Some of the many roles that Interior Designers must play as part of their routine job description are Project Managers and Public Relations experts so that projects run smoothly and that clients know what to expect and when to expect it. What we don’t want are clients who are surprised by unforeseen delays, unintended consequences or less than stellar outcomes.
We achieve this by keeping our clients informed of the process. Educating them as to how the execution of the project takes place. Making them aware of how their design decisions affect the timeline, budget, construction process and necessary steps to implement the design. The more complex the design, the more trades and sources that are needed and involved usually means the more length of time that is required to execute the project. Add to this a world where products are not always stocked, not stocked locally and the timeline can stretch out weeks and months. Clients are not always willing to wait for that perfect item that will take six months when a suitable substitute is only a two-week wait.
Making sure the client is aware of these delays, decisions and choices is a large part of the design process. No matter how beautiful the design, if one cannot execute it and bring it to life, then it is just a lovely design on paper. Making it real is where most of the challenges lie.
We guide our clients at every step of the decision making process. We warn them as to which items will break the budget, which items require long lead times and which items require much more time and care to install, which items will last longer and which items will require replacement sooner. We find it helps them tremendously in making their design decisions. Uninformed people without the guidance of an expert Interior Designer many times make design decisions based solely on aesthetics, when that is just one criteria of the design decision-making process.
