Why Don’t People Hire Professional Designers?

March 18, 2010

I recently came across a posting  by a somewhat mystified architect on an Internet bulletin board for home remodeling. He posed the question: “Why don’t more people hire architects for their remodelings?” (The question would apply equally for interior designers, as well.) The comments from the public were enlightening and generally as follows:

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Some Thoughts on Design-Build

March 18, 2010

Most homeowners embarking on a remodeling project are familiar with the traditional route of working with an independent design professional, such as an architect, to develop plans, followed by hiring a general contractor to build the project. Another route that has started appearing more frequently is the concept of design-build, where the designer and contractor [...]

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What Makes a GREAT Client

February 24, 2010

Many designers’ clients, my own included, often seem to have a lingering suspicion that they aren’t being a good client. Perhaps they feel that they’re being overly indecisive, and need some handholding to reassure them that they are “normal.” Although almost every designer has “client from hell” stories, in truth, the vast majority of clients [...]

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Managing Your Husband

February 23, 2010

After 25  years of watching the dynamics of husbands and wives during the remodeling process, there are a few tips that I can offer to wives who think their husbands aren’t going to be very involved.

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The Magic of Full Spectrum Paint

February 17, 2010

I have lately become quite enamored of a relatively new development in paints: Full Spectrum paints. Unlike standard paint colors, which are usually a blend of two or three hues, plus some black, full spectrum colors are blended from the 7 colors of the natural light spectrum, and use no black at all.

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Have some FUN with your Remodeling!

February 16, 2010

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to push for a little more fun and whimsy with my remodeling projects. It’s sometimes a bit of a challenge to get clients to go along, though. Many are convinced that they will get eventually get “tired” of anything out of the ordinary and end up going with [...]

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Product or Service? (You need to know!)

February 15, 2010

Determining whether your contractor is a “product” contractor or  a “service” contractor is one of the most (perhaps THE most) critical component of your remodeling or building project. If you don’t pay attention to this at the start, it will cause needless tension, disappointment, and you may never realize why it’s occurring.

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So Many Choices…

February 15, 2010

One aspect of remodeling that most of my clients are not fully prepared for is the potentially overwhelming number of choices that they are going to have to make during the course of their project. They occasionally smile when I tell them that they will be making more choices in the project than they could [...]

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