Which Project Management Software is Best for Your Design Business?

It goes without saying that every small business owner hopes to find the perfect tool for every job. Well, we hope you have a magic wand because that’s the only tool that’ll do it for you. Until then, finding the right software to help you manage projects and accounting that works for your unique interior design business is the best we can hope for.

We’ve already shared some descriptions and impressions of a few of the most popular management platforms in a post titled, Project Management – The Black Hole of Interior Design. However, most of that information was largely drawn from a design-focused source, Business of Home. While they are a trusted source for objective, industry-focused information, we began to wonder what it might be like to actually use these platforms.

After searching for such a source, we felt lucky to discover an online accounting firm that is dedicated to serving interior design businesses of every size. Named The Designer CPA they essentially perform as your part-time CFO while focusing specifically on the unique business challenges and money management needs of interior designers.

In other words, these folks have hands-on experience with the software as do their clients. The following information is taken directly from an article on their website: The Pros and Cons of the 4 Best Project Management Software for Interior Designers.

Hands-on Impressions of Designer Software

Let’s see what the accounting professionals have to say about the most popular project management software being used today.

• Design Manager

The team at Design Manager is promising great things with an update in 2023. While I have not seen the new software at the time of this writing, the use of Citrix is expected to end, and the new release is strictly going to be on the “cloud”.

I am hearing that the great things that have made Design Manager who they are since 1984 will not be going away.

The software will still be an all-in-one option—with project management and accounting all in one. You will still have access to many different reports to let you track how well your business is doing by project.

The Pros:

• Comprehensive Reporting – All of my clients that use DM love the reporting features so they can keep track of the profitability of each project. This allows them to adjust after every project to maximize profit. All the details for your projects are available in the reporting. Software that can provide this information can make your and your team’s lives easier to make decisions that allow for greater profitability.

• You only need one subscription since the project and accounting is all in one software. Pricing is $65/per user / per month at the time of writing. You do not have to also pay for a QuickBooks Online subscription because all accounting is done in DM.

The Con:

• It’s time-consuming – To review comprehensive reporting, data input can take longer to enter. My clients that use this software either have an internal employee who enters the information or a bookkeeper who specializes in the software. Your bookkeeping fees may be higher than a different business that strictly uses QuickBooks Online for their accounting solutions.

Design Manager is the most popular project management software for interior design forms… We think the reasons for this are obvious.

• Ivy / Houzz Pro Platform

With Houzz purchasing Ivy, more and more Ivy customers are finding out it is time to transfer to Houzz Pro. If you are still using Ivy, you may want to take a deeper dive in the Houzz Program to make sure that the software will still meet your needs.

This software does not have all-in-one accounting in it, so a separate subscription to QuickBooks Online is required. Ivy / Houzz Pro currently has three different options for subscription Current Prices: 1) Starter $65/mo, 2) Essential $99/mo, and 3) Pro / $149/mo.

If you combine the software subscription for QuickBooks Online, the total fees are much higher than the software that provides an all-in-one accounting and project management solution

The Pros:

• Clients say the software looks beautiful compared to other options

• Receiving payments from clients may be easier

• Project management is easier and less time-consuming to enter into this software

• 3D Floor Plans

The Cons:

• The reporting available leaves much to be desired when you compare the comprehensive reporting in all the other software we are reviewing

• The integration with QuickBooks Online is wonky at best. The issues with the integration shutting down or some items not importing can be an accounting nightmare

• There have been many stories of questionable practices with Houzz that should be researched before deciding if the software is best for your company.

As always, Houzz is very proud of themselves and their software, as the cost makes clear. Then again, they often have reasons for feeling that way.

• MyDoma NEXT

MyDoma upgraded their software to MyDoma NEXT in the Spring of 2022. We sat down with the MyDoma team to learn more about the details which you can review here.

Like Ivy/Houzz, MyDoma does not have all-in-one accounting in the same program. MyDoma pricing is based on the number of team members you have and can range anywhere from $59 to $129 per month. Keep in mind a subscription to QuickBooks Online will also be necessary for your accounting needs.

