The Hamster Wheel of Construction Projects
Hey ya’ll, it’s Shaun. A few months ago I got a handful of calls from prospective clients all remodeling their homes and all with the same problem: approved plans, permits, and no materials or finishes selected. Needless to say, they were all worried about effing up their houses and spending a lot of money on things they didn’t like. And since hammers were already swinging it was a design emergency for them.
I’m not quite sure why the universe brought me these clients but at the time I thought Wrensted Interiors had capacity to help. Spoiler alert: we didn’t. So now I’m knee deep getting all the hard finishes selected and specified for the clients so their contractors can keep making progress. It’s left me a bit rushed. So here’s some of the things we’ve had to do to keep making progress for our clients and not drowning.
- I scheduled walk-throughs with the contractors right away so they could give me rough timelines. Every client had freaked out a bit on how long they had to make decisions so I was relieved to get rough schedules for the foundations, framing, electrical, plumbing, etc. It helped to spread out the deliverables and calmed the clients down too.
- Now that I have 3 of these projects at once it’s lit a fire for me to get my FF&E documents organized so I’m beta-testing a new Google Sheet template. It’s nice to be able to see everything in one place instead of bouncing between presentations, Pinterest, and Studio Designer to find everything.
- Without the luxury of time to present full and finished concept designs before contractors needs decisions, I scheduled some of the clients to come to my studio for working design sessions. We’ve worked on a few bathrooms and it’s been so much faster since we have all the samples and materials in our library.
- Trust me on this one Hotties – outsource drawings! I pulled in freelancers from Upwork to help me catch up on kitchen cabinetry elevations and details so the contractors can keep working.
The good news is each client still completed my normal onboarding process and design questionnaires so we got to put together initial look books pretty fast. I won’t pretend this process has been perfect, but it is making me more efficient. I think if someone else came to me for this type of project today I’d want to quote them as a flat rate design fee since I’m definitely losing money by being more efficient. Anyhow, live and learn. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going.
Do you have any questions about these types of projects? Also, send me your advice or tips to make these easier!
Fizzles & Sizzles
Rebecca's Fizzle
Shaun's Fizzle
July was the hottest month in Sacramento’s history, with most days over 100°F. Hiding inside with many days of solo parenting and heavy deadlines made it a slog. I crawled into August but made it through!
At the end of an 11+ mile horseback ride on my vacation, I gave myself a minor sprained ankle dismounting from the horse. I recovered enough to enjoy the rest of the trip, and I’d do it all over again.
Rebecca's Sizzle
Shaun's Sizzle
Yellowstone was otherworldly. It had been 11 years since I was there last, and it was beautiful to disconnect for a week.
Stuff We're Digging
- 01. This novel of a perimenopausal mom on an unhinged rumpsringa. I loved it.
- 02. I'm in my bandana era. -SC
- 03. Currently reading: How to win friends & influence people.
- 04. I started tretinoin, and my skin is drinking this up. -SC
- 05. File this under stupid things I bought and now can't live without. -RP
