What Makes a Successful Interior Design Project?
7 Decisions Before Design Begins
How important is a successful interior design project? A successful project isn't accidental. It starts with decisions made before construction or even design begins. Throughout my career, I’ve heard about and witnessed projects firsthand, and I’ve learned that seven decisions can shape both the experience and the outcome.
Before you start thinking about who to hire for your project, have you determined your goals? Your goals should specify the what, who, and why. What stands for the reason behind this project. Reasons could be functionality, appearance, or disrepair. A functional space is most desirable, especially for those with small children or many daily activities. After living in a home for many years or even buying a new home, a house’s appearance may need a refresh. Lastly, the home may be in disrepair due to a natural disaster or other issues. These are a few reasons behind a project.
Another component to consider when determining the goals is who this project will affect. Whose lives will change positively or negatively because of this project? That answer determines the type of decisions you need to make. Lastly, ask yourself why this project needs to be completed. Or better, why does this need to be resolved now? These are important questions you’ll ask yourself so your project vision becomes clear. Once the goals are defined, next move to the budget.
You may have a budget in mind, but is it realistic? Once my clients have a figure in mind, I ask how they arrived at that figure. Some have done research, while others have experience from previous projects. Fine-tuning the budget becomes much easier if you have experience from past projects or have done some research. A few factors to keep in mind are your demographic area, product availability, and project scope. These affect the project cost. You can go a step further and receive quotes from professionals. Looking at those quotes, are they in line with your budget? If there is a gap, what is it? If your budget differs greatly from the quote, look at the details and the differences. Compare apples to apples. The gap could be feasible or not. Once the budget is fine-tuned, let's look at the scope of work.
The scope of work should define who does what, how long the project will take, and the different phases. Keep in mind what you are expecting to handle during the project and what you want to handle. Some clients love to be heavily involved during the project. Others prefer to leave it up to the professionals. A piece of advice: the more involved you are, the longer it may take, and you may experience decision fatigue. The goal isn't to remove you from the process, but to allow the professionals to lead in their areas of expertise. Keep in mind what you expect others to handle.
Professionals may be very skilled and knowledgeable, but you need to share your thoughts and expectations. The clearer you are during this phase, the better. This saves time, money, and miscommunication later on. The last thing anyone wants to find out during construction is that something was your responsibility or that your professional wasn’t aware it was their responsibility. As you're working on the scope of work, you’re also selecting the professionals for your project. Once you and the professionals have defined each other's responsibilities, you can determine if they align with your expectations. But before you sign off on the scope of work, do you have the right professionals for your project?
A few questions I ask myself when looking at professionals: first, have they completed work like what I envision for this project? Second, can they create quality work? Third, do they communicate clearly? This last one is a must for me: can you all work as a team? When the client and professionals can’t work together, there will be issues as the project progresses. Your project needs a good team of professionals, so choose them wisely. With your professional team determined and the scope of work finalized, one important component of any project is clear communication.
This may not seem important, but poor communication can cause delays, costly mistakes, and you feeling unseen or unheard. First, ask yourself: can you understand what they are saying? If you can’t comprehend what they are explaining, this will carry over to other areas during the project. Next, ask yourself: can they respond to you promptly? Delayed communication causes issues and avoidable delays. Next, start making design decisions before construction begins.
Making design decisions early can save time and money. It creates fewer decisions that can delay construction and fewer mistakes. Having decisions made early also creates trackable milestones. Unfortunately, this does not guarantee a smooth and mistake-free construction phase. Issues still can happen that were not accounted for, like delays due to materials, weather, or even work being completed. If goals are clear, everyone is on the same page, and design decisions are made early. Issues can be resolved quickly. This also means there is trust.
Of all seven decisions, trust may be the most important. Trust between the client and the professional is mandatory. No trust between the professional and client may cause the project to have many issues. Those issues create delays, confusion, and costly mistakes. When trust is built, decisions and issues are resolved quickly. Professionals love to hear “I trust you with this” because you’re saying “I believe you understand my vision”. Clients love to hear a professional say “I will resolve this” because they're saying they have your best interests in mind. When trust exists between the client and professional, issues that arise can be resolved quickly and confidently.
A successful project isn't simply about choosing beautiful materials or creating a beautiful room. It starts with clear goals, thoughtful decisions, the right professionals, clear communication, and trust. Ultimately, it's not about how the finished space looks. It's about creating an experience that allows you to make thoughtful decisions with confidence.
Are you getting ready to start a project? I’d love to discuss your vision, help bring clarity to the process, and guide you through the design process from those first decisions through the completion of construction.