How to Make Your Interior Design Process More Efficient + Profitable
Interior design is both an art form and a professional business endeavor. It requires a combination of creativity, technical skills, and effective project management. As an interior designer, maximizing efficiency within your design process is crucial to delivering exceptional results and providing your clients with an enjoyable experience.
In this blog post, I’ll share a few ways interior designers can make their design process more efficient, enabling them to work smarter, improve their client experience, AND, for those who bill flat fee, increase their profitability. Woop woop.
We’ll start from the very beginning, before the whole thing goes off the rails, then move through onboarding, concept phase, designing, and presenting. Here we go!
01 | Include a detailed scope of work with your contract, and follow it.
This is critical for a variety of reasons:
It helps your client understand exactly what’s included and what to expect
It protects you from scope creep within a flat fee arrangement
By documenting precisely what will be involved in delivering the project as a bulleted or numbered list of activities, you’ll be able to determine the flat fee and timeline for the project. ← BOTH of which are major factors in a client’s buying decision.
02 | Don't start the project until you have everything you need from the client to start.
Just like you probably wouldn’t start suggesting electric layouts for a new construction if you haven’t seen the plans, you probably have a few very specific things you need from your clients before you can start designing their space.
Build protection into your process so you officially start once you have x, y, z from the client. This might be a completed design questionnaire, a copy of their blueprints, inspiration images, room measurements, a list of what's already been selected, a list/photos of items to remain in the home, etc. If you know you need certain things in hand for your first meeting with the client to be effective, let your client know upfront what you need and when you need it. Otherwise, you’ll spend more time tracking down their items or going into their project blind without knowing their style, goals, or functional needs → likely leading to more revisions from your client and less clarity for you.
And, definitely don’t begin until you have a signed contract in hand. That goes without saying.
03 | Establish clear communication channels.
The fewer channels a client can contact you on, the more organized your project correspondence will feel (for you, your clients, and your team). Not to mention how much easier it will be to find correspondence when you need it (versus was it in a text, was it a voicemail, was it an email, was it in our meeting notes, etc.).
Determine how you prefer to communicate and how you can track project updates easily, then share that information with your client and create a policy around it.
Consider instituting a process for sending consistent proactive project update emails to keep clients in the loop. This reduces the number of times they reach out throughout the week because they know they’ll be getting an update from you every Friday.
This is an ideal opportunity to create and use templates. Write email templates for each critical milestone in the process. Then, as needed, copy and paste or use a CRM to share that information with clients (of course, make minor revisions as needed for specific circumstances). This will save you significant time throughout your process, allowing you to focus your time and energy on designing, rather than emailing.
04 | Source from a curated list of vendors, showrooms, and supply houses.
Navigating through endless catalogs, online sites, and samples can be time-consuming and overwhelming.
To streamline the furniture and material selection process, create a curated library of preferred vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers.
By developing a curated list of go-to vendors, you’ll become an expert on those product lines and will be able to streamline your selection process. You'll know exactly what piece will work for your client’s style and budget without having to spend hours upon hours searching through every possible option available.
05 | Build a sample library.
If you consistently order from a favorite lighting manufacturer, and they produce ten different metal finishes, get those finish samples for your design library. This will save time every time you source from that vendor and need to compare finishes.
Then, of course, you do need to maintain a well-organized library where needed samples can be easily located. This is often no small task but the perfect thing to delegate to a summer design intern or a newly hired design assistant. And don’t forget to implement a process for keeping your library fresh with new-release fabrics.
The same goes for fabric, wallpaper, carpet, wood finishes, nailhead, trim, etc. Invest in your sample library and save hours and hours of time when you can pull samples together to see what works and what doesn’t.
06 | Leverage your sales reps!
Let your reps help you identify fabrics/pieces that will work for your design.
Do not hesitate to call on your reps and showroom staff to assist you with finding very specific items. If you need a colorfast navy-and-white cabana stripe fabric that is in stock, save yourself searching time and reach out to your go-to fabric rep. Assisting designers this way is what they do, and they’ll be happy to help you.
07 | Hire a design assistant to help you with sourcing once you have the furniture layout set.
If you have a design assistant on staff, sourcing materials and products is a typical task they will be involved in. If you’re working on a project and have been able to establish many parameters (70” to 72” inch long roll-arm loveseat with a loose pillow back and bun feet), turn this sourcing task over to them. This frees your time for more high-level design tasks, client communication, etc.
08 | Order memos WHEN you source an item, not later on (touch things fewer times!).
The touch things fewer times approach is a solid tried-and-true timesaving and labor-saving strategy (see item #9 below). If you can complete all tasks associated with any given thing in one fell swoop — guess what? You don’t have to re-focus on that thing again later, saving time and energy.
