Perfecting Your Interior Design Process + Project Management
Build a design process as beautiful as the interiors you create
Imagine if your interior design business ran with the same level of precision and beauty as the spaces you create. Sounds like a dream, right?
For many interior designers, the reality looks more like this: a dazzling vision for your clients’ spaces, but a behind-the-scenes juggling act of missed deadlines, scattered communications, and that nagging feeling that something’s falling through the cracks.
But what if your interior design process could be as stunning and functional as your designs?
Welcome to the future of interior design project management – where your customer relationship manager actually nurtures client relationships, and your project management tool keeps your projects running smoothly.
No more lost emails. No more forgotten follow-ups. No more late-night panic about whether you ordered that custom sofa. Just a seamless, workflow that lets you focus on creating amazing interiors for your clients
In this post, we’re talking about perfecting your project lifecycle – from the first ‘hello’ to the final reveal (and beyond) to transform your business operations into a masterpiece of organization and ease.
Are you ready?
Project Management Challenges Every Interior Designer Faces
Before we talk about perfecting your design process, let’s take a look at common challenges that make even the most seasoned designers want to hide under a pile of throw pillows:
- Coordinating clients, designers, and contractors across multiple projects
- Stretching an 8-week timeline into 3, 4, or even 5 months
- Struggling to delegate when all the details are stuck in your head
- Letting important tasks and deadlines slip through the cracks
- Drowning in to-do lists scattered across post-it notes, notepads, and napkins
- Forgetting to follow up with an eager potential client from last week
- Keeping clients in the loop throughout their entire project lifecycle
Feel familiar? Don’t worry.
Just like you can turn a dated 70s living room into a modern masterpiece, we can transform your project management from chaotic to streamlined.
Strategy First: Planning Your Interior Design Process
You wouldn’t start hanging art before the walls are painted, right? The same goes for project management.
Before you purchase a template or set up your tools, let’s take a step back and look at the big picture of your business needs and client experience. Here’s what putting strategy first looks like in the world of interior design:
- Know your clients: How do your clients make decisions? Are they visual learners? Prefer calls to emails? Go beyond the basics to create a personalized experience that delights.
- Map the journey: Together, we’ll plan your project phases from the initial concept to the final reveal, creating space for any extra detailed touches.
- Set clear expectations: Plan your time, team, and tools while accounting for any surprises or delays.
By focusing on strategy first, you aren’t just managing your projects efficiently – you’re crafting an unforgettable experience that your clients will rave about almost as much as your design.
Client Relationship Manager (CRM): Nurturing And Automating
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork with your strategy, it’s time to bring that plan to life with your client relationship manager, Dubsado.
Remember all those touchpoints we mapped out in the strategy phase? Dubsado automates them to support you and your clients throughout the entire project life cycle:
1. Onboarding. Say goodbye to multiple emails to kick off a new project and hello to:
- Automated proposals that make clients feel like VIPs
- Design and timeline questionnaires that dig into their needs
- Easy scheduling tools for consultations, kick-off calls, and presentations
2. Payments. Keep the financial side of your business as polished as your designs with:
- Automated payment reminders to avoid awkward conversations
- Flexible invoicing options to best suit timelines and clients
- Clear breakdowns of what’s included with every payment
3. Communication. No more wondering, ‘Did I forget to show Client A that swatch…?’:
- Schedule important check-ins at key project stages
- Keep a central hub for all project-related communications
- Use canned emails to minimize the time spent writing
4. Offboarding. End your project on a high note that sets the stage for referrals:
- Deliver handover of care instructions, warranties, and contacts
- Request feedback and valuable testimonials
- Schedule check-in reminders to follow up with clients
By automating these key processes, you’re able to focus on creating stunning spaces while keeping your clients informed and supported throughout their project.
Project Management Tool: Bringing Your Design To Life
After you’ve nailed down your client experience strategy and set up your Dubsado, it’s time to round off your workflow with a project management tool like Asana or ClickUp.
A solid project management tool does three things for your studio:
- Keeps your design vision moving forward
- Helps you coordinate team members and contractors
- Makes sure nothing falls through the cracks
For interior designers, I recommend setting up four phases in your project management tool
- Onboarding Phase where you’ll set up digital and physical folders, organize client information, and prepare design tools
- Conceptual Design Phase where you create mood boards, develop initial floor plans, and deliver concept presentations
- Detailed Design Phase where you’ll source samples, create collections, and finalize design decisions
- Purchasing Phase where you’ll track orders, manage vendors, oversee installation, and organize the final reveal
By setting up your project management tool with these phases, you’re creating a repeatable process. This means consistency across all your projects – whether you’re refreshing a bathroom or overhauling a penthouse.
Tying Your Interior Design Project Tools Together
When you align your strategy, Dubsado, and project management tool, you create a powerhouse system for your interior design business that:
- Streamlines your client experience from first inquiry to final reveal
- Automates your onboarding, payments, and offboarding processes
- Keeps your projects on track through every phase
- Makes client communications a breeze
- Coordinates your team, contractors, and deadlines
- Creates a repeatable process for projects of any size
- Frees up your time so you can focus on designing
But why is it important to plan your strategy, Dubsado, and project management tool all together? Simple.
Your strategy informs what needs to be done, Dubsado manages client relationships, and your project management tool makes sure it all comes together on time and on budget.
Don’t just take my word for it.
Rose from Z Domus Designs was skeptical at first. She thought bringing in someone outside the design world might lead to a disconnect. But after we set up her studio’s processes and tools, she said, “Onboarding our projects has been so much easier, and we now have all our client information in one spot!”
Are you ready to streamline your interior design business with an integrated system that works? Then let’s set up your strategy, Dubsado, and project management tools to work together seamlessly.
Inquire today, and we’ll create a custom process that lets you focus on what you do best – designing beautiful spaces.