Working With A Professional

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WORKING WITH A PROFESSIONAL

By Gabriele Campbell, A.S.P., C.I.D.                             www.campbellinteriordecorating.ca

Over the years I have had the good fortune to work with some truly wonderful clients. In retrospect, they all shared some common qualities that contributed to a successful relationship and led to exceptionally inspired interiors. My best projects were definitely the ones where I felt a connection with my client and when they trusted the design process.

So what’s the recipe for a successful relationship with a decorator or designer? I’ll go so far as to include architects, landscape designers and general contractors as well. This is what I came up with:

Communication: I mention this quality first because it is the most critical. Voicing your opinion is paramount to getting the project on the right track. If the designer provides suggestions and ideas, which you may not like but you don’t provide feedback, they will believe they understand your goal and will forge ahead. Designers are visionaries and in many cases, they will immediately formulate a concept upon entering a space. But if you have not clearly communicated your ideas their concept will be completely out of sync with yours. Communication is a vital part of the entire project. If at any time the project is going in a direction you have concerns about, tell your designer.

Trust: You’ve called in the professional because you care about good design, and that is the assumption we all work under. As a client, trust their education, knowledge and experience. If you’ve done your homework and selected the right designer to work with, they will do everything in their power to make sure they meet your expectations – if your expectations are clearly communicated. Design is not a science, so don’t expect your project to go without its challenges – every design concept must be tweaked and fussed with in order to achieve the prefect result.

Vision: Have an idea of what you would like to accomplish with your project. If you have images to share with your designer, these will certainly help him or her get inside your head so to speak to understand the styles, colours, and moods you are drawn to. Understanding your own style takes this point one step further – do you like Chinese motifs? Are you urban country at heart? Do minimalist lines really turn you on? The more you can share with your designer about what you do and don’t like will definitely help get the ship on the right course.

Responsive: If your designer shows you a swatch of fabric that you love, tell them you love it. If on the other hand they show you a swatch that really makes you retch, tell them it makes you retch. Every time they show you a sample they are looking for a clue, some sort of response from you that tells them whether they have understood you clearly or not. I have walked out of consultations thinking we had a plan in place and a direction to follow only to find out a few weeks later that the client had something completely different in mind. Being responsive keeps the project moving and saves both you and the designer from back tracking on decisions that were supposedly reached weeks ago.

Decisive: Bring in a designer when you are ready to make decisions. Conduct your fact finding and research over the internet and the phone. When you are ready to start getting your design on paper and make your selections, have a face to face in-home or in-office consultation with the designer. Nothing stalls a project more thoroughly than indecisiveness. The ability to make quick decisions gets the orders done, the installers booked, the furniture and accessories purchased, and the project completed faster.

Clarity: Be clear in your mind what you want to achieve, what mood you want to create, and when you want the project to be complete. Also, be clear about how long you want finishes to last, whether you plan to live in the house for a few more years or a few more months, and the lifestyle you have and want to continue. Be clear about what you want your selections to do (performance), what you are willing to do to keep them in good condition (maintenance), and what you’re willing to spend (budget).

Budget: Most designers can work within any budget – they just need to know what it is. And all will endeavour to give you the most for you money. But don’t expect to get granite counter tops on a laminate budget – it just won’t work. When working out your budget, account for the expertise of the designer if you want them involved from start to finish. If you want to do the project on your own but need direction in the early stages, ask the designer for a plan and tell them you want to implement it yourself. One caveat though: rescuing a design half way into the process can be very frustrating for this profession. Often times we meet up with clients who thought they could do it on their own to save money then called in a professional to work a miracle. Be aware that this could end up costing more because if they try to work with what you have done so far it may be more crippling to the process. It is always best to start with a blank canvas right from the very beginning.

Adventurous: This is not a critical quality to have but it sure makes the process of design a lot of fun for the professional. Introducing new products and finishes to any project is like a dream come true for designers, and having some freedom to inject new products and ideas adds up to a unique end result and a space that truly reflects your personality.

All contents of this article are copyright by By Gabriele Campbell, A.S.P., C.I.D.      Producing any part of this article without written consent is prohibited.             Copyright 2005

Comments, concerns or feedback can be directed to www.campbellinteriordecorating.ca.