The Pros:

• My clients say the Visualizer, Client Portal, and Clipper are easy to use and look great to present to their clients

• Contractors and clients can have access to the Portal to see everything they need to see on their project

• You can review project-specific reports in the project management software

The Cons:

• ·A second subscription will have to be paid for with QuickBooks Online besides the MyDoma NEXT subscription price

• Only paid invoices can be exported to QuickBooks Online, so if you want project-specific information in QuickBooks Online, it will have to be entered manually a second time in the accounting software.

For us, the visibility that’s available for clients and contractors may be the #1 feature of this software.

• Studio Designer

Studio Designer completed an upgrade to a 2.0 version in the summer of 2019. Many of my clients enjoy this software now that the kinks of the upgrade seem to be resolved.

Studio has two different payment options: Basic for $54/user and Professional for $72/user.

What is the difference? Professionals will give you access to time billing, calendars, and activities. If any of these options are important to you, investing in the professional level would be best.

The Pro:

• Just like Design Manager, the comprehensive reporting cannot be beat. Having access to profit details allows you to maximize the profit of your business.

The Con:

• More time consulting to enter details to review this comprehensive reporting

We think this evaluation makes it clear that, for a design professional, it would be best to pony up for the Professional version.

We hope this more in-depth evaluation of the most popular project management software developed for interior designers has been helpful. Further, Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Project Management – The Black Hole of Interior Design

As you may (or may not) know, a black hole is a region of space-time where gravity devours everything, including light and energy. For an interior designer, project management is just such an area of destructive gravity.

The list of tasks that come under the heading of “Project Management” for an interior designer, whether for a basic remodel to an all-inclusive re-imagining of the entire living space of a home is nothing if not an Earth-bound black hole. Managing these aspects of the job requires an experienced designer who is intimately familiar with all aspects of a design project.

-OR-

You can invest a relatively modest amount of dollars in one of the latest digital tools available to save designers time, energy, and money. (Huh, who’d a thunk it?)

Time to Reject That Gravitational Pull

We would not normally share so many business-building tips in a single post. However, we believe this area is important enough to give you at least a glimpse of the design-centric project management systems recently featured by the folks at BusinessOfHome.com.

• Studio Designer – Now over 30 years old and ranging in price from $54 to $72 per month, “this well-established platform has a user base of 14,000 designers [and] facilitates the creation of proposals, quote requests, time billing, invoicing, and accounting [specifically] for the interior design industry. Part of what designers like about Studio Designer is its client-facing portal, where projects can be viewed anytime, and payments can be made via credit or debit card and bank transfers.”

• Houzz Pro – This popular home remodeling platform, “offers [interior design professionals] an array of tools from its well-known product clipper to email marketing and lead generation functions, integration with QuickBooks, and an augmented reality feature that allows designers and their clients to virtually experience their proposed vision onsite in 3D. The platform also comes with built-in lead generation from Houzz.” can get pricey, with packages ranging from $65 to $400 per month.

• Mydoma Studio – Created by an interior designer and her app developer husband for her own use, they realized they had solved many of the pain points experienced by others. And so, “the pair launched Mydoma Studio as a wider offering. The resulting platform provides tools for project and client management, purchase orders and invoicing, vendor and team collaboration, time tracking, mood boards, and product sourcing, [plus] templates for a basic interior design contract or an initial client questionnaire, as well as webinars and events.” Monthly costs range from $49 to $99 for the platform.

• Design Manager – This aptly named app offers more than basic project management functions. “Design Manager has additional applications for firms that hold inventory in multiple locations, stock products, or operate a showroom or storefront. Those retail-minded features have made the platform a go-to for designers … who rely on the platform’s tools to accept payments for merchandise and track inventory and employee commissions as they balance design work with bustling retail operations.” The platform goes for $65 per month.

• Design Files – Wow, what a great tagline: “Design, manage, get paid and grow.” The platform makes a serious effort to live up to this by being “similar to other design-specific project management tools [but] its features include a room planner, product clipper, time tracking, and QuickBooks integration. Design Files stands out by offering a unique plan tailored for e-designers, [including an option] to integrate their design packages onto their website and easily process payment[s] upfront.” E-design packages begin at $49 a month per user, while a full-service plan starts at $69 a month per user.

(Dang, does anyone have one of these made for easier living?)

What Have You Got to Lose?

For us, it’s simple. An interior designer has pretty much nothing to lose by trying any of these reasonably priced project management platforms. Well, except for the stress and headaches you will likely lose!

