In this solo episode, I review the Top 5 posts from my private Facebook group for interior designers, Interior Design Business Strategies. These are the hottest topics and the 5 posts that received the most engagement from the group in one month.
Topics include; A showroom designer who was treated badly by a client, Charging for the initial consultation fee, How to dress for the initial consultation meeting, Contractors who don’t like fancy design elements and Using video to market your business.
Join me and let’s do this!
See all my podcast episodes here. New Episodes are published every other Friday!
Free Resources
Here is a fabulous FREE resource to help excel your interior design business.
Click on the video below to watch the podcast interviewwith my GC and cabinet maker.
Prefer to listen on the go? Click here to download this episode.
Show Notes
Building solid relationships with our trades is essential for running a successful Interior Design business. Improving the relationship between designer and contractor is the focus of this episode of the TNT podcast.
Unfortunately, Interior designers generally have a reputation of either being too demanding and controlling or uneducated and inexperienced – sometimes both!
Conversely, as Design Professionals, we feel that contractors and trades typically do not welcome us onto a project nor our creative ideas for design. It can also be a concern for a designer that if they are not overseeing every step of the project, then original design plans may be altered and sometimes trades may even try to squeeze the designer out of the project completely.
These are valid concerns for both parties and today I sit down with two of my contractors to discuss The Naked Truth about this extremely important topic. Working collaboratively and having a mutually respectful working relationship is mandatory for everyone to show solidarity and work as a team.
From left to right: Walter Ferreria, Claire Jefford and Shane Ritcey
Walter Ferreira is the founder of Summit Development Group. He is a general contractor whose company has been servicing southern Ontario for over 27 yrs. They facilitate all aspects of a project, whether it be for residential or commercial renovation, remodelling, custom builds and even outdoor landscaping projects. Walter’s team combines quality workmanship and knowledge that provide clients with unmatched service.
Shane Ritcey is a small business owner who has been in operation since 2008. A business built around customer relations and quality work. Ritcey Custom Cabinetry prides itself on rising to any design challenge.
If you’re new here, welcome! Below you will see what I cover in every colour review post.
In this colour review video of Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore, I share:
The undertone of my featured colour
Colour comparisons in order to easily see the different colour tones
Best white paint colours for the trim and ceilings
Beautiful colour combinations to inspire you for your decorating project
After you watch the video, if you would like all this information conveniently laid out for you in one place and have even more paint colour combinations to use with Palladian Blue, take a look at my new Perfect Colour Guide.
A must-have for any colour enthusiast or design professional.
While I love this colour, I’ve not actually used it yet. Where I would love to specify Palladian Blue for a project would be in a washroom, laundry room or bedroom. This tone is so fresh and serene, you could use it in any room of your home.
Palladian Blue Colour Review Video
Undertones: Blue/Green
This blue-green paint colour may appear more one colour than the other, depending on the lighting and what other decorative elements you pair with it in your interior decorating project.
As you can see below, it’s when we start to look at comparisons to other colours, that it becomes very eye-opening.
Colour Comparisons
Soft Fern 2144-40 & Gossamer Blue 2123-40
It’s only when we compare colours that we can truly understand the tones and whether they lean more one way or another on the colour spectrum.
When I do Colour Consultations in a client’s home, I am always comparing colours so they too can easily see the differences.
When I hold my large paint boards up to a decorative element such as fabrics, wallpaper or subway tile and then swap out one board with another board, it becomes clearer as to which colour will work best.
Best Whites To Pair With Palladian Blue
White Dove OC-17 by Benjamin Moore
You may recall that White Dove is one of my all-time favourite Benjamin Moore paint colours. It was one of the first Colour Reviews I did – read all about it and watch the video here.
If you are interested to learn more about the most popular white paint colour check out the White Dove Perfect Colour Guide.
As one of my go-to colours, I have used White Dove in various design projects. Here it is in a stunning dining room design project.
Oxford White CC-30 by Benjamin Moore
Oxford White is not as creamy as White Dove. It’s a little on the cooler side, but not as cool as the next white we recommend, White Diamond. We used Oxford White in our Burlington client’s kitchen here for their cabinetry colour. Because it’s a cooler white it worked wonderfully with the gorgeous Carrara marble herringbone backsplash.
White Diamond OC-61 by Benjamin Moore
White Diamond is the coolest of these three whites, it sparkles with a hint of blue.
I tend to have around 10 white paint colours that are my best whites for trim and ceilings. You don’t need to see all of the thousands of whites available to you to get the right one. You also do not need to mix two different whites or use only a certain percentage of paint colour to get the one best for you.
