Every homeowner asks me this in the first five minutes of our conversation. “How long will this take?” And every time, I have to disappoint them a little, because the honest answer is: longer than whatever number the designer told you in the first meeting.
I’ve sat through 150+ of these conversations now, and I’ve seen the actual timelines, not the ones promised on day one. So let me give you the real breakdown.
The number everyone quotes: 90 days
Almost every designer in Bangalore will tell you 90 days, sometimes 120 if they’re being cautious. And on paper, for a straightforward 2BHK with no major layout changes, that’s not unreasonable. But that number assumes everything goes right. No delays in material delivery, no rework, no back-and-forth on approvals, no site access issues, no festival season in the middle of it. In my experience, that version of the project exists for maybe one in five homeowners.
What actually eats your timeline
Design and finalization: 2-4 weeks This is the phase people rush the most, and it’s the one that causes the most delay later. If you haven’t nailed down your layout, material choices, and budget before work starts, every change you make mid-project adds 5-10 days minimum. I’ve seen homeowners change their kitchen layout in week 6 of execution and add a full month to the project.
Civil work and false ceiling: 3-4 weeks This is where builder handover quality actually matters. If your builder’s electrical or plumbing points don’t match your design, this phase stretches. Sarjapur Road and Whitefield projects tend to run smoother here since a lot of the newer builders have better base specs. Older buildings in Koramangala and HSR sometimes need more correction work upfront.
Modular furniture (kitchen, wardrobes): 4-6 weeks This is usually the longest single line item, and also the one homeowners underestimate the most. Factory-made modular units take time to manufacture once your design is locked. If you change your mind on finishes after the order is placed, you’re looking at another 3-4 week delay because it goes back into the production queue.
Painting, flooring, final fittings: 2-3 weeks Usually runs in parallel with the tail end of modular work, so it doesn’t always add to the total, but it does if your modular delivery is delayed, because painting teams can’t work around half-installed wardrobes.
Snagging and handover: 1-2 weeks The phase everyone forgets to budget time for. Fixing the small stuff — a drawer that doesn’t close right, a switch plate that’s crooked, paint touch-ups — always takes longer than people expect, mostly because contractors deprioritize it once the “big” work is done.
So what’s the real number?
For a 2BHK with moderate scope, 4-5 months is realistic. For a 3BHK or anything involving structural changes, 5-7 months is more honest. If someone promises you 60 days for a full home, ask them what they’re planning to skip.
The one thing that actually shortens your timeline
It’s not the designer’s speed. It’s how fast you make decisions in the first two weeks. Every project I’ve seen finish early had one thing in common: the homeowner had their brief, budget, and must-haves locked before the first site visit. Every project that dragged had the opposite — decisions being made room by room, as they went.
This is actually the biggest reason I built the Infrabob brief template in the first place. Homeowners walk into their first designer meeting without having thought through their priorities, and that indecision compounds across the whole project.
If you’ve just gotten possession and you’re trying to figure out your actual timeline, or you want to compare a few verified designers before you commit to one, message us on WhatsApp — send “DESIGN” and we’ll get you talking to three designers who can walk you through what’s realistic for your specific building and budget.