Construction and Project Management for Interior Designers – The Design Paradigm

Be brave. The battle for your sanity. 

Whether you’re new to integrating your interior design business with the madness of construction, or you’re rockin’ a Cruella de Vil streak of grey hair from your years of dedication to the cause… herein you’ll find an exploration of the critical core of how worlds collide and what you can do to prepare your client and the contractors themselves for the collaboration of the century. Belly up to the bar and learn the ABCs of construction – understand industry expectations and how to get in front of them, and how to create the most foolproof process that protects your efforts.

The Building Process

Knowing the order of operations of the building process and working to develop a strong relationship with the contractor and their team with whom you collaborate is a critical part of what will get you where you need to go. But what are the pitfalls? How often do you have to be on site? And what do you do when the project isn’t running smoothly?

Managing Subs and Contractors for a profitable relationship

Yes… we said it. You want to get deeper into the details of interior design as it parallels with construction and you are going to find yourself needing to manage subs and contractors. Just wave the yellow flag now because this is going to be your new head scratching, teeth-biting, twitch of the leg when the phone rings in the middle of working on a budget bad habit. Deep dive with us into how to set expectations, tone, and be the expert in the room (even when the contractor is the best in town!) 

Drawing to Communicate

Our perspective here comes from over 2 decades of reviewing and revising plans, sitting in the trenches with our subs and proactively aiming for a higher bar as thorough plan documentation is such a critical piece to the productive execution of a job.

The Client Fiduciary Relationship in Construction 

While the allure of being a badass designer who commands attention on a jobsite is a lovely sight to set your trajectory for, there is SO much you have to cover your tush about when it comes to where your input, know-how, and advice starts and stops. Get your contract in line. Set boundaries with your team and make sure your client and subs understand why you have them. Learn how to do this with grace and be constantly aware of how you are protecting your client AND being an honest team player in a construction environment.

Estimating and Bidding

What we want most is an educated consumer, a client who understands where their funds are going and why, and who understands and feels our value in organizing the process so that no stone is left unturned . Navigate the ins and outs of developing work orders and bid requests, establish good habits on site when meeting with subs so you aren’t “leading the witness”, and learn how to get the information you need to ensure you understand what things cost and why so that when you client reviews costs you can help direct the discussion in a direction that makes the most sense for your end goals AND theirs.

Successful project planning. And getting paid for it

Your ability to create a knock-out vision for your client’s interior space is likely the number one reason why they will hire you. This ability to concept and determine the parameters with which to translate ideas is part of your intellectual property and the magical unicorn dust you can share to make real magic and transformation happen. But an idea is only half of the battle. The execution is the other half.. In this course we’ll address what project management is, why you have to understand it’s value and sell that idea to your clients, and how to get paid for making the magic happen!

Managing Scope and the Critical Path

Determine how involved you are qualified to be (and how to ramp up your experience in this type of environment if you want more control). Understand the process to focus and elevate your design concepts with preconstruction management type services, sussing out potential problems before demo starts – and just generally how to be on the ball before it’s even tossed your way!

Time Management

This can be a very particular process because everyone learns and operates best under different circumstances – BUT – analyzing how and when you work best, how and when you get most distracted, and taking control over your time and the processes you need to make your day productive AF is part of being a smart business person and a good steward of both your client’s funds and your own allocation of time for their project.  This course will help you define where your weaknesses are in this realm, and how to set realistic expectations and communicate as effectively as possible.

Mandatory Milestones

Because this are mandatory — no more the client cheaping out and saying “oh well the contractor will handle this”—not on most jobs. We insist on it and to be perfectly frank, I feel the clients actually are relieved. We have checklists that help facilitate the site visits and make them the most productive so no bells and whistles are missed.