If you want to get all my Benjamin Moore colour guides in one place, look no further than my Benjamin Moore Ultimate Collection. All 20 of my Benjamin Moore guides are in one handy collection.
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Perfect For Pinning
Take my Colour Quiz to discover your Perfect Colour Palette.
That is what my sister Karen and her husband Jason were contemplating a few years ago. They live in a sweet little bungalow in a mature neighbourhood in Burlington, Ontario and are just a 10-minute drive from my house.
In nearly 10 years of living in their 3 bedroom bungalow, they had literally done no renovation work whatsoever. I mean, other than the roof being redone, everything else was pretty much untouched.
Now that may not seem so bad if the house had been renovated and updated at any point before they moved in, but it hadn’t. So major work was needed if they chose to stay in this home.
Being in Interior Design, I advised my sister to renovate as opposed to move. The 3 main reasons that I knew this would be the best decision for them were:
1. Location. Location. Location.
Karen and Jason live in a nice neighbourhood in the town where we grew up. They have a large yard with plenty of privacy and distance between neighbours. That is hard to come by these days!
2. It’s not cheap to move!
The commission for a realtor, moving costs and re-connection fees alone would have been somewhere between $20 – $30k. This is money that can be invested in their dream home.
3. Nothing was ‘Move in Ready’
Every house they looked at on the market within their price range needed a lot of work. They were not interested in buying a brand new property, as that would have meant them having very little in terms of a backyard, plus new homes tend to be very close to each other which they also did not fancy.
(Maybe there is a 4th reason…because by staying where they are now, they would still be close to me!)
So, big sister listened to little sister and it was then my job to turn their current bungalow into their new dream home.
My sister and I many moons ago!
This video was filmed just before renovations started and 1.5 years after I created new interior design plans for them. The new plans involve a complete demo of the main floor, relocating every room with the exception of their bedroom and the front entry.
Take a look at ‘Behind the Design’ with me as I take you through my thought process and a tour of their Burlington bungalow, just before the demo.
The Bungalow Before
My sister and her husband do not have kids, nor do they want kids. The size of their 3 bedroom home was not the issue, the problem was that it did not function for their lifestyle.
On her big day, my sister Karen with my two lovely kids, Adley and Elise.
In the past few years, Karen and her husband Jason have become culinary enthusiasts. They enjoy trying new recipes as well as batching meals, both for work lunches and dinners. Their small kitchen was not designed for more than one person to be working in that area at the same time.
Here is a before photo of their kitchen.
Below is a rendering of the new design that I did for them to make it a much more open and better functioning layout.
Kitchen rendering in Chief Architect. Design by Claire Jefford.
To say that my sister is super organized is an understatement. She is a bookkeeper who likes to schedule everything and fills out budgeting spreadsheets regularly.
Karen is also a shopaholic. Where I would much rather spend money on buying items for my house, Karen is obsessed with fashion.
Enter – the ‘Girly Room’. As you can see from the before images below, my sister has A LOT of clothes, jewellery and fashion accessories.
The wardrobe is covering the side patio doors which in the new design, will be in the kitchen.
Below is where you can see the patio doors that will be in a much more convenient place off of the kitchen. There is an old deck just outside which Karen and Jason will eventually update.
In the meantime, they will be able to use it for their barbecue which will make it way more functional than their current set-up of going through the other side door and around the back.
We also added a wall of custom cabinetry that will come in very handy for much-needed storage.
In the new design, this room below will no longer exist. I turned their 3 bedroom bungalow into a 2 bedroom home.
This was my sister’s old office which you can see was also an overflow for her clothes and shoes.
The ‘Girly Room’ is not going to be inexpensive. With all-new custom cabinetry, we will maximize the space and ensure it can function for my sisters’ ever-growing wardrobe.
The corner cabinet that you see on the right is going to house a spinning shoe rack that will hold 50 pairs of shoes. Fifty pairs!! I am lucky if I have 10! LOL
The cabinetry design changed from the original plans, but this gives you an idea of how it will look.
Here you can see the overall layout of their new bungalow design.
A much more open feel to the main living space in the new design.
We have made some tweaks along the way which is not unusual when designing a space.
One of the changes included an addition to the banquette. We redesigned it to be an ‘L’ shape because it looked more finished and provided extra seating at the table, as well as a couple of stools by the window.
Here is their banquette before. Ugh, I’ve always hated it. If you think it looks uncomfortable, I can tell you that it absolutely was not a pleasure to sit here for long periods of time.
