price, lead time".
You do not need to bring everything at once. Two or three categories are enough for a visit; the rest can wait a day. By the fourth showroom fatigue makes people pick the most striking item, not the most suitable one.
How do you prepare a brief so the visit does not turn into sightseeing?
A one-page A4 brief: rooms, uses, style in three to five references, hard constraints and budget by category. It lets the showroom adviser discard half the range in a minute and show what fits.
What to put in it. Rooms and uses: master bathroom, guest bathroom, kitchen with island, utility room. Construction limits: ceiling height (for a suspended ceiling and lighting), floor loading (stone and a stone bath are heavy), underfloor heating (not every finish suits it), shower fall and drain. Style: three to five photos from magazines and projects, not the words "modern" and "warm". Maintenance: whether you accept natural stone that must be sealed or need a no-maintenance material; for a home you do not live in year-round this is an important difference. Timing: the date by which the home must be ready.
Group visits by logic, not by location. First the surfaces that set the overall tone: stone, tile, parquet. Then sanitaryware and taps to match. Then kitchen and appliances, then lighting and doors. Choosing tile after the bath often forces a change of both.
Which items are best chosen before work starts?
Before work starts you choose everything that changes the structure, the service layout or has a long lead time. The rest can wait until finishing.
Before demolition and rough-in: baths, shower trays and drains, toilets with concealed cisterns, concealed taps (their model sets niche depth and pipe position), kitchen and appliances (opening sizes, sockets, hood), underfloor heating and climate control, recessed and track lights (ceiling cut-outs and power), door frames and concealed doors, stone and large-format tile (thickness and weight set the screed and the floor structure). These are checked against the quote and the layout; otherwise the builder allows "standard" sizes and then breaks what has been done.
After work starts: fabrics, curtains, loose furniture, decor, accessories, most small details. The exception: made-to-order items and stone have long lead times and are ordered early; there is a separate article on materials with long delivery times.
A simple rule. If an item has a dimension built into a wall, floor or ceiling, it is chosen before the wall is closed. If it can be fitted or removed without tools, it can wait.
Which questions should you ask a showroom about lead time, batch and price?
Ten questions that save weeks. What the delivery time is and from which date it counts: from order, from payment or from confirmation of dimensions. Whether the item is in stock or made to order. Whether all the tile and stone come from one batch, and whether the batch has a number, shade and calibre (the difference between batches shows on a wall). How much to order extra: for tile usually 10 to 15%, for herringbone or diagonal 15 to 20%. Whether VAT is included in the price on the tag. Whether unused surplus can be returned and on what terms. How long the price and offer are valid. Who delivers, unloads and carries it up to the floor: with luxury tile and stone, loading and the lift often decide the matter. What the substrate and adhesive must be, and whether there is a technical sheet (ficha técnica). How to care for it and what must not be used.
For sanitaryware and taps also ask for the cut-out template (plantilla), dimensions, drain position, water pressure and whether an adapter is needed. For doors and furniture: opening size, swing direction, lead time for a sample.
Do not accept a verbal "it will arrive in four weeks". Ask for the lead time in writing, in an offer with the reference. For made-to-order items, ask whether the deposit is returned if the date is missed.
How do you confirm a material choice in writing?
Keep a finishes schedule (ficha de acabados) by room, and confirm each item with the showroom's offer carrying the reference, plus an email. A photo on a phone is not enough: three months later nobody remembers whether it was shade 02 or 03.
What the schedule holds. Room and place of use. Name, reference, colour, size, thickness, surface finish. Supplier and offer number. Quantity with allowance. Price and VAT terms. Lead time with a date. Status: "chosen", "approved by sample", "ordered", "delivered". Links to photos of the sample with its label.
Then three actions. The showroom's offer with the reference is approved by the owner in writing, by email or signature. The contractor puts the item into the quote under that reference, and changes go through a modificado. The order is placed by the party responsible for it and this is recorded: if you buy the material yourself, responsibility for defects, batch and timing is divided differently; there is a separate article on client-supplied materials. When the batch arrives, it is checked on site against the approved sample before laying starts.
How do you keep samples and the specification?
One master document, one box of samples and one photo folder. Versions are numbered "v1, v2"; old ones are archived rather than deleted so you can see when and why the choice changed.
The sample box: each sample labelled (room, reference, visit date, supplier). Two sets are better: one with you or the designer, another on site in a locked place where the crew checks against it. Photos of the sample in daylight and in the real space, next to the room's other materials. The folder: offers, technical sheets, warranties, receipts and order confirmations. In a few years, when you need to buy more tile or replace a pane, these documents save weeks of searching.
For an owner who lives abroad, one more thing. Group the showroom visits into two or three consecutive days, with a shortlist of two options per category, and take the final decision by video call after seeing photos and samples in your own space. Couriering samples to your country takes time and money, so choose what truly has to be seen in person. There is more on remote renovation in the article for owners who do not live in Spain.
How BCN YARD helps with choosing materials
We look at the choice from the construction side. From the brief and the plan a list of items can be drawn up with the date by which each must be chosen so the works do not slip, and the choice checked against the quote and the service layout: niche sizes, loads, connections.
Our own crew and trusted subcontractors do the work, with one person responsible for the site; we advise checking the delivered batch against the approved sample before laying starts. Payment is under contract, in stages. We run projects in Russian and Spanish, so correspondence with suppliers and approval of references can be kept in the language you prefer. The exact price of the whole renovation is given in the quote after the visit and measurements. Write to us: we reply within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
What should I take to a showroom?
Plans with dimensions and ceiling heights, photos of the rooms in daylight and evening light, a sample of the floor or wall next to the new item, a brief with a budget range by category and a notebook with columns: item, reference, colour, size, price, lead time. Two or three categories per visit are enough.
How do I confirm a material choice in writing?
Keep a finishes schedule by room with reference, colour, size, supplier, quantity and lead time. Approve the showroom's offer with its reference by email or signature, and the contractor puts the item into the quote under that reference. Document changes separately, not verbally.
Which items are best chosen before work starts?
Everything built into the structure or the layout: baths and shower trays, concealed cisterns, concealed taps, kitchen and appliances, underfloor heating, recessed lighting, doors, and stone or large-format tile. Fabrics, curtains and loose furniture are chosen later. Items from the second group can safely wait until finishing.
How do I keep samples and the specification?
One master document with numbered versions, a box of labelled samples in two sets (with you and on site) and a folder with photos, offers, technical sheets and order confirmations. Years later they let you buy more tile from the same batch or replace a part.