Plus, Ted remains available to help as well, with business consulting to the trade and as a potential guide for the use of digital project management platforms for designers and furniture dealers. If you’d like to chat with him about your design business needs, simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Automate Your Workflow to Save Time, Energy, and Money

Welcome to the Department of Redundancy Department, where a small business owner repeats the same administrative tasks daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. From turning the lights on to start your day to turning them off at day’s end – and everything in between – it’s trying to be the boss. This is especially true if you’re a hands-on and/or a micro-manager type of boss.

This begs the question of whether you should automate your workflow to reduce all that redundancy.

Automated Task Management

Thanks to the folks at BusinessOfHome.com, we’ve discovered an exciting way to slough off those mundane, time- and energy-sucking administrative business tasks that can make you wonder why you ever started your own business. This magical task management tool is called Airtable and it's shaking things up in the industry.

“There are a million moving parts to any design project. From presentations to procurement to payment, there is plenty of room for tasks to slip through the cracks. We asked designers to share their favorite tools for keeping all their ducks in a row.”

“Airtable is a programmable database that manages both projects and customer relationships. The platform allows designers to track client information – potential clients, active clients, and even the profitability of each client – as well as purchases for individual projects.”

Can you imagine?

“For Philadelphia-based designer Lucy O’Brien, Airtable is the ‘brain behind her firm, with an administrative hub for internal documents as well as client-facing workspaces for each project, with separate tabs for each room, construction documents, and paint schedules. ‘This platform has the clarity of Excel spreadsheets but enables you to upload pictures, documents, links and so much more into the cells,’ says O’Brien.

“’ That feature was one of the main reasons I finally stuck with Airtable – so many of the other systems I tried did not give the overall organization and document storage I wanted in a visual way that felt clean and organized.’”

Simplify Your Workday

According to the Airtable website: “From sending notifications to orchestrating cross-functional work, Airtable automations are a powerful rules engine that can help you and your team stay connected.”

From the simplest to the most complex, the platform offers simplified steps to help you manage workflow seamlessly and efficiently:

• Quickly and easily create Airtable automations using a simple, drag-and-drop builder.

• See how automations can help save you time by eliminating redundant tasks and streamlining your work.

• Connect automations to your most important tools to create a seamless, cohesive workflow.

And, amazingly, “A free plan is available to start but increases to $45 per month for the most sophisticated plan, which offers perks like storage of 100 gigabytes of attachments.”

Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade and as a potential guide for the use of AI business support platforms for designers and furniture dealers. If you’d like to chat with him about your design business needs, simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Your Future – How to Know What’s Next for Your Business

In all probability, the sun will rise tomorrow; just as it will also set, and night will replace day. We believe in the certainty of this taking place based on experience, history, the current state of affairs, and sciencey stuff that is beyond us yet in which we have faith. So, there is a fairly inevitable part of your future but, there are many areas where we believe we can never know what’s next.

For example, what the heck will your teenage daughter or son be doing with their friends after the Big Game Saturday night? What color and fabric will her prom dress be? When will he (if ever) start taking his curfew seriously?

Teenagers aside, predicting the future is not only difficult, but it can also be dangerous. For example, while certain luxury furnishings may have a great track record for dealer sales, trends change, shapes become overdone or obsolete, and colors of the year will shift, well – yearly. And yet… And yet… a good buyer is an informed buyer, using experience, history, trends, and market research to avoid over- and under-buying product that is likely to be in demand next season.

What Will Tomorrow Bring?

“Challenging the belief that the future is unknowable,” futurist Rebecca Costa believes in a “series of [what she identifies as] ‘knowables’ that can be possessed about most any given situation based on history, current circumstances, and myriad other algorithms that allow for reasonably accurate predictive outcomes.” (FurnitureToday.com)

“To help companies systemize their efforts to confront complex change, she outlined six steps: identifying the challenge or need; categorizing opportunities into market-driven (incremental) change or ‘moonshots’ (higher risk, higher reward) opportunities; developing separate processes for each of those two categories; realigning talent around personality predispositions; evangelizing from the top-down; and systematizing and institutionalizing [what she describes as] a ‘predaptive’ culture.”

“The most notable change from more traditional business practices is the development of separate processes for market-driven opportunities and so-called moonshots, and the corresponding alignment of talent accordingly.”