How uninviting was this space?! I can say that my sister knows I could never stand it!
When you have a cosy seating area that brings in soft furnishings and colour, it makes all the difference.
Here’s an example of a clients banquette that I brought to life with a faux leather custom bench seat, lots of accent pillows and pleated window treatment for their Hamilton home. See more of this client project in my Interior Design Portfolio.
Orange accents with contrasting dark gray custom bench seat cushion.
I hope you will follow along with my sister and her husband’s Bungalow renovation series, there is more to come as we progress with the renovations.
Pin it for easy reference!
Psst! Love Colour? Take my new colour quiz to determine which colour palette suits you best!
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Convenience at your fingertips
Choosing Paint Colours
If you struggle with choosing paint colours, be sure to check out my Perfect Colour Palettes.
I now have 40 individual guides to help inspire you.
Collections
I also offer collections that showcase a group of 10 similar colours from Benjamin Moore,
Click on the video below to watch the podcast where I talk about a Real Client Project.
Prefer to listen on the go? Click here to download this episode.
Running an Interior Design Business isn’t easy, but nothing worth having ever is.
One of the best ways to learn how to run a successful interior design business is to learn from others’ experiences. I’m sharing Real Client Projects on The Naked Truth podcast to help you do just that.
My ‘Real Client Project’ Episodes are all about sharing the details of my past projects. In other words, I will review how the client came to find me and what my fees were for the interior design initial consultation and for the interior decorating services. You will hear about the specific details of the project including presenting design plans and what happened during the process with the trades. Also, I will discuss purchasing products and the overall working relationship between everyone involved.
In this Real Client Project episode, The Sunglasses Lady, my situation will remind you of why it’s so important to go with your gut. And why you need to know the tradespeople that you are bringing onto an interior design project.
See all my podcast episodes here. New episodes published every other Friday!
Free Resources
Here is a fabulous FREE resource to help excel your interior design business.
Click on the video below to watch the podcast interview.
Prefer to listen on the go? Click here to download this episode.
One of the most difficult aspects of being an interior design professional is knowing how to work with family and friends who will inevitably ask for your advice or need your help.
Do you charge them for your interior design services?
What about when you’re at an event and a friend or family member wants to ‘pick your brain’ about their latest home decor project? Do you stick to your processes? How do you communicate your terms?
Understanding how other interior design professionals have handled working with family and friends can help you to navigate similar situations.
From left to right: Karin Bennett, Claire Jefford and Joanne Jakab
Hear Karin, Joanne and I discuss our real-life experiences. Joanne will share the single most important question that she asks clients who pass her a referral, and Karin tells us how a friendship was forever ruined after doing design work for them without proper processes in place.
Joanne Jakab is a well-known award-winning local designer specializing in residential interiors. She helps busy professionals and their families to design and renovate their home so they can live the life they truly desire.
Clients who had initially felt overwhelmed truly appreciated her proven track record for sorting through the myriad of options and creating a cohesive design plan. Identifying the key elements that will take them from standard design to extraordinary concept on time and on budget since 1999. Joanne resides with her family in Burlington, Ontario and has just announced her retirement.
Karin Bennett Designs is a full-service design firm specializing in large scale remodels and new builds. She believes in designing a home that is both functional and stylish. Karin has been married for 18 years and is a busy mom of three teenagers and two sweet dogs. Karin grew up with parents that are modern-day House Flippers. Her mom was a designer and realtor who loved to fix up homes and move on to the next challenge, so renovating and designing homes is in Karin’s blood. I invite you to visit Karin’s website, it’s gorgeous and so is her Instagram account.
See all my podcast episodes here. New episodes are published every other Friday!
Free Resources
A fabulous FREE resource to help excel your interior design business.
Do you know how long I’ve been dreaming of a sanctuary to call my own when it comes to a nice bathroom?
No, this is not my bathroom shown below. Because mine is still under construction, but at least it’s underway!
Princess Margaret Lottery Home Bathroom with fixtures from Grohe, American Standard and DXV
My bathroom is mostly all original to our home, which is a small 3 bedroom bungalow built in 1967.
We moved into our Burlington home (pictured below) in 2004 after having lived in England for 6 years. (Well, I had been living in London for 6 years, my husband Chris is actually from the UK.)
We had our first child there, our handsome son Adley, just before moving back to Canada in the spring of 2004.
In 2006, we had our beautiful daughter Elise. I was thrilled to be a stay at home mom, but it meant that we did not have much money for renovations.
Our Bungalow after being updated with landscaping in 2015
Bathroom Before
Our bathroom redesign has been a long time coming!
