The core function of your interior designer is to (obviously) design your spaces, from accessorizing one room to building the plan for a whole home or office space. I, however, approach my job with a much broader, more strategic perspective. My ideal is to be an invaluable resource to my clients as an end-to-end project manager and advocate for their needs.

This outlook may seem redundant or overreaching if you have engaged an architect, a general contractor or if you feel confident in your ability to juggle the different workstreams and vendors connected to your design project. But here’s why it pays to have a designer who partners with you broadly, not just on a transactional basis:

Your Vision is My Vision
By the time your project has transformed from the idea phase to agreed-upon drawings and plan, I have truly internalized your needs, your style and your preferences. As your proxy in any communications or decision making, I will ensure that the project stays true to intent.

Relationships Matter
Over the years, I’ve worked with, and been a loyal client of, many of your key vendors and have built up goodwill. This history means I can make well-considered referrals to you based on expertise, workstyle and personality fit, and that we will be productive working together. Of equal importance, these connections matter when schedules are tight, you have a disagreement, or you need answers or favors.

Objectivity Helps
Sometimes, project manager transforms into objective negotiator and devil’s advocate. When a project faces a challenge or reaches a critical decision-making point, I can help take emotion out of the process by leveraging my relationships and my diverse experience in design and the corporate world. This helps my clients arrive at positive outcomes. (Given the number of times I’ve helped homeowners or business partners at odds reach agreement, I joke that I should also be awarded a PhD in couple therapy!)

The Need for Creativity Doesn’t End with the Blueprint
Anyone who’s completed an interior design project of any scale knows to expect the unexpected. Rip down walls and discover a happy family of squirrels living has made mincemeat of your wiring. Order your fabric and learn the factory in Spain is on strike for the foreseeable future. Hire a painter and the crew comes down with COVID. It is a comfort to have a designer who can present and secure good alternatives to keep you calm and on track.

I am grateful to my clients — from the “I’m in your hands” folks to the do-it-yourselfers — for entrusting me with their project’s management. With each one I learn more about the technicalities of construction, the complexities of the supply chain, the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the importance of clear communication.