Small interior design company/Large new contract. Need advice.
January 13, 2005 4:33 PM Subscribe
Interior Design Filter: My wife's small residential interior design company has just got a contract for a large (for her) commercial design job? Need advice (more inside).
My wife is the sole propieter of a small residential interior design company. Recently, a former residential client has asked her to be a design consultant on a commercial job. The company is moving into new quarters and will be utilizing an architecture/engineering firm to gut the building and put in a new roof and office spaces. My wife will be the decorator/designer for the interior spaces.
The company has about $50K for the design work (carpet, furniture, art, plants, window treatments, color pallette, etc). Normally, for residential work, which is by word-of-mouth references only, my wife does not require a contract unless asked for. The vice-president of the company is a personal friend, former client, and former co-worker of mine in a government contractor position. Any advice on basic contract language/guidelines that she should consider?
Also, she is being asked to sit in on architecture firm presentations for their part of the work (which will be separately contracted) and make recommendations to the copmpany on their selection. Any advice on appropriate questions for her to ask during this or things to look out for there?
Any help would be appreciated!
My wife is the sole propieter of a small residential interior design company. Recently, a former residential client has asked her to be a design consultant on a commercial job. The company is moving into new quarters and will be utilizing an architecture/engineering firm to gut the building and put in a new roof and office spaces. My wife will be the decorator/designer for the interior spaces.
The company has about $50K for the design work (carpet, furniture, art, plants, window treatments, color pallette, etc). Normally, for residential work, which is by word-of-mouth references only, my wife does not require a contract unless asked for. The vice-president of the company is a personal friend, former client, and former co-worker of mine in a government contractor position. Any advice on basic contract language/guidelines that she should consider?
Also, she is being asked to sit in on architecture firm presentations for their part of the work (which will be separately contracted) and make recommendations to the copmpany on their selection. Any advice on appropriate questions for her to ask during this or things to look out for there?
Any help would be appreciated!
My best advice - get a lawyer to draft a basic contract for services for your wife to use, the best bet would be something she could customize for any future job she might do. It should be a relatively inexpensive investment to possibly prevent some headaches down the road.
I don't have any concrete advice as far as language, getting a lawyer to draft it will probably be a good way to make sure everyone's interests are protected and that the contract conforms with local law.
posted by dicaxpuella at 4:52 PM on January 13, 2005
I don't have any concrete advice as far as language, getting a lawyer to draft it will probably be a good way to make sure everyone's interests are protected and that the contract conforms with local law.
posted by dicaxpuella at 4:52 PM on January 13, 2005
Response by poster: She's not ASID & doesn't have a degree - her business is a sole proprietorship she put together after working years in retail mechandizing for a department store & starting out doing seasonal decorating for friends who asked her - it's grown by word of mouth through friends/clients to include faux finishing/painting, organizing/rearranging, color consulting, furnture, window treatments, etc. She uses subcontractors for painting, floor finishing, carpentry, etc., but she doesn't do structural stuff - more cosmetic. She'll be advising the company on their selection of architects & who she thinks she can work with, but it will be they're decision.
posted by Pressed Rat at 5:18 PM on January 13, 2005
posted by Pressed Rat at 5:18 PM on January 13, 2005
Even if she's not ASID, they may sell their contract documents. The AIA does. AIA contracts have a very good reputation for holding up to challenge, much like a Massey prenup.
I can't really advise on how to hire an architect from an interior designer's standpoint other than recommending that she somehow find someone that she'll work with well; and I can't really say what that means for her personally. This may be tough, since the architect will often oppose her ideas about what the building should look like, and may often try to usurp her role in the design process. Things like that are hard to predict from an interview.
Your description of how she normally works seems pretty basic--does she ever have to produce cabinetry drawings or interior elevations? Does she have a staff to do these things? Is she accustomed to having to produce such things on a strict schedule? I hope she does well, but this seems like a big step.
posted by LionIndex at 5:38 PM on January 13, 2005
I can't really advise on how to hire an architect from an interior designer's standpoint other than recommending that she somehow find someone that she'll work with well; and I can't really say what that means for her personally. This may be tough, since the architect will often oppose her ideas about what the building should look like, and may often try to usurp her role in the design process. Things like that are hard to predict from an interview.