Below is what our small, main bathroom looked like for the last 14 years. We did make some minor updates shortly after we moved in, such as replacing the lilac toilet and sink, along with the old faucet. We also updated the countertop, flooring, mirror, lighting and medicine cabinet.
For the updated wall colour I chose Wenge by Benjamin Moore, as it has a purple undertone so it seemed to work with the 1960’s lilac wall tile. That was the extent of the updates that we could afford at the time.
Flashback to the ’70s with that lavender tub!
The footprint of the bathroom is small, which is why the vanity is more narrow in depth at either end. With the previous vanity, you can see how it protruded out to allow enough space for the sink.
Despite looking at options of redesigning the layout, the space was so tight and very limiting that we stuck with the original floor plan. Hey, it’s worked fairly well for us all these years that at least we were familiar with what we had.
Below is my CAD drawing. The only difference that you would notice from this drawing is that the sink faucet is now wall-mounted, which will give us a more updated look because now the vanity will be more streamlined as it will be the same depth from end to end.
The 3D rendering below shows you one of my first drafts of the updated design. Since this drawing, there have been some changes made to the plans, like the floor and mirror. And of course, there is a glass shower door and more plumbing fixtures, but this was to initially give my contractor an idea of the direction in which I was going with the look and feel.
The Inspiration
I was dying for wallpaper. I mean I was seriously yearning for it. There was no fighting my urge to have some fun with colours and patterns in my own bathroom design. This is the wallpaper I landed on.
I love the colours, the black backdrop, the organic feel that it has and my favourite element is the jumping purple pig! I appreciate this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but what about you? Do you like it? Comment below to give me your feedback.
I colour matched all the colours in the wallpaper to Benjamin Moore paint samples. This way I know exactly which accent colours I can use for accessories such as bath mats, towels, candles, soap, etc.
This is one of my top decorating tips and you can learn more about how to do that yourself in this video here.
Benjamin Moore Colour Palette
Collaborating with Brands
I’m pleased to have formed such a wonderful working relationship with Jamie Martin, the National Sales Manager for Farrow and Ball. When I asked Jamie if they would be willing to provide me with a gallon of paint for my bathroom ceiling, he delivered immediately. I appreciate Farrow and Ball’s willingness to team up with me and can’t wait to use more of their paint colours for upcoming projects!
My paint colour selection for our ceiling is Farrow and Ball’s All White No. 2005 Modern Emulsion.
For the custom vanity and linen closet, I am colour matching to Farrow and Ball’s Pitch Black No. 256. I am soooo excited for these custom pieces to have a rich, black finish!
If you love Farrow and Ball, be sure to read my blog post here where I did a colour review of Elephant’s Breath and also check out this post where I reviewed the exquisite Hague Blue.
I’ve also teamed up with Grohe Canada for most of my plumbing fixtures and went with a classic chrome finish. Here are just some of the beauties that I selected for my new bathroom design.
This wall-mounted faucet is not only sleek in style, but it was also an integral part of the function for this design. As you saw in some of the before photos, we are really tight for space in my bathroom. The vanity depth is just 18″ and having this Grohe wall-mounted faucet will help to save on some much-needed counter space.
Chrome Wall mounted faucet
This beauty above will pour into my new black undermount DXV sink. Pretty sexy, eh?!
We had a towel ring in the old bathroom and it did come in handy with it located to the right of the sink for a hand towel. Sticking with what you know already works is a smart move!
Chrome towel ring from Grohe
When I polled my Facebook followers to ask which they preferred, a hook vs a towel rod, the response was amazing.
Although, there were strong opinions for both, in the end, I kind of cheated and opted for both. I ordered 2 of these stunning Grohe chrome towel hooks for the back of the door and another towel holder for above the toilet.
Grohe Towel Hook in Chrome
Below is the Essentials Multi bath towel rack that I snagged as well.
Essential Multi Towel Rack
Unboxing Video Live on Facebook
If you follow me here on Facebook, you may have seen me unbox many of these Grohe fixtures live. It was very exciting, just like Christmas really! You can watch the replay below.
More bathroom loves coming soon. Tiling starts next week and you’ll have to wait to see what I chose for the shower walls! If you follow me on Instagram here, you will see daily updates in my Stories.
Thank you to all my sponsors, I truly appreciate you!
Psst! Love Colour? Take my new colour quiz to determine which colour palette suits you best!
Convenience at your fingertips
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Choosing Paint Colours
If you struggle with choosing paint colours, be sure to check out my Perfect Colour Palettes.