“Costa outlined two personality types common to professional organizations which she termed ‘racers’ and ‘climbers’. Racers are expert multi-taskers, highly verbal, high energy, performance-oriented, and are easily frustrated by process and protocol. Conversely, climbers are persistent, analytical, evidence-driven, process-driven, and prefer written communication.”

“Companies that use a single process for market-driven and moonshot initiatives often have these types of individuals working together, which often frustrates each and stifles development. Costa’s advice is to separate the processes and the individuals with racers focused on market-driven developments and climbers focusing on moonshots.”

Keeping It Simple

If that doesn’t make your head spin...

From our perspective as mere forecasters and experienced business prognosticators based on current trends and experience (We certainly do not claim to be futurists), we will try to simplify a predictive model that works for us:

• Be objective and uncompromising as you evaluate your business.

• Pay attention to local market forces as well as trends you see in the trade.

• Be conservative in your vision of the future of the market and your place in it.

• Take things to their logical, inevitable conclusion.

• Prepare yourself for anything.

And never forget – interior design is a local business!

Ted remains available for his impressions of issues like these and for business consulting to the trade. All you have to do is… Contact TD Fall today.

AI in Interior Design – From the Common to the Uncommon

Artificial intelligence in interior design has become a fact of life. In other words, AI applications are a common tool for designing and creating virtual and augmented reality experiences for clients, allowing them to visualize their space before any physical work is done.

Less common is the use of AI among designers to tackle the day-to-day minutiae of running their business. Despite the broad use of such applications among the business community at large, it is uncommon for designers and dealers to employ AI-based solutions for more mundane tasks that devour so much time and effort from a business owner.

From payroll to client follow-up and even from client acquisition to forecasting to help plan for the future, artificial intelligence administration applications enable a designer to spend more time working with clients, and even more time to… design beautiful spaces.

How AI can Help Small Business Owners

A September article at FurnitureToday.com states, “The furniture industry has gotten on board with A.I. and its content-creating subset, generative A.I.”

Further, they declare, “Whether retailers are deploying virtual reality technology to show how home furnishings will look within a room, adding chatbots to their online customer service applications, using A.I. for business forecasting and data analysis, or using it to write copy for press releases or product descriptions on their websites, interest has been growing.”

And, clever people that they are, they inquired of the free-to-use AI-generated chatbot ChatGPT itself to explain to them what the future of AI will look like for the furniture and design industries:

• Advanced AR/VR experiences: Future applications could include more immersive AR/VR experiences, allowing customers to virtually rearrange furniture in their spaces or explore entire room designs.

• AI-powered design assistance: Retailers could offer A.I. tools that help customers design their spaces by suggesting furniture layouts, color schemes, and complementary items.

• Sentiment analysis: A.I. could analyze customer reviews and feedback to gauge sentiment and identify areas for product improvement or customer service enhancement.

• Smart showrooms: Physical stores could incorporate A.I. to create smart showrooms, where A.I.-powered devices interact with customers, provide information, and even simulate different lighting conditions.

• Sustainability and material sourcing: AI could be used to trace the origin of materials, assess their sustainability, and provide customers with detailed information about the environmental impact of products.

• Emotional A.I.: A.I. could be used to understand customers’ emotional responses to different designs, helping retailers create emotionally resonant marketing and product strategies.

• Predictive maintenance for furniture: A.I. could be used to predict when furniture items might need maintenance or replacement based on usage patterns and material degradation.

• Collaborative design platforms: AI-driven platforms could facilitate collaboration between customers, designers, and retailers, enabling real-time design modifications and adjustments.

• Automated personal shopping assistants: A.I.-powered virtual assistants could help customers navigate through the purchasing process, offering personalized recommendations and facilitating the buying journey.

• Interactive in-store experiences: Physical stores could use A.I. to create interactive displays and experiences that engage and educate customers about furniture features, materials, and design options.

Does anyone else think that list is a little intimidating?

Using AI is Inevitable

Granted, We may have seen a few too many sci-fi movies but, asking an AI-generated app what the future looks like for AI-generated apps sounds a bit creepy to us. Seems like they’re just asking the darned bot to take control of things from them. (Have these folks never seen 2001 A Space Odyssey?)

