I am working with a client right now who I have a wee crush on. It is a recent move for her, her husband and adorable son and is requiring a ‘start from scratch’ approach. There are a handful of pieces we are working around – some to my taste, others less so – but I really have carte blanche to do what it is I do.
She is lovely and demanding – both in good measure. She pushes me to work quickly and instinctively. And she trusts me. Sigh.
Trust.
I have always known how critical trust is to the designer/client relationship – mostly because I did too many jobs in my earlier career where there wasn’t any which meant running around in circles for people who weren’t sure what they wanted and neither was I. I get that trust is earned through logged jobs, happy clients, hard work so no chip here. You need history and evidence that you are worth trusting. Duly noted.
But it isn’t until you really have it, until you have that bird in the hand, that you realize how you are at your very best when the client lets you do your job and ultimately trusts your instincts.
Finding the Right Match
Chances are you have heard about a specific designer you are courting through a referral or have seen their work in mags, online or otherwise. Make certain you have an aesthetic match – that the way the designer designs is a direction you are comfortable with. There will be tweaks and your designer should consider your lifestyle and budget in any and all decisions but overall, you should respond to what they do even if it is in a broad stroke kind of way. If you don’t, don’t hire them. Please.
Design is wildly personal as is taste. But a successful designer hangs their hat on what they love. Expecting them to morph takes them out of their comfort zone and out of their best work. Everything shifts with an ask to modify a designer’s sensibility – sources and trades most notably. It means more leg work for the designer and mounting hours for you.
Talk to Me
Your relationship with your designer is like any other business relationship you seek – you need to be professionally compatible. How you communicate (do you prefer email, in person, telephone?); how demanding you are (do you expect a returned email within the hour, the business day?); how you work most successfully (are you deadline driven, flexible, patient?) are all important considerations. These are questions that can be easily answered and if your designer is fibbing about how they work and communicate, you will know within days of engaging them.
You Get What You Ask For
Interior design is a service and sometimes that service needs to be adjusted to accommodate the way a client processes information. For example, some clients are more visual and therefore need a more complete picture of a space – perhaps a rendering or concept board – before they can commit. Others can get the gist of a concept from a handful of fabric samples, some pics and a 2D floor plan. Be clear on what you need. You may not be sure at the onset of your project of how you translate design if it is your first, but as soon as you get a sense of gaps, make them known. A good designer will accommodate. As the client, you need to have the utmost comfort with your decisions.