09 | Get pricing WHEN you source an item, not later on (touch things fewer times!).
Ask both for net pricing, lead time, and in-stock availability from the get-go (realizing availability status may change). But at least you have completed all related information-gathering in one communication, rather than three or more. Or even worse, when you’re about to present and you realize you have no idea how much the custom sectional you’ve chosen is.
10 | Have a process for incoming CFAs and memos so they don’t get lost or delay your project.
Establish a location and a means of labeling all incoming items. It can be nightmarish if you don’t know whether Client A’s memo sample has come in from Vendor B, and you can’t remember where Client C’s CFA got placed, or whether it was received at all! Yikes! Not having a simple process for tagging items received by mail each and every day can really tie timelines in knots!
11 | Use a product management software.
Screenshotting products, saving links to those products in ten different places, and then going back and forth getting pricing and ordering details is just not a good use of time.
Designers are so lucky! You have software created SPECIFICALLY for you, to help you manage your products, invoices, purchase orders, and more.
Find a design software that aligns with how you design and then use it.
You will save so much time when it comes to sourcing, invoicing, sending purchase orders, tracking, and reconciling projects.
Some popular product management software programs: Studio Designer, Design Manager, Design Files, Houzz Pro/Ivy
12 | Build a product library in your product management software of items you use in all your designs.
Yes, I know many designers say they never use the same thing twice, but we all know you have a favorite light, faucet, fabric, chair, or hardware you use in every project. (PS: that’s totally fine in my eyes - if it works and it’s good quality, it works, so long as it’s not the main element in each room!).
Once you have your product management software chosen, build out your product library so you can easily add items to your client projects simply by pulling from the product library you’ve already created.
13 | Check in with the client before you move into the design development phase.
This means you may do a kick-off meeting initially to dig into inspiration imagery and project goals. Or, you may develop a high-level concept to share before moving into your design development phase. Or, maybe you set the furniture layout before you start sourcing.
Getting client sign-off at this point — before you start sourcing products — can be a significant time saver!
PS: As I was writing this, I realized even nail salons do this. They paint a test swatch on your nail before painting all your nails to first make sure you like it. This way, they don’t finish your nails only to have you say, “Hmmm….I actually changed my mind and don’t like that color. Can you change it?”
14 | Use templates for your design presentation or design boards.
Again with the templates!! Yes! Since creating design boards is an oft-repeated process, always start working from a template. Never start a design presentation from a blank page. Templating will save tons of time and will ensure branding consistency. Canva, PowerPoint, Slides, and Adobe InDesign may be programs to choose from. Develop a background that includes your logo and a format for how you want your designs labeled and titled.
15 | Keep tabs on the established budget as you make selections.
Tracking pricing against the established budget will ensure you don't get to presentation day only to realize you're WAY over budget and now you need to make more in-budget selections at the last minute, or completely change the design.
16 | Present all design items at once.
When presenting your design to clients, consider showcasing all the design elements together rather than presenting them individually (meaning: don’t show them a great rug on day 3, then a cool sofa on day 10, then some art and pillows on day 20).
This approach provides a complete view of the space and allows clients to visualize how all the elements will work together (which results in fewer revision requests!!). Read more about how to reduce revision requests here.
When you present all items at once, you can facilitate better decision-making because the client has all the info they need to make a decision: the total cost for the room plus the benefit of seeing all the elements together.
When you present an item or two at a time, guess what happens? Each time your client has a “mini revision period” where they’ll give feedback, ask to see some more options, etc. VERSUS if you present everything at once, they get ONE feedback period, minimizing the need for multiple presentations and rounds of revisions.
17 | Establish a clear revision policy and put a timeline on it.
The time window for allowing client requests for revisions has to be LIMITED. Or your design process can be never-ending. Clearly communicate to your client how your revision process and timeline work.
THEN, make revisions only after all their change requests have been submitted, otherwise, you'll make multiple rounds w/o even realizing it.
18 | Follow YOUR process.
If you are a people pleaser (hi!), as I think many business owners are, it is difficult to say no to a request to make an exception and veer from your prescribed process because your client is CONVINCED that this is what is needed, and is asking you very ardently. Stick to your guns. YOU are the expert in how this all works, not them. Need help defining your process? Check out our client experience templates here.
Working more efficiently during the design phase of your process is crucial for meeting (and exceeding) client expectations, managing resources effectively, and being profitable. By implementing these tips (I know, I know, all 18 of them!), you can streamline your workflow, save time, and increase your profit margins. Remember, an efficient design process not only benefits you as a designer but also leaves a lasting impression on your clients, fostering trust and establishing a strong reputation in the industry.
For more tips on managing your time, check out these resources:
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