Top Ten Design Tips: Number 6

#6 Build Your Team Early  
One of the ongoing issues we see clients face is the decision to find an interior designer sometime after the project has begun rolling.  Then it happens. Some issue comes up that the builder, architect or subcontractors involved on the job can’t answer or provide a sound solution.  So then the hunt begins for a design professional that will listen to the problems and provide an appropriate answer that fits the needs of the client.  Other decisions critical to the project’s advancement might even be put on hold.  For the chosen designer it can mean quickly spending time to understand what criteria was on the mind of the client when the project was initiated and how decisions have evolved from there. Valuable time is not only lost but often design solutions and opportunities are left to chance. 

So before you put your team together, start with a few important steps. Make a list of the important objectives you want to achieve. Then review that list during interviews with two or three prospective design professionals. Once you have decided on one, assemble the team together so that you can see just how they will work together. Look for clues as they interact. The best teams are made up of part chemistry, part skill and experience and part vision. Some give and take is to be expected and encouraged. Then with a clear understanding of their roles, secure your team and let them create the design solutions on paper that will provide the answers you seek.  They might even take you to places you hadn’t anticipated.  That’s part of the role of a good designer,… listening and then putting skill and experience to work.  Effective design teams can do that together, maximize the results and watch the dollars.  And with an early start, the time frame to complete the work will be shorter as decisions will be made in concert with one another and not in a piecemeal fashion.  Look for more design tips in the days to come.