Seriously, the burdens that can be lifted from a business owner’s shoulders are almost too numerous to count. And, it’s only going to grow: “Few segments [of the economy and business] are growing at the rate of the artificial intelligence market. What was estimated to be a $140 billion industry in 2022 is expected to grow to nearly $2 trillion by 2030, according to Next Move Strategy Consulting.”

(After reading this, you may want to watch something like “White Christmas” before bed tonight so you can avoid dreams of various artificial intelligences attacking you.)

Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade and as a potential guide for the use of AI in design as well as for furniture dealers. (Unfortunately, he has yet to learn dream therapy.) But, if you’d like to chat with him about your design business nightmares, simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Pantone Color of the Year 2024: Peach Fuzz

Yeah, no! We are not referring to the fine hair many women grow on their faces, known as Vellus hair. (And no, removing by shaving or other means will NOT make it grow back thicker or darker.) Rather, we are somewhat entranced by the latest Pantone Color of the Year, labeled Peach Fuzz (13-1023).

According to the influential color consultancy, “Peach Fuzz captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It's a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.”

“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute™

Everything’s Peachy with Pantone 2024

While these descriptions may seem a bit of a reach for a mere color, the company is not pulling its punches and refuses to settle for less. “In home design, Peach Fuzz creates a welcoming ambiance … and can promote feelings of warmth whether it is used on a painted wall or as an accent within a pattern.” (HomeAccentsToday.com)

“A cozy peach hue softly nestled between pink and orange … Peach Fuzz brings belonging, inspires recalibration and an opportunity for nurturing, conjuring up an air of calm, offering us a space to be, feel, and heal and to flourish from whether spending time with others or taking the time to enjoy a moment by ourselves,” expounded Ms. Eiseman.

“Drawing comfort from Pantone Peach Fuzz, we can find peace from within, impacting our wellbeing. An idea as much as a feeling, Peach Fuzz awakens our senses to the comforting presence of tactility and cocooned warmth.”

Whether you believe a gentle, cozy, and warm color like Peach Fuzz (13-1023) can achieve all of these things through the use of paint, wallpaper, furniture fabrics, rugs, and such, is a valid question. Yet, we do know this: each year the Pantone Color of the Year tends to shape “product development and consumer decisions in fashion, industrial and interior design, product packaging and other industry areas” every year. (npr.org)

There is little reason to doubt that next year will be no exception.

As always, Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade, whether you have questions about the various colors of the year for 2024 or basic business practices. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

AI and Client Services – Chatbots and CVAs Are the Wave of the Future

AI and Client Services – Chatbots and CVAs Are the Wave of the Future

In our most recent post, we shared the belief that Artificial Intelligence (AI) would impact the design and furnishings industry sooner rather than later. Beyond AI-powered design apps, we will most likely see the increasing implementation of bots and virtual customer assistants (VCAs) to blend and improve AI and client services.

According to the research and executive support firm Gartner, emerging technologies such as “Bots and virtual customer assistants (VCAs) are becoming more widely adopted. They are of medium-high importance now but are expected to grow in importance in the future. These technologies act on behalf of the organization to deliver information or act on behalf of the customer to perform a transaction. Bots and VCAs can guide customers to the right resources at the right time to free up rep resources.”

“‘Sixty-eight percent of service leaders indicate that bots and VCAs will be more important in the next two years,’ says Lauren Villeneuve, senior principal, advisory at Gartner. ‘Service centers should seriously be considering how this technology could be integrated into current operations, in both customer-facing and rep-facing systems.’”

The Practical Use and Importance of Bots

“Leveraging AI bots and VCAs through web chat channels has proved successful for many service centers. Deploying bots can deliver various benefits, including:

• Greater capability and scale. AI bots are able to solve simple issues while letting advisors focus on the more complex tasks. Additionally, bots are able to help serve a growing customer base without the necessity of adding advisors.

• Faster chat speed. AI bots can drastically reduce customer wait time. One client reported chatbots replying with[in] five seconds of customer contact, while typical advisors take 51 seconds.

• Better gatekeeping. AI bots can learn to recognize other bots trying to gain access to systems, thus freeing advisors to only focus on actual customers.”

It is this nearly flawless flow from initial client contact to results-oriented solutions that improve client relations and free up a designer’s time, enabling them to focus on what they most love to do – reimagining a homeowner’s spaces. So, despite our nearly universal dislike of dealing with an AI when seeking service ourselves, the trend is for more, and better, chatbots and CVAs in our personal and professional lives.

