Interior decoration in Alexandria: design and build

Design office or finishing company? The difference that matters

A design office draws and chooses; a finishing company builds. What matters to you is knowing who is responsible if what is built differs from what was drawn.

In the first route you hire a designer, then a contractor, and the drawings are the reference between them. That suits you if you have time to manage both, and if the drawings are detailed enough for more than one contractor to price them.

In the second route one company agrees the drawings and samples with you and builds them, so responsibility runs from drawing to installation, and the gap between the picture you liked and what gets built is smaller, provided the drawings and samples are approved in writing before work starts.

Itmam works both ways: we agree drawings and samples with you and build them, and if you already have a designer, we build to their drawings.

Decorating an older Alexandria flat: work with the building, not against it

An older flat in Alexandria often has things worth keeping, and good decoration builds on them instead of covering them up.

• Tall ceilings in some older buildings are an asset: a gypsum board ceiling that hides the AC and lighting can cover part of the room or run round its edges, instead of lowering the whole ceiling.
• Cornices, panelled doors, terrazzo floors and old marble can often be restored, so compare restoring with replacing before you decide.
• Walls and floors in older buildings are rarely flat or square, so accurate measuring is essential before any cabinet or cladding is made, and pieces are adjusted on site.
• Old wiring is tested before any concealed lighting or new appliances, because many Alexandria buildings have aluminium wiring and boards that have been extended again and again.
• Old windows that have lost their seal let in salt air and dust, so decide whether to repair or replace them before painting and curtains.

If the flat needs a full renovation rather than decoration alone, our page on renovating older flats explains what changes and what is worth keeping.

Humidity and sea air: decoration materials that last in Alexandria

A material that looks lovely in a catalogue can struggle in a damp flat or one near the sea, so ask of every material: how does it behave with humidity and salt?

Before decorating a damp wall, find the cause: condensation, a leak or rising damp, because each is treated differently. Our guide to damp walls explains the difference.

What should be on paper before work starts?

The clearer the drawings and samples before work starts, the fewer changes during the job, and the easier it is to compare quotes and check the work at handover.

• A furniture layout: where the sofas, bed, dining table and TV go, because they set the sockets and lighting.
• A ceiling plan: the gypsum board levels and the positions of lights, AC and access panels.
• An electrical plan: sockets, switches, TV and data points and concealed lighting, before the walls are closed.
• Elevations of feature walls: the TV wall, cladding and built-in cabinets, with sizes and materials.
• A finishes schedule: for each room the floor, walls, ceiling and paint, by product name or specification and colour.
• Samples: stone from the showroom, paint samples applied to the flat’s own wall and seen in daylight and at night, and wood and fabric samples.

Pictures and 3D views help you imagine the result, but the dimensioned drawings and approved samples are what the work is built to and checked against.

How a decoration project runs, from survey to handover

1. Survey and your brief

   We measure and photograph the flat, check damp, wiring and windows, and hear how you use the home and which pictures you like.

2. Direction and samples

   We agree the direction, colours and materials, and you see the stone at our El Deresa showroom and the samples in person.

3. Drawings and quotation

   You receive the drawings and a written, itemised quotation: gypsum, paint, cladding, fitted pieces, stone and electrics, each as its own item.

4. Preparation

   Damp treatment, electrical and AC changes, and any necessary demolition, before the decorative work.

5. Ceilings and walls

   Gypsum board and cladding go up, followed by filling and painting in stages.

6. Workshop pieces and stone

   Doors, wardrobes, TV units, the kitchen and vanities are made in our workshops to the final measurements, and the stone is templated, cut and installed by the same team.

7. Lighting and final finishes

   Light fittings, switches and accessories are fitted, then the last coat of paint goes on after the dusty work is finished.

8. Handover

   You walk the flat with us room by room; snags are written down and closed before handover.

Working in an occupied Alexandria building

Most flat decoration in Alexandria happens in occupied buildings, so the building’s routine is part of the programme, not a side detail.

• Working hours: ask the building management or the owners’ association which hours are allowed for noisy work such as demolition and cutting, and agree them in writing if you can.
• The lift: find out whether it may be used for materials and debris, and measure it, because long boards and large pieces may have to go up the stairs.
• Protecting the entrance and stairs: cover floors and walls along the route materials take, and clean them at the end of the day.
• Debris: agree in advance where it is collected and how it is removed, and never leave it on the stairs or outside the building.
• Loading: in narrow streets, ask where a vehicle can stop while loading and unloading.
• Neighbours: any plumbing or bathroom work is tested before it is closed, so a problem never reaches the flat below.

Pieces made in the workshop arrive ready to fit, which means less cutting, dust and noise inside the building. We agree these points with you and the building management before we start.

How to compare decoration quotes

Compare what each quote includes before you compare the figures, because “decoration” can mean drawings only to one firm and full delivery with materials to another.

• Design: are drawings included, and what exactly do they cover: layout, ceilings, electrics and elevations, or pictures only?
• Items: is the quote broken down item by item with quantities and specifications, or one figure for the whole flat?
• Materials: is every material named by product or specification, thickness and colour? Who buys it, and is the invoice in your name?
• Fitted pieces: doors, wardrobes and TV units, in which board, with which finish and which hardware?
• What is excluded: loose furniture, curtains, light fittings and appliances are often outside the quote, so ask for that in writing.
• Payment: ideally in stages tied to work that is actually finished and accepted.
• Changes: how is a change during the job priced and approved? Ask for it in writing.

Warning signs: a quote without a survey, a single figure with no items, or pressure to pay a large sum before any drawings exist.

Itmam: decoration, finishing and supply from Alexandria

Itmam is a finishing, decoration and supply company from Alexandria: head office in El Ibrahimya, marble and granite showroom in El Deresa, Moharram Bey. We agree drawings and samples with you before anything is made, and if you have a designer, we build to their drawings.

Kitchens, wardrobes, doors, vanities, metalwork and stone tops are made in our own workshops, and stone is templated, cut and installed by the same team. We supply Egyptian and imported marble, and we have finished offices and clinics as well as homes.

We visit, measure and give you a written, itemised quotation before work starts. On a finishing contract you pay each supplier directly at their price and the tax invoice is in your name; our management fee for supervision and execution is agreed in writing, and we add nothing to the price of materials. Itmam was founded in 2016, with 20+ years in the trade, and we work across Alexandria, on the North Coast and in New Cairo.