Your description of how she normally works seems pretty basic--does she ever have to produce cabinetry drawings or interior elevations? Does she have a staff to do these things? Is she accustomed to having to produce such things on a strict schedule? I hope she does well, but this seems like a big step.
posted by LionIndex at 5:38 PM on January 13, 2005
I second checking with the ASID for either actual contract documents or samples; I know my firm relies heavily on the AIA contracts. I could probably send you some chunks of sample contract language, but it might take me a day or two to find it. What kind of time schedule is she on? Having a lawyer draft something up is an excellent idea; commercial architecture/construction is an alarmingly litigious industry so it's best to be covered. In most decent sized cities, you should be able to find firms that specialize in respresenting design professionals.
What kind of insurance coverage does she have? She might be asked to have a minimum amount of liability insurance; we usually ask everyone involved in a project to have either $1 million or $5 million. These are fairly standard amounts. There are also insurance firms that specialize in design professionals. XL Design Professionals is one that comes to mind; there might be a rep in your area.
I was recently on the architecture end of the kind of working relationship you're describing. In this project (a hotel), the interior designer (hired by the hotel owner, not by us) had only residential experience; this was her first commercial job. We noticed a few glaring differences from the standard commercial designer:
Deadlines. I can't stress Lionindex's question about strict schedules enough. I don't know if the residential design industry is a lot more laid back or if we just had a lax designer, but we had to keep on her to adhere to the project schedule. The contractor had a construction schedule, and we had other jobs lined up. Neither we nor the client appreciated receiving her drawings and material boards the day after deadlines.
Buliding Code. Of course we didn't expect her to know the commercial building code, as this was her first commercial job, but it's very important that the designer work within code, even if it means checking an unfamiliar code endlessly during the design process. For example, our designer fell in love with some glass mosaic floor tiles that she wanted to use around the hotel's pool area. They were beautiful, to be certain, but glass is definitely not within the building code allowance for flooring in wet areas - it's far too slippery. She didn't check into this until far too late into her process, and the redesign made her, and it turn us, miss a deadline. Grr.
Adherence to industry standards. Specification manuals are part of every job we do, and we had to completely rewrite the interior designer's specs to make them fit into anything resembling the standard AIA MasterSpec format. Again, not something we expected her to know off the bat, but when you're unfamiliar with a process, it helps to research it. It might be helpful for your wife to ask the architect for a sample spec that she can use as a model. Ditto for drawing formats. The architect will probably also want her drawings to adhere to their software and format.
She'll most likely be working closely with the architect, so when checking out architects, the best thing for her to look for would be patience. Granted, that's not normally in large supply in this industry, but if she can find an architect who's willing to guide her when needed, she'll be much happier during the course of the project, and learn a lot more that will help her next time around. Oh, tell her to expect to have her designs shot down impersonally. I hope it doesn't happen, and it very well might not, but it's possible, and architects don't always have the best bedside manner.
Apologies if any of this is elementary compared with your wife's abilities or experience; residential designers are a widely varying group when it comes to professional experience, so I tried to be comprehensive. Be extra supportive while she's on this job; it might be more stressful that what she's used to. If she feels thrown to the wolves during this job, tell her not to worry; welcome to commercial architecture. Please assure her that it will definitely get easier as she does more pro jobs.
On preview: Good heavens, this is long. If you've made it this far down, congratulations. I hope there's something of use in my ramblings. :)
posted by boomchicka at 6:47 PM on January 13, 2005
What kind of insurance coverage does she have? She might be asked to have a minimum amount of liability insurance; we usually ask everyone involved in a project to have either $1 million or $5 million. These are fairly standard amounts. There are also insurance firms that specialize in design professionals. XL Design Professionals is one that comes to mind; there might be a rep in your area.