As long as the better part of that sentence holds true, the inevitability of this trend should be something we look forward to seeing.

Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade on diverse issues which can include AI and customer service questions. To get in touch with him, simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Artificial Intelligence – Will it Hurt or Help the Furnishings Industry?

Artificial Intelligence… The very words can frighten us after seeing or reading countless movies and books where the friendly helper becomes a deadly foe. And now, we see it making an impact in the home furnishings industry – an impact that will affect all of us eventually (if it hasn’t gotten to you already).

So, what is AI? “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is machine-displayed intelligence that simulates human behavior or thinking and can be trained to solve specific problems.” (SimpliLearn.com)

Further, AI is already impacting all of our lives on a daily basis.

• As per Gartner, 37% of organizations have implemented AI in some form. The percentage of enterprises employing AI grew 270% over the past four years.

• According to Servion Global Solutions, by 2025, 95% of customer interactions will be powered by AI.

• A recent 2020 report from Statista reveals that the global AI software market is expected to grow approximately 54% year-on-year.

Technology is Changing How We do Business

OK, so why should we worry about using Artificial Intelligence for interior design or in retail furnishings? Well, according to Ashley Furniture CEO Todd Wanek, “By the end of this decade, there will be two types of companies. One, that’s in business using A.I., and the second one that’s out of business. I think it’s going to be that impactful.” (FurnitureToday.com)

Admittedly, that is a pretty bold claim. Then again, it’s not like a smartphone, tablet, or laptop is NOT being used to help interior designers reimagine a homeowner’s space. Or, to help a furnishings dealer show a client exactly how a new piece of furniture will look when placed in their home.

Apps like these are the very definition of Artificial Intelligence and they’ve been available for quite a few years.

“Home furnishings retailers are deploying [AI] with virtual reality technology to show how home furnishings will look within a room. They’re adding chatbots to their online customer service applications. They’re using it with business forecasting and data analysis, as well as to write copy for press releases or product descriptions on their websites.”

AI Will Boost Productivity

Clearly, AI can make our lives easier – when used effectively. The fear of AI comes from imagining what the logical implications of employing such a powerful technology might be moving forward.

Could AI be developed in a way that it could design custom furniture on its own? Could it take over for interior designers and reimagine a client’s space without the designers’ input? Just how far will we go?

Mr. Wanek explains, “There’s a tool called Midjourney right now that we’re using. We’re using it for creative service. Our design team is using it to help design product[s]. It’s unbelievable what it can do in five minutes, which would have taken hours before. In our product knowledge team, what would have taken them three weeks, they got done in three days just through ChatGPT.”

Additionally, he shared, “We’ve deployed it already in some cases, like in transportation and accounts payable. We’ve also deployed it in human resources. It goes through resumes and helps identify whether the person applying is capable of working for our company.”

Whether we like it or not, new technologies – including Artificial Intelligence – are having and will continue to have a meaningful impact on our industry. To quote our hero and mentor:

“I have an idea that AI needs to be humanized for designers. It's already having an impact on our industry and the early adopters will own the largest market share.” (Ted Fall)

We’ll be examining this issue in future posts about how and whether Artificial Intelligence will hurt or help the furnishings industry.

For now, Ted remains available for his impressions of issues like these and for business consulting to the trade. All you have to do is… Contact TD Fall today.

Custom Furniture Ordering Mistakes Part3

We’re not trying to beat a dead horse here, having already shared three of the common custom furniture ordering mistakes in a couple of earlier posts, here and here. However, according to ArchitecturalDigest.com, there are a few more you should be wary of. (Of which you should be wary?)

We’ve covered the tendency of some to mistake personalized solutions for custom furnishings, as well as using the right vendor for the customization job and ensuring that, no matter how cool the form, it does not overwhelm the intended function. “What could be left?”, you clearly ask. Well, pay heed dear ones for we have the answers.

Custom Ordering Mistake #4: Messing up the measurements

OK, now, this one’s on you. Especially if it’s your idea to go custom (as opposed to your client’s, for example), you simply cannot afford to fumble the tape measure. Getting the dimensions right is totally up to you – as is the cost of any mistakes. Yep, those are your responsibility if you blow the measurements.

