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The way I see it, one of my most important roles as an interior designer is helping homeowners understand what to expect from the interior design process. In particular, it’s critical that they have realistic expectations about how long their project is going to take. For reference, when talking about design projects in this post, I’m referring to both remodeling and furnishing combined, as that’s our primary focus here at RHD.
Unlike the spaces designed before our very eyes on TV, it takes longer than an hour, a day, a week, or even a month to create unique, personalized, cohesive interiors like the ones you see in our portfolio. It’s not easy to wait patiently, but the fact remains that successful designs–designs that reflect who you are and support how you want to live–take time.
Trying to rush things or shortcutting the process because you don’t want to be out of your home for that long or you have guests coming in for a party won’t get you the results you’re looking for. What it will get you, however, is plenty of frustration and at least a few regrettable design choices. That’s not what we want for you!
Fast or good–pick one.
The fact is, there’s simply no fast track to good design. Creativity, ideation, and research all take time. It's not an idle process - it's very active but it requires space in the process for gathering inspiration and letting ideas percolate so everything can come into the right focus. Trying to rush any or all of that will yield very different results than letting the whole process play out.
Think of it this way: You wouldn’t go to a 5-star Michelin restaurant and say, “We’re so excited to experience Chef’s creativity and expertise! But we’re in a hurry so we need him to rush things. In fact, we want him to use packaged convenience foods so it goes even faster. We can’t wait to taste the incredible meal he creates for us!”
That sounds completely ridiculous, doesn’t it?! You would never do that because you trust that the chef knows what they’re doing. You understand that you’re paying a premium to enjoy a luxury service that yields luxury results and you want the chef to do everything they need to do in order to achieve those results. That includes not asking them to compromise anything about their process in order to save you time.
Now think about an interior designer as the ‘chef’ of your design project. You hire a professional designer like me to apply my knowledge, experience, creativity, and expertise to your home’s design.
As with the Michelin restaurant analogy, if you try to get your designer to skip steps in their process and to compromise on selecting the best ‘ingredients’ for the design in favor of mass produced retail items (not because you love them but because they’ll arrive quickly), you’re not going to get great results.
Even the best designers can’t magically make a room full of hastily chosen items you can find in any store look like a unique, personalized design (and just like the Michelin chef, you shouldn’t ask them to try!).
At the risk of sounding a bit harsh (but with the intention of helping you see what you’re actually spending your money on) what’s the point of hiring a designer if that’s the approach you’re taking?
When working with my clients, my main goal is always to help them create the environments they’re yearning for. Keeping us focused on this goal and working through each step of the process without compromise ensures the absolute best results. No shortcuts allowed!
The HGTV effect
If you’ve ever watched a home improvement show on television, you’ve seen a house go from before to after in less than an hour flat. These shows are undeniably entertaining and compelling–and when they first came on the scene, they expanded the general public’s awareness of what can be done with interiors, which is wonderful. But what actually goes on behind the scenes to design these spaces goes far beyond what most people can ever know or even imagine.
In real life, there’s no fast-forwarding or skipping past the details, especially if you want a design you’re deeply happy with in the end.
HGTV says themselves that it can take 8 months or longer for them to film a project. And that’s with a veritable army of designers and contractors working on the spaces, likely around the clock and with network dollars backing it all. It’s all entertainment more than it is a master class in how design really works.
Taking time to find the right items
Curating unique items from a variety of sources certainly takes time, but it’s the only way to achieve a truly great design.
Going into a retail store or showroom and picking out everything they have on the floor may give you pretty pieces but it won’t give you a design that’s personal and unique. That only comes from taking the time to search for items from different parts of the world, establishing relationships with artisans, designing custom pieces, and commissioning artwork. Bringing together a thoughtful curation of pieces and layers from different resources is a hallmark of good design. It takes your spaces to the next level and makes them unlike anything you see anywhere else.
There are subtleties and uncompromised sophistication that comes from sourcing a variety of items from a variety of vendors and craftspeople. You just can't get that from shopping one retail outlet–and usually not even one designer showroom.
Truth be told, even if you did order everything from one showroom, you’d still have to wait a minimum of 12 weeks for all of your items to be received and installed. And who's to say it’s going to look just as good in your home as it did in the showroom, given the differences in the spaces’ size, scale, paint, and flooring? Achieving a good design just isn’t that simple.
Realistic timelines
Because every project is different and there are so many variables involved, it’s impossible to provide rules of thumb about how long a given project should take.
However, to give you some insight, it takes a minimum of 3-4 months on average just to get the furnishings for a project produced and delivered to our warehouse. That’s after we’ve already established a design direction, created a design concept, planned the project’s logistics, refined the final design, and placed the product orders–and assuming nothing is on backorder.
Thinking long term
Let me hold your hand while I say this: Parties are NOT design deadlines. It’s understandable to want to take on a project in preparation for a celebration or big event. But it’s important to bear in mind that unpredictable things can and do happen on every design project, especially when construction is involved. There’s no way to guarantee exactly when your project will be completed, so if you’re planning to have a party, host it at an event space or wait until after your project is finished to plan it.
What you don’t want to do is end up rushing construction or compromising on the furnishings because you have people coming. After all, are you focusing on your remodel or are you focusing on your party?
If you want to make the most of your investment in your project, stay focused on it. And for goodness sake, don’t compromise your long term happiness with the results because of a party.
Worth waiting for
As eager as our clients are to get their projects finished, they consistently tell us how happy they are that they waited for the right design to come together.
Sometimes we’re left waiting on a single item to complete a project. When that happens, we offer to look for alternatives that are just as good (or even better) but will arrive sooner. Each and every time the clients opt to wait on the original item, they not only end up telling us they’re glad they waited but that the item is also one of their favorite pieces in their home.
From the big picture vision down to the last finishing touches, taking the time to allow the design process to unfold yields amazing designs that are more than worth the wait!
Are you ready to trust the process with an upcoming design project of your own? Reach out and tell us about it!
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