When most people think of interior designers, they imagine we spend our days boutique-hopping or browsing the internet before waving a wand over the room – resulting in a perfectly styled and professionally photographed image. What most people don’t think about is the logistics. In reality, we spend 50% of every project working on the design and 50% coordinating procurement. When you’re considering hiring an interior designer, make sure that your style aligns AND that you trust that team to handle all of the little details.
What could potentially be a logistical nightmare to many homeowners is actually a very orderly, streamlined process honed with time and experience by our team. Throughout the procurement phase, each design element is examined multiple times and nothing is left to chance. And when things do veer off-course, it is our responsibility and pleasure to get the project back on track as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
As a result of this well-tested process, we have developed very strong, reliable relationships with our trade partners. They are just as invested as we are in our clients’ satisfaction and we rely on them to help us troubleshoot when these inevitable issues arise. Here’s just a brief (we swear!) example of some of the stages the procurement process can include:
- Submit detailed price requests to the supplier, along with inquiries regarding stock and lead time
- Create an accurate invoice for the client to pay
- Create an accurate purchase order for each vendor – a simple throw pillow can require up to four to cover fabric, inserts, labor and installation!
- Order finish/fabric/wallpaper/paint samples for approval
- Review all documents created up to this point for continuity and accuracy
- From here, each order will be handled by our team five more times on average. This can include answering any questions the vendor, receiver, shipper and client may have.
- Arrange delivery to the receiving warehouse – most trade vendors will only deliver to facilities with warehouse capabilities
- Reviewing and approving photos of all items received at the warehouse
- Arrange for replacement or repair of any damaged goods received at the warehouse—accidents are inevitable but we’ve got it handled so you’ll never have to worry about it
- Lastly, bookkeeping for all steps of the procurement process: Tracking hours, paying vendors, freight companies and receivers, tracking all orders and their progress aka making sure everyone gets paid!
With so many details to oversee, our clients are extremely grateful that they had the foresight to hire us to manage their project. By doing so, they’ve ensured that they’ve purchased quality goods at competitive prices and partnered with reliable tradespeople – all while eliminating the stress that can be an unwelcome side effect of with many self-led projects.
Thanks to our tried-and-true processes and procedures, Michelle Gage Interiors is uniquely suited to not only design you a beautiful home that feels like you, but also to manage the project to completion.