“Designers have to triple-check all dimensions and specifications when working on custom furniture and make sure that everything is very clearly outlined in the contract,” says San Francisco–based designer Maria Khouri. “In addition to a written scope, they should also confirm the details verbally, as some people don’t read proposals all the way through.”

“Not only is it important to confirm all dimensions down to the millimeter,” the author suggests, “but Khouri also recommends double-checking the unit of measurement.” (You know, metric versus the right ones! Imperial.)

Common Custom Furniture Mistake #5: Underestimating the lead time

Just because the recent pandemic appears to be a thing of the past does not mean long lead times are as well. This is particularly true when you order custom furniture and other furnishings. After all, you not only have to give your vendor time to create the piece(s), but they may need to order components or hardware that is not readily available to realize your vision.

“Good things come to those who wait,” opines the author, “and custom furniture is no exception. From sourcing the right materials to putting the piece together, the entire process can take months – and that’s before you factor in shipping delays or supply chain hiccups.

“As a rule of thumb, I often double the amount of time I’m given by furniture vendors,” designer Isy Runsewe says. “[It’s] far better for an item to surprisingly arrive early than having to go back to your clients repeatedly to explain delays.”

This is commonly known as “Underpromising and over-delivering”, which is a great tactic for building customer loyalty.

Custom Furniture Ordering Mistake #6: Charging your client for mistakes

This is a tough one, all right. In fact, assigning blame for mistakes of any kind may be the most contentious issue dealers, designers, vendors, and clients can experience. Why? Because with mistakes comes increased costs – for one or all.

“Despite your best efforts, mistakes still happen. So, who should pay for them? Well, it depends on what went wrong. ‘The client should never pay for a mistake,’ says designer Khouri. ‘It is usually between the designer and the manufacturer depending on the nature of the error that was made.’”

While a particular situation may not be quite that cut-and-dried, it seems wise to consider whether the fault belongs to the vendor or the designer. In fact, as long as your contract was comprehensive, it is a rare case indeed where a client is at fault.

Clearly, “a vendor should foot the bill if they accidentally ordered the wrong wood species. But if the mishap happened on your watch, you’ll [ultimately] be financially responsible for the piece.”

And, for help avoiding either of these custom furniture ordering mistakes, feel free to… Contact TD Fall today.

Common Custom Furniture Mistakes Part2

As we shared in a previous post, ordering custom furniture for a client (or any custom furnishings) can lead to issues for interior designers and furnishing dealers. Having clarified the difference between “personalized” and custom furnishings, Part Two in this series will focus on choosing the right vendor and ensuring that function is as important as form in your choices.

Choose the Right Custom Furniture Vendor

It goes without saying that TD Fall is the right vendor for your custom furnishing needs because we only work with the finest lines and furniture builders. We’ve done the research and found some of the most creative craftsmen and luxury furnishing companies available.

“It doesn’t matter how much it costs or how gorgeous the sketches [are], custom furniture will always fall short if it’s not in the hands of a qualified, reliable vendor.” (ArchitecturalDigest.com)

Of course, this does not mean that one manufacturer will always be the perfect choice for every situation or for every interior design client. Whether you choose a custom build from the frame to the finished product like we might suggest from Michael Trent Coates and MTC Studio Designs to beautiful handcrafted furniture from Leathercraft or perhaps from the Donghia Furniture line of the Kravett family of brands, we have you covered.

Do Not Mistake Form For Function

Just as a cool-looking sofa that sits like concrete won’t cut it, a gorgeous, unique-looking desk lamp that does not light a custom-designed home office properly is basically an expensive paperweight. In other words, the function is as important as the form of any custom furnishings you may recommend to a client.

“It’s quite easy to get carried away with a particular design, simply focusing on the ‘look’ of an item,” says Brooklyn-based designer Isy Runsewe. “Designing anything custom without considering its intended use and context can result in a piece that just doesn't help the space function as desired, let alone as needed.”

To strike the right balance of beauty and brains, Runsewe encourages pros to ask vendors for photo and video updates to track a piece’s progress. “You may think it drives some vendors mad, but many understand,” she shares. “They also want to be sure they’ve created something the clients will truly love.”

As you reimagine any space for your clients, always be sure that the “latest iteration still serves its proposed function.”

And, for help avoiding either of these custom furniture mistakes, feel free to… Contact TD Fall today.