One of the services we offer is Master Plan Design Strategy. This means we design a space and the client will order, implement, install and manage the project as their time and budget allow. Our Turnkey Full Service Design includes project management, which we call contract administration.
Though this may sound simple in concept, the implementation often becomes tricky. A former Design Strategy client contacted me last December and asked for help. What was supposed to be an easy kitchen refresh, taking no longer than one month to complete, turned into a multi-month saga for his family.
No Written Expectations
They hired a contractor who worked, they were told, on high-end projects. If this were true, though, the contractor did not make this project a priority because many things fell through the cracks, were done poorly, or left entirely unaddressed.
There was no site supervisor providing project management so subcontractors were left on their own. Even though detailed plans were provided to the subcontractors, my clients arrived home to discover that their kitchen island was installed in the wrong place! They were horrified. My client said, “I’m not a contractor but even I can read a tape measure.”
No Project Calendar
Another subcontractor provided an estimate to refinish the floors, but he exceeded the timeline by over a month, which delayed work by
other subcontractors.
Lack of Communication
Though the entire project suffered from an extreme lack of communication, my client said it worsened near the end. The contractor, key vendors and subcontractors assumed someone ELSE was addressing an issue so simple tasks — such as ordering wallpaper and installing cabinet hardware — lingered on the punch list for months. These and other seemingly ‘small’ issues frustrated my client as weeks slipped by when nothing was done.
If you’d like to discuss how Ruxana’s Home Interiors can act as your advocate and ally during a renovation, schedule an introductory chat.
Have a well-designed day,
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