I’ve never worked on an interior design project that didn’t involve other people. You might be reading this and think “um, yeah, that’s obvious”. However, I think it’s super easy to look at inspiration images and forget that real people worked real hard on that. We click and collect and consume so quickly, that it’s easy to forget the not-so-pretty parts of the process! I guarantee every project you see cost someone sweat and sleep in one way or another!
The people
The Client
Interior design always begins with the client, the people we’re designing for. I really enjoy getting to know my clients, their families, their personalities and sense of humor! That relationship is really foundational. There’s a certain amount of trust, transparency & honesty that needs to be in place in order to deliver good results to my clients and that goes both ways.
The Design Professionals
(Architects & Interior Designers) These are the lovely people who know how to make your investment look and function in a way that’s worthy of the expense. Building a new home is likely one of the largest expenses of your life, so it’s wise to make sure that design is given the attention it deserves. We formulate design direction for the project, providing a clear vision for the project before construction ever begins. A large part of that is producing drawings and specifications that communicate the specifics of what’s needed in order to implement the design. There’s so much more value that Design Professionals bring to the table, but that will have to be a separate blog post!
Construction / Tradespeople
Every Joanna needs their Chip. I personally cannot implement a design totally by myself (nor do I want to). Even though I know my way around a construction site, I still need other professionals to turn my drawings into reality. I understand that construction requires a lot of planning and coordination in order to run smoothly. There are a lot of moving parts, so I respect and value the work of these people tremendously!
Support people
For the design & construction teams. These are the sales reps who supply me with samples, pricing, product data, performance and cleaning info. Another example would be the people who do take-offs and estimates for the contractors, order products, and schedule delivery of materials.
Everyone’s Contribution is Valuable
All of the people on a project have a role and contribute in their unique way. We all need each other to do amazing work in our sphere of influence.
My role as an interior designer isn’t superior or inferior to anyone else, it’s just the way that I contribute.
When we built our home, we had some main contact people, but I know there were so many others who worked on our home that I didn’t get to personally meet. I’m grateful for each one because they played a part in giving us a home that we enjoy daily. It’s made an enormous impact on our lives and they were a part of that! If you didn’t hear it directly from me, I’d love to personally thank you for the part you played in our new home! So please reach out and introduce yourself so that I can say thanks!
I’ll go deeper into some of the lessons we learned while building our home later, but for now, I want to give a shout-out to the team – the amazing people – that worked on our home!
Our Team
General Contractor: Vision Builders
Architect: Kristine Anderson, P/K Architects
Interior Designer / Client: Michele Rosenboom
Plumbing / HVAC: Fred’s Plumbing & Heating
Electrical: Travis Anderson (no longer in business)
Painter: David King (moved away)
Tile Installer: Bruce Lefever
Cabinetry: Verhoef Cabinetry
Windows & Doors: Schiebout Windows
Landscaping: Greenworld
