Pittsburgh Interior Designer: how I work
My typical consultation starts with one project but often develops into ongoing projects that can involve the entire house. I always strive for a seamless transition and with the client exclaiming,
“I love it”!
A true-life scenario is one where a client contracted me to turn a drab, unused guest room into a serene office. This jumpstarted a whole house remodel. The new office had fresh paint, new carpeting and beautiful new furniture.
The problem was that the rest of the house now desperately needed painting. This began the process of freshening the entire house with paint, floor resurfacing, cleaning grout lines and the introduction of some new furniture and art.
It was not a project that involved knocking down walls, but refurbishing the existing square footage. It was an amazing transformation, and it was much needed in this 50 year-old house.
After the paint consultation, I gave the furniture a second look. I was able to utilize 50% of the existing pieces and sold or donated the rest. We introduced a few new pieces and reupholstered or reassigned others to new rooms. We purchased a new sofa from Craigslist, which became the design focus for the living room.
We rearranged the living room furniture in a new design, switched out some pieces for a more appropriate scale and introduced lots of new lighting. We installed new electrical outlets to accommodate the new plan. In particular, we installed electrical outlets in the floor, which allowed more flow and hid unsightly electrical cords.
I try to utilize pieces that the client absolutely wants to keep or have sentimental value. Otherwise, we typically remove more pieces than we bring back. Most clients accumulate items over the years and find it difficult to get their heads around the whole process of elimination. It can be overwhelming. My crew organizes closets, delivers items to consignment stores, and does whatever it takes to accommodate the client and the project at hand.
Most of my clients become comfortable with this new process quickly. I work with top contractors and suppliers, and do jobs to complete the project that other designers won’t touch. This has become a niche for me since most of my clients either can’t, or don’t want to be involved with the nitty-gritty jobs that must be facilitated before the real work begins.
This can-do attitude makes for repeat clients, since the client becomes comfortable with a design process that is no longer disruptive. I always strive for a seamless transition and with the client exclaiming, “I love it”!