I was recently on the architecture end of the kind of working relationship you're describing. In this project (a hotel), the interior designer (hired by the hotel owner, not by us) had only residential experience; this was her first commercial job. We noticed a few glaring differences from the standard commercial designer:
Deadlines. I can't stress Lionindex's question about strict schedules enough. I don't know if the residential design industry is a lot more laid back or if we just had a lax designer, but we had to keep on her to adhere to the project schedule. The contractor had a construction schedule, and we had other jobs lined up. Neither we nor the client appreciated receiving her drawings and material boards the day after deadlines.
Buliding Code. Of course we didn't expect her to know the commercial building code, as this was her first commercial job, but it's very important that the designer work within code, even if it means checking an unfamiliar code endlessly during the design process. For example, our designer fell in love with some glass mosaic floor tiles that she wanted to use around the hotel's pool area. They were beautiful, to be certain, but glass is definitely not within the building code allowance for flooring in wet areas - it's far too slippery. She didn't check into this until far too late into her process, and the redesign made her, and it turn us, miss a deadline. Grr.
Adherence to industry standards. Specification manuals are part of every job we do, and we had to completely rewrite the interior designer's specs to make them fit into anything resembling the standard AIA MasterSpec format. Again, not something we expected her to know off the bat, but when you're unfamiliar with a process, it helps to research it. It might be helpful for your wife to ask the architect for a sample spec that she can use as a model. Ditto for drawing formats. The architect will probably also want her drawings to adhere to their software and format.
She'll most likely be working closely with the architect, so when checking out architects, the best thing for her to look for would be patience. Granted, that's not normally in large supply in this industry, but if she can find an architect who's willing to guide her when needed, she'll be much happier during the course of the project, and learn a lot more that will help her next time around. Oh, tell her to expect to have her designs shot down impersonally. I hope it doesn't happen, and it very well might not, but it's possible, and architects don't always have the best bedside manner.
Apologies if any of this is elementary compared with your wife's abilities or experience; residential designers are a widely varying group when it comes to professional experience, so I tried to be comprehensive. Be extra supportive while she's on this job; it might be more stressful that what she's used to. If she feels thrown to the wolves during this job, tell her not to worry; welcome to commercial architecture. Please assure her that it will definitely get easier as she does more pro jobs.
On preview: Good heavens, this is long. If you've made it this far down, congratulations. I hope there's something of use in my ramblings. :)
posted by boomchicka at 6:47 PM on January 13, 2005
getting a lawyer to write a contract will not take long. Ask for prior art - eg ask the lawyer to customize an existing contract rather than write one from scratch.
Such a boilerplate contract cost me about $200
One more thing - if your wife is dealing with subcontractors, she should use a contract with them, too. And, you must also look at professional insurance in case anything goes wrong. If the job is very big and there is some risk, then incorporating your wife's company is also a good idea
posted by seawallrunner at 7:30 PM on January 13, 2005
Such a boilerplate contract cost me about $200
One more thing - if your wife is dealing with subcontractors, she should use a contract with them, too. And, you must also look at professional insurance in case anything goes wrong. If the job is very big and there is some risk, then incorporating your wife's company is also a good idea
posted by seawallrunner at 7:30 PM on January 13, 2005
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice - we had a boilerplate contract drawnup when she first started, and she at times used it with her subs & one or two clients, but as her clients up to now have mostly been somewhat informal (friends of friends) she hasn't seen much need yet -we'll dust it off & check the ASID. She has used subs on occasion. She was initially carrying $1M insurance, but let it lapse when the premium doubled (for no apparent reason) & because of perceived lack of need up to now - I've already suggested she get it reinstated, at least for this job. It is a big step for her, although I'm sure she can handle it - she won't be directing the architects on any real structural stuff, just coordinating with them on color schemes for finished work & some accent stuff - just looking for input from the voice of experience. She's planning on billing her services by the hour, rather than attempt a cost plus fee or other arrangement & she'll draw a decorator's percentage on furniture/carpet purchases. We had looked into incorporating early on, but didn't see the need for the expense; however, if this launches her into similar work I think that's the next step as well. Appreciate the inputs......
posted by Pressed Rat at 7:50 PM on January 13, 2005
posted by Pressed Rat at 7:50 PM on January 13, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
If I understand correctly, she's helping to choose the architect?
posted by LionIndex at 4:50 PM on January 13, 2005