How to Work with Me and Ensure the Success of your Project
Working with an Interior Designer is no longer only for the rich and famous. Whether you want ideas, inspiration, a color consultation or a full renovation, here is what you should expect.
From defining the scope of your project to making sure we are the right fit for one another, here are tips on how to work with me, Carolina.
This is a guide on how to make sure that we will not waste your time nor get frustrated due to lack of progress. This will also help you understand how important your honesty and transparency is to me.
1. Initial Phone Call. There is a complimentary 15-30 minute phone call to assess your needs. The success and outcome of the project will be determined by clear communication. This is also an opportunity for us to connect and decide if we are the right fit. I have strengths and weaknesses that are both personal and professional. One of my greatest strengths is that I am flexible with styles which means I design and style for you, not what I like or prefer. My weakness is the color yellow. It’s not a color I love but it does not mean that will keep me from creating the room of your dreams in the color yellow. This is about clear communication: you are free to review my past work and ask for client references to hear from them directly.
2. Bring us in early. Just because you are ready to get started does not mean work will start right away. My office practices precision and accuracy. If we rush through the process, we can expect mistakes, rise in costs and frustration. We don’t want that and neither do you.
3. Complete the Contact Form. The best way to communicate with us is by completing the contact form we have on our website. It asks specific questions to learn about your needs. From services you are asking for to budget and uploading images to help us understand your current space. This helps us see if what you are asking for is possible within your budget. It also allows you to clearly communicate your needs. Whether it is for design, styling, accessories or a renovation, it is best to complete the contact form with images. You will receive a call from Carolina Moncion Design once we review it.
4. Be ready to communicate clearly about what you are asking us to do. Be ready to communicate clearly about what you are asking us to do. We are here to guide you and be your sounding board. We make suggestions and often find ourselves listening to your personal situations with your loved ones but from the beginning, you must communicate clearly about what you are asking us to do. Here are ways to do this:
- Let us know if you are simply looking for pricing. One of the things many want to know is how much things will cost. We can give you pricing but remember that it entails the first visit, speaking with you and assessing your needs which are all work. Therefore, we do charge a fee to get to a point where we can give pricing on most services. If pricing is all that you want, we will happily offer it as long as you understand that there will be a fee for our time and expertise attached to it.
- Let us know if you are simply looking for ideas for your space. This is a Design Consultation. You can learn more about it here.
- Let us know if you are looking for color suggestions. This is a Color Consultation. You can learn more about this here.
- Provide your ideas with images of what you like and don’t like, explaining why. Include images of window treatments, spaces you love and items you love. This is critical to the success of your project.
- Let us know if you have specific pieces of furniture you have to keep so that we can work around them and include them into the style of the new space.
- Provide your budget – your real budget, not one you have cut down in fear we will spend every cent. There is a common misconception that interior designer will use it all and give you sub-par products. Instead, we tread carefully and communicate prices along with product images for your consideration. While we try to freely explore the concept of your new design, we search for better, more cost-effective option – that won’t make you reach your financial ceiling, as often as possible and when possible. We offer timeline flexibility and payment options that can make the design process convenient to you. Don’t be afraid to ask.
- Learn about how we charge – All of our services are either flat-fee or hourly without mark-ups or “cost-plus” so you know exactly what you are paying for. We bill for the hours we work and only those hours. Our billing is digital. We do charge for the first visit and you can learn what the fee is and why here .
5. Be ready to sign service agreements for any of the services we offer. Design is “fun” to many when it is – in fact – a legal process that requires protecting the homeowner and their property as well as the designer and all other entities involved. Our office policy is that work cannot initiated until you sign a service agreement.
6. Let us do our work. We are trained to see your home in ways you do not: we see form and function, safety issues and how to avoid dangerous situations as well as how to follow codes set before us by governing entities.
7. Trust that we make the best suggestions that work for you and your home or office.
8. Trust that we are not in control of our vendors or how soon pricing will be provided to us for your items once we ask for it.
9.Trust that we are not wasting time when we say we are reviewing a scope of work’s pricing and tell you so because we know you are expecting correct pricing. If you rush through the process, or make sudden demands, we are going to miss something that could potentially cost you hundreds of dollars or bring the entire project to a full stop.
10. Trust that we are doing everything we can before we start working on your home to avoid delays. When you let us do our work, you help us provide a more rewarding experience for you, the homeowner, because we know that you are going to be happy with the outcome at the end of our journey together. We are here to make sure you get accuracy, and offer services that don’t cause stress or anxiety by having a well-laid-out plan for the service contractors to follow and make sure you get what you expect.