I now have 40 individual guides to help inspire you.
Collections
I also offer collections that showcase a group of 10 similar colours from Benjamin Moore,
It’s easy to find pretty photos online of finished interior decorating projects. Inspiration can be found everywhere from Pinterest, to Instagram and of course, in my portfolio too!
But wouldn’t you like to learn more about the details that go into the thought process for designing a beautiful space? After all, it didn’t just happen easily and by coincidence with all the pieces falling perfectly into place.
If that was the case, then my job would be super easy or even redundant altogether.
Welcome to ‘Behind the Design’!
Here I’ll share a quick round-up of a few different design elements to bring you a better understanding of why I make the choices that I do when working on clients’ projects.
Today’s post includes interior design tips from the main floor redesign that we did in a Burlington client’s home.
1,2,3, take a look Behind the Design with me
#1. Make Sense of Your Space
In our Burlington client’s home, we removed a wall between the formal dining room and the traditional living room in order to create a larger kitchen. The living room was not needed as my clients had a family room on the main floor as well as a fully finished basement. (FYI – the wall is behind the angle from where the photo is being taken.)
Space Saving Tip:
Our suggestion was to turn the living room into the dining room and custom build a large banquette on the far wall for seating. A wall banquette saves on space usually required for pulling out the dining chairs.
In addition, a dining table with a pedestal (opposed to legs) allows for extra seating space around each end of the table when needed to accommodate more guests.
#2. Out With the Old
Within the same area, there was a half wall that bordered the front foyer with a pillar on the end closest to the room opening (see below). In addition to the new flooring and overall renovation work done to update their home, removing this traditional column helped us to eliminate a structural element that is indicative of a more traditional style.
A Plan With Purpose
We took that narrow wall all the wall to the ceiling and beautifully finished it with a detailed crown moulding. This wall divides the space and enabled the addition of our clients’ simple, yet sophisticated artwork that greets you when you enter the front foyer area. So pretty, right?!
#3. Tricks of the Trade
There are so many doors in this small entryway that the contrasting wall colour, made the space feel very busy and closed in.
Bright & Welcoming
By lightening up the paint colour (Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore) and adding a custom mirror within the millwork on the wall, the front entry now feels bigger and is much more welcoming. Don’t you agree?
To see more of this kitchen in my portfolio, click here.
Which of these 3 updates was your favourite? Comment below to let me know which one you liked best.
It’s amazing how different a home can look and feel when you have a good design plan and a professional to help you along the way.
We would love to work with you on your next project. Reach out and contact us here.
Psst! Love Colour? Take my new colour quiz to determine which colour palette suits you best!
Convenience at your fingertips
Remember, it only takes one mistake to take your home decorating project from divine to disaster. Don’t let the paint be what stresses you out!
Choosing Paint Colours
If you struggle with choosing paint colours, be sure to check out my Perfect Colour Palettes.
I now have 40 individual guides to help inspire you.
Collections
I also offer collections that showcase a group of 10 similar colours from Benjamin Moore,
Last week I had the pleasure of being a guest on LuAnn Nigara’s podcast, A Well Designed Business, for the third time.
LuAnn and I are good friends and both a bit nerdy when it comes to processes for our businesses. This is just one reason why I love her so much!
Step by Step Process for the Initial Consultation
In my latest interview, episode #485, LuAnn dedicates the entire show for me to walk her through every single step of my client intake & consultation process.
This process begins with the client Discovery Call and takes you all the way to the to the end of the initial consultation meeting.
I have set it up in a way that enables me to quickly build trust with my clients and to manage their expectations from the onset.
After you listen, if you want to set yourself up with the exact same process without starting from scratch and figuring it all out on your own, you can get my ROCK the CONSULTATION PROCESSES PACKAGE HERE for 30% off the regular price starting Friday!
To catch more of LuAnn’s podcast and hear more great episodes, go to her website here. She sure is one #smartlady.
Oh and did I mention that she’s also a ton of fun? Below is a part of a video clip (I faded the for the video) from when I interviewed LuAnn at her Window Works store in New Jersey in 2018.
LuAnn is also the mastermind behind the book ‘The Things I Learned From A Well Designed Business’, of which I am a co-author of, along with all of these other wonderful people!
My chapter is all called ‘Managing Client’s Expectations’ (surprise, surprise!) and if you’d like to get your own copy, click here to purchase your this interior design business bible now!
How are you setting up your business for success in 2020?
Claire's Guide to Services & Pricing
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Interior Design Services and Rates Guide
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